Saif Ahmed

Can one invest in/start a business in the US, as a LLC or SCorp if
they live abroad or are in the U.S. on an H1B or any other visa?

On a related question can the business one invests in hire that person
on an H1 even if the primary skills of the investor isn't needed in
the business. e.g. can an IT guy open a laundromat and sponsor himself
for a visa?

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Ingo Pakleppa

On Tue, 26 Nov 2002 07:49:26 +0000, Saif Ahmed wrote:


    > Can one invest in/start a business in the US, as a LLC or SCorp if they
    > live abroad or are in the U.S. on an H1B or any other visa?

You can invest in a business, including a new business, as long as you
don't perform any work for it. In other words, you would have to hire
somebody to manage it.

    > On a related question can the business one invests in hire that person
    > on an H1 even if the primary skills of the investor isn't needed in the
    > business. e.g. can an IT guy open a laundromat and sponsor himself for a
    > visa?

The business can sponsor the investor, but the regular rules still apply.
That is, the job must require at least a college degree, and the H-1B
beneficiary (i.e., the investor in this case) must possess the necessary
quaifications.

So a laundromat could probably not sponsor you as an H-1B because you'd
fail both tests.