Which US visa fits you? Nine routes for entrepreneurs compared

America has no such thing as an "entrepreneur visa." There are nine routes, and each one asks you a different question: Who is sending you? What are you investing? How good are you in your field? Answer the questions in the right order and you find your route. Here are all nine side by side, with the rules as the authorities state them.

1Four questions before you touch a form

Many entrepreneurs start with the visa they know from a video or from a neighbor. The better order is the reverse: first your situation, then the route. Four questions sort out almost every case.

• Who is sending you? If you have worked for at least a year as an executive or specialist at a company in Europe that has or is setting up a US branch, the L-1 is open to you.
• What are you investing? If you put your own capital into a US company that you run yourself, the E-2 is your route. If you want it to lead straight to a green card, look at the EB-5.
• What do you trade? If there is already a steady flow of business between your company and the USA today, the E-1 may be an option.
• How good are you? If you are demonstrably at the top of your field, or your project serves the national interest of the USA, the O-1, EB-1A and EB-2 NIW take you to the USA without an investment and without someone else's company.

Then there is a fifth question many people ask too late: Do you want to stay? A temporary visa and a green card are two different things, and the routes can be combined. If you enter on a visa and want the green card later, plan the sequence from day one.

If you just want to look around, negotiate and meet partners first, you often don't need a work visa at all. That is what ESTA and the B-1 are for, within clear limits.

2All routes at a glance: visa or green card

The big table puts all nine routes side by side. Read it in two halves. At the top are the temporary visas: L-1, E-2, E-1, O-1 and business travel on a B-1 or ESTA. At the bottom are the four green cards that let you live and work in the USA permanently: EB-1C, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW and EB-5.

The key difference between the temporary visas is intent. For the L-1, the regulations expressly allow you to come to the USA temporarily as an L-1 while lawfully pursuing a green card at the same time. The O-1 is similar: a filed green card petition is no reason to deny the O-1. Experts call this dual intent.

The E visas are different. If you live in the USA on an E-1 or E-2, you must keep the intention to leave when your status ends. But the regulations also say an E visa application may not be denied solely because a green card petition has been filed or approved for you. So the path from E-2 to green card is possible, but it takes more planning than with the L-1.

A second difference is where you apply. For the L-1 and O-1, an employer first files a petition with USCIS; only then do you take the approval to the consulate. For the E-1 and E-2, you apply for the visa directly at the consulate from abroad; a USCIS petition only comes in if you are already in the USA and changing status. The green cards start with a USCIS petition, and the EB-1A and NIW don't even need an employer.

3L-1: transferring from your own company

The L-1 brings employees from a company abroad to a related company in the US: parent, subsidiary, branch or affiliate. Both sides must genuinely do business during your stay, regularly and continuously. A mailbox won't do. The L-1 does not require international trade.

You must have worked for the company abroad for one continuous year within the three years before entry. Executives and managers come on the L-1A; employees with specialized knowledge of the company's products, processes or procedures come on the L-1B. Specialized knowledge means knowledge of this specific company, not general professional experience.

If there is no US office yet, the company abroad can send you to set one up. In that case, business premises must be secured, and within one year the US office must be able to support a genuine managerial position. For a new office, the first approval is valid for one year at most, otherwise up to three years. Extensions are granted for up to two years at a time, to a maximum of seven years on the L-1A and five years on the L-1B.

Your spouse comes on the L-2 and is authorized to work in that status. For managers and executives, the path to a green card usually runs through the EB-1C once the US company has been in business for a year.

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4E-2: investing in your own business

You must have invested, or be actively investing, in a real, operating US business, and the money must be at risk in the commercial sense. The investment must be substantial in relation to the total cost of the business; the less expensive the business, the higher the share must be. The business must not be marginal: now or within five years, it must generate more than a modest living for you and your family. You hold at least 50 percent or have operational control, and you are coming to develop and direct the business. You must be able to document where the money came from.

From abroad, you apply for the E-2 directly at the consulate. The initial stay is up to two years, and extensions of up to two years each are possible with no limit on their number, as long as the business keeps running. Your spouse may work in E-2 status.

How the E-2 and L-1 differ in detail is covered in L-1 vs. E-2: the main differences and L-1 or E-2: which visa is right for you. For the comparison with the investor green card, see E-2 visa or EB-5 green card.

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5E-1: when your trade with America is already up and running

The E-1 is the older sibling of the E-2, and it requires no investment. What it requires is trade: an existing, traceable exchange of goods, services or technology for payment between the US and your home country. Besides goods, trade includes services, banking, insurance, transportation, tourism and technology transfer.

The trade must be substantial: a continuous flow of numerous transactions over time. There is no minimum value per transaction, but a single large deal is never enough. And it must be principally between the US and your home country: more than 50 percent of your international trade. Duration, extensions and family follow the same rules as the E-2.

Whether your business is a better fit for the E-1 or the E-2 comes down to a few points. The detailed comparison: E-1 or E-2?

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6EB-5: the green card through investment

The EB-5 is not a temporary visa but a green card. The law sets the amounts: $1,050,000, or $800,000 for an investment in a Targeted Employment Area or an infrastructure project. Starting January 1, 2027, both amounts adjust automatically for inflation, and every five years after that; the reduced amount will then be 75 percent of the standard amount.

The capital goes into a new commercial enterprise that creates at least ten full-time jobs for qualifying US workers. If you invest through a Regional Center, up to 90 percent of those jobs may be created indirectly. The law authorizes visas for this Regional Center Program through September 30, 2027.

The result is a green card, conditional at first, with the conditions removed later via Form I-829. Spouses and unmarried children under 21 come along. A new fee schedule applies to petitions filed from November 30, 2026; the amounts are in the table below.

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7EB-1C: the green card for managers in a corporate group

The EB-1C is the natural next step after the L-1A. It is designed for managers and executives who worked in a managerial role for a related company abroad for at least one year in the three years before the petition and will again work in a managerial role in the US. If you are already working in the US on an L-1, the three years before your last entry count.

The US employer files the petition on Form I-140. It must have been doing business in the US for at least one year and show that it can pay your salary. The EB-1C does not require labor certification. Unlike the L-1, the EB-1C has no new office option: that route is open only on the L-1. Even if you don't lead a team of your own, you may qualify as a function manager if you manage an essential function of the company.

How the switch works in practice is explained in From L-1A to EB-1C green card.

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8EB-1A: the green card for the top of your field

The EB-1A requires extraordinary ability in science, the arts, education, business or athletics, demonstrated by sustained national or international acclaim. You prove either a one-time major award or at least three of ten criteria: prizes, memberships with strict admission standards, published material about you, judging the work of others, contributions of major significance, scholarly articles, exhibitions, a leading role in distinguished organizations, a high salary, or commercial success in the performing arts.

USCIS reviews in two steps. First, the officer counts the criteria you meet. Then they weigh all the evidence together and ask whether you belong to the small group at the very top of the field. So meeting three criteria alone is not enough; the overall assessment is what decides.

The big advantage: you need no job offer and no employer. You file Form I-140 yourself and only have to show that you will continue working in your field.

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9EB-2 NIW: the green card in the national interest

The National Interest Waiver belongs to the second preference category. It requires a degree above the bachelor's level, or a bachelor's plus at least five years of progressive experience in the field. Alternatively, exceptional ability counts: expertise well above the ordinary in science, the arts or business, shown by at least three pieces of evidence such as degrees, ten years of experience, licenses, salary, memberships or recognition.

Normally the EB-2 requires a job offer and labor certification. With the NIW, the US waives both if three factors are met: your endeavor has substantial merit and national importance, you are well positioned to advance it, and on balance it benefits the US to waive the job offer and labor certification. You then file the petition yourself.

For entrepreneurs, this means the endeavor must have an impact beyond your own company. USCIS gives an example itself: simply opening a consulting firm for an important industry does not, on its own, show national importance. Which of the three qualification routes suits you is compared in EB-1A, NIW or O-1?

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10O-1: the visa for extraordinary ability

The O-1A is the temporary sister of the EB-1A, for science, education, business and athletics. Here too, sustained acclaim is what counts: a major international award or at least three of eight criteria, such as prizes, published material about you, judging the work of others, contributions of major significance, a critical role in distinguished organizations, or a high salary.

The O-1 has no self-petition. A US employer or US agent files the petition, together with a written advisory opinion from a peer group or an expert in your field. A separate, legally distinct US company of your own can file the petition for you. Approval is valid for up to three years, with extensions of up to one year at a time.

Two points set the O-1 apart from the L-1 and E-2: your spouse may not work on the O-3, only study. And a green card petition is no reason to deny the O-1. That makes the O-1 a good bridge to the EB-1A; more in O-1 visa or EB-1 green card?

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11B-1 and ESTA: business travel, not a work visa

Most European countries, including Norway, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, the UK, Ireland and the Netherlands, are part of the Visa Waiver Program. With an approved ESTA, you can enter without a visa for business or pleasure for up to 90 days. The B-1 is the visitor visa for business trips; on entry you are admitted for the time your plans require, up to one year, and can extend by up to six months at a time.

Both cover the same activities: negotiating contracts, advising business partners, attending conferences and trade fairs, litigating, doing your own research and taking orders for goods manufactured abroad. If you are looking for an investment, including for a later E-2, you may come on a B visa. What you may not do is productive work or actively run the company.

Your spouse does not get a visa through you but applies for their own B-2 visitor visa.

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12Sending employees to the USA: L-1, E employees or H-1B

Many entrepreneurs don't go alone. There are three routes for your team, and they differ a lot.

The L-1 covers any employee who has worked for your company abroad for one year and moves to the US company as a manager or specialist. If your US company holds an E-1 or E-2, E employees are an option: they need the same nationality as the company, which must be at least 50 percent owned by nationals of the treaty country, and they work in an executive role or with special qualifications essential to the business. Foreign languages and cultural knowledge alone are not enough.

The H-1B is the visa for degree-holding professionals, but it is capped: 65,000 new visas a year, plus 20,000 for graduates with a US master's degree. Who gets one is decided by a registration in March with a selection weighted by wage level. Why it rarely suits a transfer is explained in L-1 or H-1B for employees? The employment and social security side is covered in Sending employees to the USA.

13Family: what spouses and children may do

On every route, your spouse and unmarried children under 21 come with you. What they may do in the USA depends on the route.

With the L-1 they get the L-2; with the E-1 or E-2, a derivative E status. In both cases your spouse is authorized to work by virtue of their status; the proof is the I-94 with the code L-2S, E-1S or E-2S. They don't have to apply for a separate work permit, but they may. For the E visa, your family's nationality does not have to match yours.

With the O-1, spouses and children come as O-3. They may not work, but they may study. With the H-1B the family comes as H-4; the spouse may work only in certain cases, for example once the H-1B holder's green card process is underway.

With the green cards, your family is included: once your petition is approved, your spouse and children under 21 can receive the green card as derivative applicants and then work. If you have children close to their 21st birthday, factor that into your planning early.

14What the government charges

The table lists the government fees for each route, excluding attorney fees and the costs of formation, a business plan or translations. It follows the USCIS fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition of October 16, 2026) and the State Department's schedule of fees.

Three things stand out. First, for the E-1 and E-2 applied for from abroad you pay no USCIS fee, only the consular fee. Second, USCIS petitions almost always add the Asylum Program Fee, at half the amount for small employers and self-petitioners. Third, large employers pay more: if you have at least 50 employees in the USA and more than half of them hold H-1B or L-1 status, you pay an extra $4,500 per L-1 petition and $4,000 per H-1B petition, for petitions filed through September 30, 2027.

Premium Processing costs $2,965. In return, USCIS decides an I-129 within 15 business days, an EB-1A also within 15, and EB-1C and NIW within 45 business days. What our services cost is on the Services & Fees page.

15From visa to green card: sequences that work

Many routes start with a temporary visa and lead to a green card later. Three sequences have proven themselves.

• L-1A, then EB-1C. You build the US company on the L-1A. Once it has been in business for a year and your role remains executive, it files the EB-1C petition. The L-1 expressly allows this.
• O-1, then EB-1A. The criteria are similar and the evidence can be reused. If you hold the O-1, you have already done part of the work for the EB-1A.
• E-2, then NIW or EB-5. The E-2 gets you to the USA fast. The green card follows through your own qualifications or an investment. The sequence needs special care here, because the E-2 requires an intent to depart.

How long you wait for your green card after an approved petition is not up to any advisor. For all employment-based green cards combined, usually 140,000 visas are available each year. If demand in a category or for a country is higher, a queue forms; the State Department publishes the status every month in the Visa Bulletin, sorted by category, country and priority date. All routes to permanent residence are covered in Green card for entrepreneurs.

16The comparisons in detail

The most common decisions have their own pages. Each compares two or three routes point by point.

• E-1 or E-2? Trade or investment, and what happens if your company does both.
• EB-1A, NIW or O-1? The three routes based on your qualifications, with no investment.
• L-1 or H-1B for employees? A transfer with no lottery, or a professional with registration.
• US visa types at a glance: work, investment, business travel, sorted by the purpose of your trip.
• L-1 vs. E-2: the key differences and E-2 visa or EB-5 green card.

Only the US authorities decide on a visa. What is in your hands is the choice of route and the order. Settle both before you sign anything, and you form the right company, invest in the right business and file the application that fits your situation.

In short

• Entrepreneurs have nine routes: five temporary ones (L-1, E-2, E-1, O-1, B-1 and ESTA) and four green cards (EB-1C, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW, EB-5).
• If you have a company abroad that can transfer you, look at the L-1 first: dual intent, your spouse may work, and often the EB-1C later.
• Without such a company, you invest in your own US business through the E-2; the law sets no minimum amount.
• Without an investment, the O-1, EB-1A and EB-2 NIW take you to the USA on your qualifications; you file both green cards yourself.
• ESTA and B-1 cover business trips, but not work in the USA.

Frequently asked questions

Which US visa do I need as an entrepreneur?

It comes down to four questions: Is there a company abroad that can transfer you (L-1)? Are you investing in a US company yourself and running it (E-2)? Do you already trade with the USA on a large scale (E-1)? Or are you at the top of your field (O-1, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW)? If you only want to negotiate and meet partners, travel on ESTA or a B-1.

Is there an entrepreneur visa for the USA?

There is no visa by that name. For entrepreneurs, the main options are the L-1, the E-2 and the E-1, the O-1 for people of extraordinary ability, and as green cards the EB-1C, the EB-1A, the EB-2 NIW and the EB-5.

Is the L-1 better than the E-2?

If you meet the requirements, the L-1 is the faster and simpler route, with dual intent and the prospect of the EB-1C. The hurdle is a company abroad that transfers you and one year of employment there. Without both, the E-2 is the alternative.

Which visa lets my spouse work in the USA?

With the L-1 (status L-2S) and with the E-1 or E-2 (status E-1S or E-2S), your spouse is authorized to work by virtue of their status. With the O-1, a spouse on the O-3 may not work. With a green card, spouses and children may work.

Which green card can I apply for without an employer?

You file the EB-1A and the EB-2 NIW yourself, with no job offer and no employer. As an investor, you also file the EB-5 yourself. The EB-1C, by contrast, is filed for you by a US employer.

Can I form a company in the USA on ESTA?

On ESTA or a B-1 you may negotiate contracts, meet partners, attend conferences and look for an investment. You may not do productive work or actively run the company in this status. For that you need one of the visas on this page.

How we help you

• Visa RoadmapIn writing: which visa fits you and your family, prepared with the immigration attorney on the firm's team.
• Visa Roadmap for Company FormationFormation and visa in one plan, so the company carries the visa.
• Visa and Green Card ConsultationWhich route to the USA fits you, settled in one conversation.
• US Company FormationLLC, Inc or LP in Delaware, Florida, California, New York, Texas or Wyoming.
• Moving to the USAVisa, bank account, taxes and where to live: your move with Mount Bonnell Advisors.