The Dev is in the Details · 2026-04-22 · 51 min
Key moments - from our scoring
Substance score
64 / 100
Five dimensions, 20 points each
Expanding a technology or software business to the United States appears straightforward on paper - open an entity, hire people, begin operations - but founders consistently underestimate the layered complexity that emerges immediately. The episode features two specialists addressing this gap: Khensani Mathebula, a U.S. immigration attorney at Laura Devine Immigration, and Floor Bergshoeff from TABS Inc., which handles payroll, tax compliance, HR, benefits, and hiring for international companies entering the U.S. market.
The core issue is that the U.S. isn't one market but 50 separate regulatory jurisdictions, each with its own rules. More critically, immigration becomes the primary gatekeeper - founders cannot simply arrive and begin work. ESTA and B-1/B-2 visas allow limited business activities like investor meetings but explicitly prohibit productive work. Common visa pathways include the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa (requiring ~$100K minimum investment and treaty country status), L-1 intra-company transfers (requiring one year prior employment abroad), O-1 visas for extraordinary ability, and H-1B visas (subject to annual lottery and caps). Processing timelines range from five months (E-2) to nine-and-a-half months (O-1), even with premium processing adding only modest speed improvements. This timing mismatch - founders need people immediately, but visas take months - forces hard trade-offs between relocation strategy and local hiring. The conversation addresses how early immigration planning, proper corporate structure, and professional guidance prevent costly delays and legal violations (visa overstays trigger 3 - 10 year entry bans).
No. ESTA and B-1/B-2 visas allow only limited business activities like attending meetings or investor negotiations, but not productive work. Any work - including software installation, engineering, or business operations - requires a work visa with processing times of 5 - 9.5 months.
There is no fixed legal minimum, but in practice, USCIS applications carry high denial risk if less than approximately $100,000 is invested. Critically, the money must already be spent on startup costs (equipment, rent, marketing), not merely planned for investment.
Current processing times vary by visa type: E-2 (5 months for company registration alone, then individual visa processing), L-1 (6 months), O-1 (9.5 months), and H-1B (lottery-based, with start dates tied to October 1st). Premium processing ($2,805 - $2,965) reduces timelines to 3 - 4 months but is not guaranteed quick.
Visa overstay violations trigger severe penalties: overstaying less than one year triggers a three-year re-entry ban; overstaying more than one year triggers a 10-year re-entry ban.
The primary options are E-2 Treaty Investor (investment + treaty country status), L-1 intra-company transfer (requires one year prior work abroad), O-1 (extraordinary ability, high bar), and H-1B (annual lottery, fees, caps). H-1B is less common for founders due to cost and lottery risk.
Our reviewer’s read on each dimension, with quotes from the episode.
The episode is dense with operationally specific, actionable information: visa processing timelines, cost thresholds, employment liability shifts, sales-tax mechanics by zip code, and entity structure trade-offs for European founders. Filler is minimal and the host's follow-up questions reliably surface more concrete detail rather than letting answers stay vague.
if you overstay for less than a year when you leave, it triggers a three-year ban. If you overstay for more than a year, it triggers a 10-year ban.
it can be around $1,000 per person per month. It's typically more expensive in New York or California.
The episode is practical rather than original; most value comes from specificity, not contrarian framing. The most genuinely counterintuitive points - that European founders should choose a C-Corp not an LLC (opposite of most online advice), and that work visa eligibility and green card eligibility are entirely separate tracks - are presented without much fanfare but are genuinely non-obvious.
most of those articles, they're really written for American founders that set up a business in the US, and that's very different from international founders that come over to the US and set up a business there.
there are individuals who qualify for a green card and don't qualify for a work visa, and there are individuals who qualify for a work visa and don't qualify for a green card
Both guests are active practitioners handling these exact problems daily - an immigration attorney with current processing-time data and a US operations specialist with real client case experience - rather than generalist consultants or thought leaders. They are appropriately scoped to a narrow domain and credible within it, though neither is a marquee name.
we had one company, for example, a very practical example. They were already doing over 12 million in sales in the US, but they didn't register anywhere, they didn't file any sales tax
currently, so for the E2 treaty investor visa, which is processed at US Embasses, we're seeing that it takes approximately 90 business days, which is roughly five months
Unusually concrete throughout: exact current premium-processing fee ($2,805 rising to $2,965), visa processing durations by category, the $100K informal E-2 threshold, 13,000+ zip-code-based sales tax jurisdictions, a real client who hit $12M in US revenue without any registration, and named software tools (Avalara, TaxJar). This level of number-anchored specificity is well above average for a B2B advisory podcast.
for an additional fee of currently $2,805, but it will increase to $2,965 in March. USCIS would adjudicate a petition in 15 business days.
they were already doing over 12 million in sales in the US, but they didn't register anywhere, they didn't file any sales tax
The host generates useful concrete scenarios (software installation visit, European-American co-founder split, hackathon participation) that extract genuinely sharper answers than a generic question would, and he follows up naturally when he doesn't understand. However, he never pushes back on any claim, allows a few light promotional passages through unchallenged, and punctuates answers with filler affirmations ('Fantastic,' 'That's very cool') rather than probing deeper.
if I have a business in Europe and I come around to US to install software for one of my clients on their servers or something, or support them locally, and the intent is to stay there for a couple of weeks...Does that still require complex visa procedure
So let me try to hack this. So you're saying if I do this per bono or anything, that's fine.
Computed from the transcript - who did the talking, and the words that came up most.
► How to successfully expand your business to the U.S.? In the new episode of The Dev is in the Details , our guests, Khensani Mathebula from Laura Devine Immigration and Floor Bergshoeff from TABS Inc., share their expertise on the U.S. expansion process and highlight what leaders often underestimate. Although expanding into the U.S. may seem easy and fast, it gets more complex if not done right from the start. We discuss the differences between the European and American markets: business models, taxes, and hiring, and explain the immigration process and the complexities of the visa system. Khensani shares her in-depth knowledge of the U.S. immigration system and pinpoints what founders need to understand before starting a business. Floor explains the operational aspects of setting up an entity in the U.S. market or expanding from Europe. ► Our guests: Khensani Mathebula : a U.S. Immigration Attorney at Laura Devine Immigration , helping companies and individuals navigate complex visa and immigration processes. Khensani brings a highly specialised expertise to the table with a deep understanding of the legal entanglements, risks, and effective visa strategies for specific cases.
Transcribed and scored by The B2B Podcast Index.
1 - > Floor: What many founders underestimate is that you're not 2 - > just doing business in one market, but it's actually 50 3 - > different states, and all the states have its own rules and 4 - > regulations. 5 - > Khensani: I think it will come as no surprise that the 6 - > misalignment is usually timing. 7 - > But usually companies come to us with a particular start date 8 - > in mind. 9 - > They want someone in the US immediately.
10 - > The issue is that that particular employee may not be 11 - > eligible for any visa category. 12 - > It doesn't come down to if you're paid or not. 13 - > It really has to do with if you're doing productive work. 14 - > If you're an engineer, you could come and get information 15 - > about the software you'll be building, but you need to leave 16 - > before you actually build it.
17 - > Unless you have a work visa. 18 - > A very real consequence is, for example, if you overstay for 19 - > less than a year when you leave, it triggers a three-year ban. 20 - > If you overstay for more than a year, it triggers a 10-year 21 - > ban. 22 - > Lukasz: Expanding to the United States is exciting.
23 - > On paper, it looks manageable. 24 - > Open an entity, hire new people, start building your 25 - > presence. 26 - > Many founders quickly realise that the real complexity shows 27 - > up much sooner than expected. 28 - > Visas may take time, payroll and tax compliances are not that 29 - > straightforward.
30 - > Healthcare and employment rules work very differently to those 31 - > known from Europe. 32 - > I'm Lukasz Lazewski and this is The Dev is in the Details 33 - > Podcast. 34 - > It's about leadership and execution in the real world. 35 - > If you're a founder or a member of a leadership team 36 - > considering US expansion, today's conversation is for you.
37 - > Joining me today are Khensani Mathebula from Laura Divine 38 - > Immigration, a US immigration attorney advising companies on 39 - > visa strategy and legal risks, and Floor Bergshoeff from TABS 40 - > Inc., supporting international businesses with payroll, tax 41 - > compliance, HR, benefits, and hiring in the US. 42 - > Together we will discuss what founders tend to underestimate, 43 - > where expansions plans often go wrong, and how to approach the 44 - > US market with greater clarity and fewer surprises.
45 - > Ladies, welcome to the show. 46 - > Floor: Thanks for having us. 47 - > Khensani: Thank you for having us. 48 - > Lukasz: Fantastic.
49 - > So US expansion often looks simple from the outside. 50 - > Why does it become complex almost immediately once 51 - > companies start executing? 52 - > Floor: I think one of the things that we notice with companies 53 - > is that the US is, of course, a market with a lot of 54 - > opportunity, but it's indeed also definitely or can be a 55 - > complex market. 56 - > And I think what many founders underestimate is that you're not 57 - > just doing business in one market, but it's actually 50 58 - > different states, and all the states have its own rules and 59 - > regulations, and many things work very different per state.
60 - > So that's something if you're starting out that you really 61 - > have to understand and that you have to navigate. 62 - > Which is also why I think, especially in the beginning, 63 - > it's very important to work with people that have the local 64 - > knowledge and know exactly where you have to register and what 65 - > you have to do in every state. 66 - > Khensani: And on the US immigration side, US expansion 67 - > becomes complex quickly because US immigration is neither 68 - > intuitive nor fast.
69 - > Founders often assume they can relocate themselves or key hires 70 - > swiftly, but visa categories have strict eligibility rules 71 - > and fixed and often slow timelines. 72 - > And since federal agencies don't adjust for business needs, 73 - > immigration becomes an early gatekeeper. 74 - > And without advanced planning, it can easily disrupt a 75 - > business's expansion plans. 76 - > Lukasz: Fantastic.
77 - > You you've already answered my next question. 78 - > What is the biggest underestimate beyond product 79 - > and technology for the US market and entering US market? 80 - > So let's talk about the immigration reality, Khensani. 81 - > This is really interesting.
82 - > When companies start planning the expansion, usually this is a 83 - > secondary step or it's something that we will think 84 - > about later. 85 - > Why is that a risk, or where should that, you know, right 86 - > course of action for that should be? 87 - > Khensani: Yeah, so what I'll start with is founders often 88 - > underestimate one very basic reality, which is you cannot 89 - > simply come to the US and start working. 90 - > Before a founder or an employee is scheduled to begin 91 - > work in the United States, the critical question must be can 92 - > this person legally work in the US when we need them to?
93 - > Right. 94 - > And I should also start with the fact that traveling on ESTA 95 - > or on a B-1/B-2 visa does not give an individual work 96 - > authorization. 97 - > It allows you to do very limited business activities, 98 - > such as attending meetings or conferences, but not to do any 99 - > productive work. 100 - > Also, treating immigration as an afterthought is risky because 101 - > it can directly slow down or even block execution.
102 - > Founders often think of everything else first market 103 - > entry, fundraising, hiring, before asking the simple 104 - > anchored call question, as I said, can this person legally 105 - > work in the US when we need them to? 106 - > And so US immigration timelines are outside the company's 107 - > control, from visa processing to consular appointments. 108 - > And if immigration only becomes a consideration after 109 - > job offers are made or launch dates are set or flights are 110 - > booked, companies risk delays, lost opportunities, and 111 - > significant financial impact.
112 - > Lukasz: That sounds like a lot. 113 - > And is there like a list of what's allowed and what's not? 114 - > Like, for example, if I have a business in Europe and I come 115 - > around to US to install software for one of my clients on their 116 - > servers or something, or support them locally, and the intent is 117 - > to stay there for a couple of weeks, perform an installation, 118 - > look after it in production, how it runs, and maybe adjust and 119 - > fix errors, and then fly back.
120 - > Does that still require complex visa procedure or a different 121 - > approach? 122 - > Khensani: Yes. 123 - > It's interesting because your question brings up a specific 124 - > B-1/ B-2 visa that is an exception for installing 125 - > equipment. 126 - > But I think your broader question is if you come in for 127 - > just a few weeks and you want to do some work, do you need a 128 - > work visa?
129 - > And the answer is yes. 130 - > Yes, absolutely. 131 - > You definitely need one. 132 - > Lukasz: And what are the most common routes for obtaining visa 133 - > for founders when they expand to US?
134 - > Khensani: Sure, I'll go over the most common work visas for 135 - > founders. 136 - > The first would be the E-2 Treaty Investor Visa. 137 - > It's for founders from treaty countries who have invested in 138 - > the US and are going to direct a US business. 139 - > It's a great option, but it is limited by nationality.
140 - > Then there is the L-1 intra company transfer. 141 - > And this is for moving executives, managers, and 142 - > employees with specialized knowledge who have worked for a 143 - > foreign entity for at least one year. 144 - > And so you can transfer an employee to the US to work for 145 - > the US entity, but again, it requires that person to have 146 - > worked for the company abroad for one year. 147 - > Then there is the O-1 visa.
148 - > This is for individuals of extraordinary ability. 149 - > It can apply to business, tech, and science. 150 - > It requires the individual to have quite a lot of clout, such 151 - > as awards and press, often used for high-chubing founders and 152 - > key hires. 153 - > And then there is the H- 1B visa, but this is less common 154 - > for founders for a number of reasons.
155 - > There are annual caps for the H- 1B visa, which is why there's 156 - > a lottery process. 157 - > And this year, there will be a $100,000 application fee for 158 - > beneficiaries outside of the US. 159 - > So for many reasons, this is not a go-to option for founders. 160 - > Lukasz: When you say investment, the visa through investment, 161 - > how does that work exactly?
162 - > Is there an amount of money that is expected to be paid to 163 - > the business or some other, I don't know, real estate market 164 - > or something? 165 - > Khensani: For the ET visa, there isn't a specific amount. 166 - > In our in practice, we find that there is a high risk of 167 - > denial if at least $100,000 or approximately $100,000 isn't 168 - > spent. 169 - > But in terms of spending money, it must be, I think, the 170 - > critical piece.
171 - > There is it must be spent. 172 - > You can't be planning to invest. 173 - > You must have already invested the money in startup costs. 174 - > So that can be things like equipment, marketing, rent if 175 - > you pay for rent up front for a year, but generally speaking, 176 - > ongoing costs like salaries would not qualify.
177 - > Lukasz: I understand. 178 - > So when someone has an idea and starts off, immediately 179 - > realising that they should be in US market instead, maybe even 180 - > for sole reason of raising capital. 181 - > What's the timing and chicken-egg problem before not 182 - > having the money and willing to come to US with a great idea and 183 - > being open for investment versus, oh, I need to get the 184 - > seed round in here somehow to get that 100k or 200k before I 185 - > can move over?
186 - > Do you think there is some correlation or do people come 187 - > over on ESTA first to talk to investors and then they receive 188 - > founding and they start the Delaware company and then 189 - > continue with their journey? 190 - > What's your experience? 191 - > Khensani: Yeah, so usually individuals will come to the US 192 - > on ESTA or on a B-1/B-2 visa. 193 - > And as I said, that's fine for meetings.
194 - > So when it comes to negotiating and fundraising, that's fine. 195 - > The critical piece is when the individual needs to start 196 - > working for the company, you know. 197 - > And so at that stage, you need to have a work visa before your 198 - > first day of work. 199 - > And the processing times are typically very long.
200 - > And I'll just give you examples for the common visa type so you 201 - > have an idea. 202 - > But currently, so for the E2 treaty investor visa, which is 203 - > processed at US Embasses, we're seeing that it takes 204 - > approximately 90 business days, which is roughly five months, 205 - > just to register the company as an investor visa before you can 206 - > then go ahead and apply for the actual visa for each applicant. 207 - > For the L-1 intercompany transfer visa, exactly.
208 - > The current processing time is around six months. 209 - > For the O-1 visa, the current processing time is around nine 210 - > and a half months. 211 - > So you see, it isn't it isn't startup speed. 212 - > And then for the H-1B visa, since it's a lot lottery based, 213 - > the lottery happens in March of each year.
214 - > This year it will take place on March 4th to March 19th. 215 - > And then only if the registration is selected can the 216 - > employee actually file the petition for a work start date 217 - > of October 1st. 218 - > So it's not a matter of, you know, an individual being able 219 - > to start work in a few weeks. 220 - > However, and I should highlight that there is premium 221 - > processing.
222 - > So for an additional fee of currently $2,805, but it will 223 - > increase to $2,965 in March. 224 - > USCIS would adjudicate a petition in 15 business days. 225 - > But they can also issue a request for evidence. 226 - > So that is when they want more evidence before concluding 227 - > their adjudication, which would delay the process, you then need 228 - > to allow time to respond to the RFE and then the 15-day 229 - > restarts.
230 - > So I would say, you know, realistically, you're looking at 231 - > three to four months if you pay for premium processing, which 232 - > again isn't quick. 233 - > Lukasz: Wow. 234 - > And it's all the same no matter where we fly from in 235 - > Europe, right? 236 - > Or is there a chance that I don't know, British citizens get 237 - > some different treatment than I don't know, spyards?
238 - > Is that a thing? 239 - > Khensani: Well, the you know, ESTA allows certain countries 240 - > to travel to the US without a visa. 241 - > So that is special treatment that you don't have to apply for 242 - > B-1/B-2 tourist visa. 243 - > But when it comes to the actual work visas, no, there isn't any 244 - > special treatment.
245 - > You are subject to the standard processing times unless you pay 246 - > for premium processing, which as I said doesn't still take a 247 - > few months. 248 - > Lukasz: Got it, got it. 249 - > So what else should founders think about before hiring in US 250 - > or relocating someone in US? 251 - > Because there could be a benefit to actually go with 252 - > local hire, right?
253 - > Simply because of the amount of effort that it takes to move 254 - > someone there. 255 - > Khensani: I would say three key questions for founders to ask 256 - > would be firstly, what visa category realistically fits for 257 - > the role and for the individual? 258 - > So it really is a case-by-case basis. 259 - > The second one is does the company's corporate structure 260 - > should support that visa?
261 - > And lastly, what is the actual timeline to secure the visa? 262 - > So I think those are critical questions to ask. 263 - > And companies should seek out US immigration advice as soon as 264 - > possible because early planning ensures that they'll be able 265 - > to pursue the most appropriate visa strategy and would allow 266 - > sufficient time before the intended hire or relocation. 267 - > Lukasz: So if the leadership decides they want to go ahead 268 - > with this, what kind of support they can expect on the 269 - > market or from companies like what you do, right, with your 270 - > services versus what they can do internally with their own 271 - > operations team?
272 - > Khensani: So here at Laura Divine Immigration, we 273 - > specialize in both US and UK immigration. 274 - > And so we assist with the full process from filing the 275 - > petition to actually doing the visa applications. 276 - > So we assist from, I would say, when you even have the thought 277 - > that you want to start work in the US, you want someone to 278 - > start work in the US, that would be the time for you to reach 279 - > out to us so that we can get more information about what the 280 - > role is, what the individual's qualifications are, what visa 281 - > would be the most appropriate.
282 - > And then we would assist with the full process. 283 - > And you know, you absolutely could do it yourself, but US 284 - > immigration is quite complicated, right? 285 - > And making a mistake would delay an already long process. 286 - > So for those reasons, I would say getting US immigration 287 - > advice is definitely recommended.
288 - > Lukasz: And now switching to operational reality to you, 289 - > Floor. 290 - > Once immigration is in motion, founders often assume the rest 291 - > is administrative, right? 292 - > What does the reality look like? 293 - > Why is it different?
294 - > Floor: I definitely think that immigration is indeed a huge 295 - > part of it. 296 - > Like Khensani was also saying, we get that a lot that companies 297 - > underestimate the timelines and that they're coming to us and 298 - > that they have an employee that they want to send over, and they 299 - > expect that the employee can start within two months, but 300 - > they don't have anything set up yet. 301 - > So, yeah, that's often when we have to kind of do some 302 - > expectation management.
303 - > Like it can take very long for a visa, and before you can even 304 - > apply, you need to set up your structure. 305 - > So I think immigration has a huge impact on the timeline 306 - > because if you're not applying for a visa, it's very easy to 307 - > set up in the US. 308 - > It only takes a couple of days to set up an entity, tax ID, we 309 - > can apply for it within a day. 310 - > Bank account only takes three weeks.
311 - > So, in general, setting up a business in the US is quite 312 - > fast. 313 - > Yeah, definitely what we notice when we do this for companies 314 - > is that they find the banking system quite outdated. 315 - > In the US, they still work a lot with checks, and it kind of 316 - > feels like with banking in the US, you go back 10 years in 317 - > time. 318 - > So that's a comment that we often get during the setup.
319 - > But yeah, it is quite easy to set up a business in the US. 320 - > Lukasz: And have you met examples where someone would set 321 - > up a business in the US and continue their operations from 322 - > Europe? 323 - > Just keep the business operational in the US for sales 324 - > purposes and maybe even to pay people in Europe through it. 325 - > Is that something easy to do?
326 - > Floor: Yeah, we see that a lot, but yeah, what we often 327 - > recommend is that if you set up a US entity, that you use that 328 - > entity for the business that you have in the US, because that US 329 - > entity at least then you have all the risk in the US entity 330 - > and you protect your European entity from having and creating 331 - > any exposure in the US. 332 - > And that's also kind of a common mistake that we see 333 - > companies make, is that they wait very long with setting up a 334 - > US entity and they keep doing business with the European 335 - > entity because they feel like if they do business with the 336 - > European entity, they don't have any tax obligations, or they 337 - > don't need to register an estate, or they don't have to 338 - > file any taxes since they don't have a US entity, but you 339 - > create the same kind of exposure with your US entity versus your 340 - > European entity.
341 - > So yeah, we really recommend to really stay on top of okay, 342 - > what are your sales per state, what are your activities, are 343 - > you creating Nexus anywhere? 344 - > Do I need to register or file taxes anywhere? 345 - > And if so, maybe it's time to set up that US entity and do so 346 - > from a US entity. 347 - > Lukasz: Got it.
348 - > Floor: And that's also very important, for example, if 349 - > you're going to hire employees in the US. 350 - > There, we also always say do that via your US entity, don't 351 - > become an employer with your foreign entity in the US because 352 - > employment liability is now a huge thing, and you definitely 353 - > don't want to take that risk with your foreign entity that 354 - > has all your assets. 355 - > Lukasz: Help me understand because in Europe we can have 356 - > like a full-time employment or we can have a freelance 357 - > employment, right?
358 - > And then in one case, employer takes care of all the well, 359 - > social welfare and health insurance, and in other case 360 - > the employee is taking care of that themselves. 361 - > Is that model does that model transfer to US as well? 362 - > The expectation of local workforce to have one or the 363 - > other or choose between them? 364 - > Floor: Yeah, that's kind of similar because in the US you 365 - > can also need to have the employee or you can work with 366 - > independent contractors, and then you were it's either on a 367 - > W-2 for employment and 1099 for independent contractors.
368 - > But in many European countries they're becoming more strict 369 - > when working with independent contractors, that you need to 370 - > make sure that it cannot be seen as an employer-employee 371 - > relationship, and the same is happening in the US. 372 - > So, yeah, more and more states are becoming more strict when it 373 - > comes to that, and that you really need to be able to show 374 - > that it is a freelancer and not actually an employee. 375 - > Lukasz: Oh, yeah, that's ongoing discussion here in 376 - > Europe as well with a lot of countries and yeah, geographies.
377 - > It sounded like there's a lot of complexity there. 378 - > Like I can step on a landline, right, called like, oh, I'm 379 - > liable in Texas or I'm liable in New York. 380 - > How do you help someone navigate this? 381 - > Like, what's the how would I even know or what kind of 382 - > questions I could ask to you to find out that I have this kind 383 - > of exposure?
384 - > Floor: I think it's very important to work with local 385 - > experts that know exactly what you need to do in every state. 386 - > Because yeah, we often have conversations with companies and 387 - > then really go over the business that they have in each 388 - > state. 389 - > So if they have a physical presence in a state by 390 - > warehousing, having an office or employees, it means that you 391 - > have to register for an authority in that state. 392 - > But it can also be that you don't have a physical presence, 393 - > that you're doing sales in different states, and then your 394 - > sales exceed a certain threshold, meaning you need to 395 - > register for sales tax in a state.
396 - > Or indeed, if you're going to hire in different states, then 397 - > you need to register as an employer in that state and uh 398 - > get tax ID numbers, set up workers' conversations. 399 - > So yeah, I think it's important to really work with advisors 400 - > there that can help you set up correctly. 401 - > And then once you're set up, I think it's easier from there to 402 - > maintain. 403 - > So, especially in the beginning, I would say there are 404 - > more conversations that need to happen.
405 - > Um, also for benefits, if you're going to hire benefits 406 - > work very differently in the US. 407 - > So you need to understand okay, what is available, what can I 408 - > offer, what do I want to offer, how does that work? 409 - > But then once it's set up, it's easier to add additional 410 - > employees to the existing benefit package. 411 - > Lukasz: Can you speak a bit more about the benefits?
412 - > Like if we if it when it comes to hiring, how much of the 413 - > current knowledge of a founder in Europe can be transferred 414 - > directly to the US for building their team over there? 415 - > Floor: Yeah, that's a good one. 416 - > I would definitely say I think it's better to kind of start 417 - > from scratch and really see it as a new market. 418 - > Because what we often see is that when companies want to hire 419 - > in the US, that they really focus on the recruitment process 420 - > and finding the right candidate, and then they found a 421 - > candidate that they want to make an offer to, and then they 422 - > come to us and they're like, Oh, we need your help, we need to 423 - > create a job offer.
424 - > But it's very hard in one day to go over that whole benefit 425 - > process and know what a company can offer. 426 - > You really need a few weeks to prepare for that, and then we've 427 - > seen it with companies that they had a great candidate, but 428 - > then they're not able to make an offer quickly, and then they 429 - > lose the candidate because they went with another offer, and 430 - > that's such a shame. 431 - > So I always tell companies like, please already start a 432 - > couple of weeks in advance with having these conversations so 433 - > that you know this is what we can offer, this is what we want 434 - > to offer.
435 - > If there are any gaps, like how can we fix that? 436 - > I think still, yeah, we see it too often. 437 - > Companies think that they can just copy and paste exactly what 438 - > they have in Europe to the US, and that just yes, it's very 439 - > difficult and it doesn't really work like that. 440 - > Yeah, also for, for example, vacation, sick leave, it's 441 - > different per state, what you can offer.
442 - > So in many of these conversations, also the first 443 - > question is okay, where are you planning to hire? 444 - > In which states? 445 - > Lukasz: I'm surprised that it's so different state by state. 446 - > You know, from Europe, I look at the US as a single unified 447 - > market, but it seems like each state has its own, well, ways 448 - > of doing things, right?
449 - > Including labor law. 450 - > Is that is that the thing? 451 - > Like each state has its own labor law or is it at the 452 - > federal level? 453 - > Floor: No, that's indeed per state.
454 - > And that's also why, for example, a job offer is created 455 - > based off the state where you're going to hire. 456 - > So it's either a New York job offer or Florida job offer. 457 - > Lukasz: Oh, no matter where the company is. 458 - > Fascinating.
459 - > When you talk about benefits, what kind of like in Europe we 460 - > have a base salary for some roles, we would have commission, 461 - > and there is social welfare, health insurance. 462 - > Is there anything else? 463 - > Like, is there some extras or perks that we don't think of in 464 - > Europe that you would have to provide to employees in the US? 465 - > Floor: So, what we see is that health benefits, being able to 466 - > offer health insurance is definitely the benefit that's 467 - > most important to many candidates.
468 - > But it's also something that's not always easy to offer, 469 - > especially if you're a company that's just starting out. 470 - > So small in general, small organizations, and you're a 471 - > small organization, if you have less than 50 people, then you're 472 - > not it's not mandatory to offer health benefits. 473 - > But yeah, in many cases, it would be a deal breaker for the 474 - > candidate if you don't offer it. 475 - > But you cannot offer it to just the first employee.
476 - > You need to have at least two participating employees. 477 - > So before you promise anything to the candidate or that you add 478 - > anything to an email, it's very important to check first if 479 - > it's possible to set up a health benefits plan. 480 - > We definitely see with our clients that the cost can 481 - > definitely be shocking. 482 - > Also, the cost of health insurance depends on the state 483 - > where either the company is based or the majority of the 484 - > employees are based.
485 - > But you yeah, it can be around $1,000 per person per month. 486 - > It's typically more expensive in New York or California. 487 - > But what we also see is because a lot of the clients that are 488 - > hiring, of course, they don't have a huge reputation yet in 489 - > the US. 490 - > They're a newly starting company in the US.
491 - > So you really have to promote yourself to the company and you 492 - > have to show what maybe any other perks are that you can 493 - > offer. 494 - > We see that a lot of candidates find it really exciting to work 495 - > for, for example, a London-based company, and that 496 - > as part of the package, they have to be in London once every 497 - > six weeks, they have to go there for two months for training in 498 - > the beginning, and they find it exciting to work as such an 499 - > international environment.
500 - > We also see many of our clients, well, as you probably 501 - > know, in Europe we tend to have more vacation days compared to 502 - > the US. 503 - > So we typically see that a lot of our European clients offer a 504 - > bit more vacation days to the US employees to kind of make up 505 - > for maybe the healthcare benefits package to be less 506 - > good. 507 - > So I think you need to look at your overall offer to the 508 - > candidate and make sure that that's as attractive as 509 - > possible.
510 - > Lukasz: Thank you for sharing this. 511 - > I was very curious about the costs because in Europe, when we 512 - > hire, we can easily assume 20-25% on top for all the 513 - > additional social welfare and health benefits. 514 - > And they're usually defined by local government, by the local 515 - > country government, which is not like we can't choose from 516 - > private providers most of the time. 517 - > But over there, it's a choice, right?
518 - > We can offer specific dental care and include or exclude 519 - > family members, right? 520 - > For various employees. 521 - > So it's like you can compose a competitive package. 522 - > Floor: Yeah, and in general, the employer cost in the US is less 523 - > compared to Europe, but yeah, the healthcare benefits on 524 - > salaries are way higher.
525 - > So in the end, you still tend to pay more for talent. 526 - > Lukasz: Yeah, makes sense, yeah. 527 - > Is there anything in compliance area that we should be aware 528 - > of? 529 - > Like I know we have GDPR.
530 - > Now a lot of US states are introducing some similar 531 - > legislation, but would there be any other surprises in the term 532 - > of like I move my operations there tomorrow? 533 - > Let's say we have our visas properly structured or we hire 534 - > over there locally. 535 - > Is there any other way that we would need to get first sorted 536 - > before we can accept payments, for example, assuming we have a 537 - > bank account already? 538 - > I think it's very important to look at the right structure 539 - > setup.
540 - > And yeah, as I said, setting up a business, it's definitely not 541 - > difficult, but you need to do it right. 542 - > And we also notice that we talked to a lot of companies 543 - > that start with Google and then they Google entity types US or 544 - > best entity structure US, and then they often end up going for 545 - > an LLC. 546 - > But most of those articles, they're really written for 547 - > American founders that set up a business in the US, and that's 548 - > very different from international founders that come 549 - > over to the US and set up a business there.
550 - > So yeah, I think it's very important to make sure that you 551 - > set up the right structure and in order to protect you from a 552 - > tax perspective, but also a liability perspective to really 553 - > protect the foreign parent that you have. 554 - > Lukasz: And can this be fixed later if I have LLC and I want 555 - > to move it to be inc. 556 - > or vice versa? 557 - > Floor: Yeah, it can be fixed later.
558 - > So what we do a lot is that because you can, if you set up 559 - > an LLC, you can do you call it a check the box to have it 560 - > classified as a corporation for tax purposes. 561 - > So that's something that we do a lot for companies, yeah. 562 - > Lukasz: So it isn't really much of a hassle expect for when it 563 - > comes to potential taxation, right? 564 - > Because I would presume that the difference is mainly who and 565 - > how is liable to taxation, right?
566 - > Either in US or in Europe or both at the same time, 567 - > depending on the treaties, I guess. 568 - > Floor: Yeah, because and yeah, for many Americans they prefer 569 - > an LLC because then you avoid double taxation. 570 - > An LLC is transparent for tax purposes. 571 - > But for many European founders, it can be better to 572 - > set up a C corporation.
573 - > A C corporation is responsible for its own tax filing, and 574 - > thereby you protect your foreign entity better, you keep the 575 - > foreign entity out of the US, and the US entity is the entity 576 - > that does the tax filing in the US. 577 - > And then you're right that you don't have double taxation 578 - > because many countries have the tax treaty with the US, so you 579 - > either pay your taxes in the US or in Europe. 580 - > So the typical setup for a European company setting up 581 - > subsidiary in the US is indeed setting up a Delaware C 582 - > corporation.
583 - > There can be differences to this scenario. 584 - > So, for example, if you work with local partners, then you 585 - > often set up a joint venture LLC, or if you're going to have 586 - > a physical location or certain projects, you may set up 587 - > different LLCs per project. 588 - > But yeah, the general setup is a Delaware C Corp. 589 - > Lukasz: Thank you for this.
590 - > Let's switch to where things bring apart, right? 591 - > So if now those are questions to both of you. 592 - > Please feel free to jump in, Khensani at any point. 593 - > What are the most often misalignments, most frequent 594 - > misalignments between immigration, HR, and business 595 - > in the timelines?
596 - > Let's start with that. 597 - > Khensani: On our side, I think it will come as no surprise that 598 - > the misalignment is usually timing. 599 - > That usually companies come to us with a particular start date 600 - > in mind. 601 - > They want someone in the US immediately to hit a launch 602 - > milestone or close a deal.
603 - > And they've already issued an offer, for example. 604 - > And so as a result, well, I would say the issue is that that 605 - > particular employee may not be eligible for any visa category. 606 - > That's a possibility. 607 - > And then if they are, the processing time is generally so 608 - > long that the start date they have in mind is simply not 609 - > possible.
610 - > But of course, we do everything that we can to move things 611 - > along as as quickly as possible. 612 - > Floor: I definitely agree with that. 613 - > I think it's really indeed the timeline. 614 - > So either a company comes to us and they want to send someone 615 - > over on a visa and the person needs to start soon, where a 616 - > timeline is an issue.
617 - > But we also have it a lot with just hiring US employees in the 618 - > US that they come to us and they let us know that also in 619 - > many cases the person already started a week ago and then the 620 - > payroll isn't set up yet, the registrations haven't been done, 621 - > so then we need to act very quickly. 622 - > And we are able to do that. 623 - > So, I mean, we can definitely fix that and then maybe start 624 - > with an advanced payment for the first payroll and then just set 625 - > it up as soon as possible.
626 - > But of course, yeah, ideally it would be great to at least have 627 - > three weeks to set everything up from the start. 628 - > Lukasz: So, on that last one, does it mean like you act 629 - > yourselves as an employee of record of some sort, or you do 630 - > it with checks in advance on the behalf of the organisation 631 - > from Europe that just launches in the US? 632 - > Floor: We can act as an employer of record, so that's definitely 633 - > a possibility and also something that we sometimes do 634 - > if a company needs to have a US employee, but they don't 635 - > necessarily need to already have the US entity.
636 - > But if we need to set up the payroll in a rush and the 637 - > company doesn't have a bank account yet, then they can also, 638 - > as an exception, wire the money. 639 - > And then once a bank account is set up, the bank account will 640 - > be added to the payroll software, and then from then it 641 - > will be automatically withdrawn from the bank account. 642 - > Lukasz: How about the case that just crossed my mind? 643 - > So there's a technical individual very skilled, with 644 - > AI skills and everything, and he's out of Central Europe, and 645 - > there is an American business-oriented person, they 646 - > join forces and they start the business together.
647 - > Now, the entity is in Delaware, and out of Delaware can pay to 648 - > Europe. 649 - > I guess it does that. 650 - > But then for demonstrations or installations or everything, 651 - > when they join forces, you know, flying over to New York, 652 - > that individual from Europe to New York to run presentations, I 653 - > guess that's just meetings, right? 654 - > Khensani, so they can do that with on just ESTA.
655 - > But where does it become like a risk? 656 - > Khensani: Well, okay, so for US immigration, there may be a 657 - > couple of options for this person, assuming that they want 658 - > to work in the US, right? 659 - > And it may not be full-time, it as long as it goes beyond just 660 - > meetings, right? 661 - > As soon as they do anything that they would ordinarily be 662 - > paid for, they should have a work visa.
663 - > So if they are an executive or a manager or an individual of 664 - > specialized knowledge, we'd be looking at the L-1 transfer 665 - > visa, provided they've been working abroad from the same 666 - > company. 667 - > So we'd be looking at transferring them on an L-1. 668 - > So that's a three-year visa initially that can be extended 669 - > up to seven years for managers and executives, up to five years 670 - > for individuals of specialized knowledge. 671 - > If the company, and I did want to highlight the E-2 investor 672 - > visa option, especially for European countries, it is an 673 - > incredible route.
674 - > It requires that the company is majority owned by treaty 675 - > nationals. 676 - > So E-2 visas are they are based on treaties that the US 677 - > has with particular countries. 678 - > So in your scenario, if the individual from the European 679 - > country actually owns the majority of the per of the 680 - > shares, so it just needs to be majority owned by treaty 681 - > nationals. 682 - > That means that once the company is registered as an 683 - > investor company and that involves making the investment 684 - > and can take approximately five months through the embassy 685 - > before we can apply for a visa, it's a process, but it's great 686 - > because, for example, individual UK nationals get five-year 687 - > visas, and also these visas are renewable indefinitely, unlike 688 - > other visa types where there's a max, there's a maximum number 689 - > of years that you can extend the visas up until versus with the 690 - > E-2, as I said, five-year visas for the UK, renewable 691 - > indefinitely, they're issued in different lands for different 692 - > countries.
693 - > Also, the benefit of that is you can then send other 694 - > employees as the company grows, you can then send other 695 - > employees over on an E-2 visa as long as they have the same 696 - > nationality. 697 - > And at that point, once the company is already registered, 698 - > it's actually quite quick. 699 - > So this is kind of the exception you were hoping for 700 - > for European countries. 701 - > Lukasz: Yes.
702 - > Khensani: If the company has been registered as an investor 703 - > company, then it really is just about interview availability at 704 - > the embassy because each applicant can just submit their 705 - > application after your interview. 706 - > So that takes just a few weeks. 707 - > But as I said, on the front end, it takes about five months 708 - > for processing, and that isn't that doesn't include actually 709 - > spending the money and us preparing the application where 710 - > we have to show the money has been spent with evidence like 711 - > receipts and bank statements.
712 - > We have to provide a business plan with financial projections 713 - > and hiring projections. 714 - > But once you've done all of that on the front end, then it 715 - > is actually quite a great pipeline to send employees quite 716 - > swiftly to the US. 717 - > I know I kind of expanded on your hypothetical, but I hope 718 - > that was helpful. 719 - > Lukasz: Yes, very good.
720 - > Thank you. 721 - > Khensani: Sure. 722 - > Lukasz: That's very cool. 723 - > And this applies even to hackathons, right?
724 - > Because I wonder if hackathon is considered work or not if 725 - > someone flies over for on you know Friday night to New York, 726 - > participates in a hackathon on Saturday, and flies back on 727 - > Sunday evening. 728 - > Khensani: No, I think well, a hackathon, so I assume they 729 - > wouldn't be paid. 730 - > It's more of kind of a conference, I think. 731 - > It would be aligned.
732 - > Lukasz: Okay. 733 - > So that's the caveat. 734 - > Khensani: I may need to check for you. 735 - > I guess.
736 - > Lukasz: No, no, it's fine. 737 - > Khensani: I don't know what the hackathon involves. 738 - > If you're a judge and you'll be paid, you need a work visa, 739 - > right? 740 - > So it depends on how you'll be participating.
741 - > Lukasz: So let me try to hack this. 742 - > So you're saying if I do this per bono or anything, that's 743 - > fine. 744 - > Khensani: No, that's not what I'm saying. 745 - > It doesn't come down to if you're paid or not.
746 - > Unfortunately, it's but it's a bit of a gray area. 747 - > It really has to do with if you're doing productive work. 748 - > We always advise people to be quite conservative. 749 - > Like anything that would be considered work in their 750 - > industry, go ahead and get the work visa first.
751 - > Lukasz: Yeah, of course. 752 - > Of course. 753 - > Khensani: Here's a nice example, I think. 754 - > So for seamstress, for example, they could come to the US, they 755 - > could do measurements, but then if they wanted to actually 756 - > work, so they need a work visa if they're going to do that.
757 - > Yeah, they should leave and do the work elsewhere. 758 - > If you're an engineer, you could come and get information 759 - > about the software you'll be building, but you need to leave 760 - > before you actually build it, unless you have a work visa. 761 - > Lukasz: That's a very concrete example. 762 - > Thank you.
763 - > Khensani: Yeah, great. 764 - > Lukasz: That's fantastic. 765 - > That's yeah, that's fantastic. 766 - > Because you see, what I tend to happen a lot is young 767 - > engineers would work for free simply fueled by their passion, 768 - > and then the word reward comes in equity later, right?
769 - > I mean by later I mean like three to six months down the 770 - > line when they launch the product, right? 771 - > And the question is then what is work? 772 - > But you just yeah, you just confirmed for me that this isn't 773 - > working like that. 774 - > What would be the most common real-world mistake you see 775 - > repeatedly among your you know, customers or past customers, or 776 - > who what people come to you with, like anonymously, of 777 - > course?
778 - > Floor: I think one thing that we're seeing a lot is, and I 779 - > already discussed it a little bit that people indeed do 780 - > business for too long with their foreign entity. 781 - > So yeah, we often have C companies that are already. 782 - > We had one company, for example, a very practical 783 - > example. 784 - > They were already doing over 12 million in sales in the US, but 785 - > they didn't register anywhere, they didn't file any sales tax, 786 - > and then in the end, we had to help them with a voluntary 787 - > disclosure project to go back to all these states and still do 788 - > all your sales tax filings.
789 - > And that's what we see happen more often that companies don't 790 - > realize that they have created a sales tax exposure, even with 791 - > their foreign entity. 792 - > So, and that's also something that we can, for example, help 793 - > with to do a check and a review based on your sales per state to 794 - > determine do you already have any sales tax exposure? 795 - > And is there anything that you need to do in a certain state? 796 - > Lukasz: Oh, brilliant.
797 - > But just a quick follow-up question: does it apply to B2B 798 - > or B2C only? 799 - > The sales tax exposure in the US? 800 - > Floor: Well, it depends on if you sell to the end customer. 801 - > So it only applies in the last part of the supply chain.
802 - > If you sell to an individual or a company that's using your 803 - > product, then sales tax is applicable. 804 - > If they resell it, then they are responsible for the sales 805 - > tax. 806 - > But there are, I mean, in general, sales tax is very 807 - > complicated in the US. 808 - > It's very different from VAT, and there are many exceptions 809 - > and many differences.
810 - > Also, when it comes to software, for example in many 811 - > states, SaaS is seen as a product and is sales taxable. 812 - > But if it's customizable software, then in many cases 813 - > it's not sales taxable. 814 - > So, yeah, also definitely there. 815 - > It's something that you really have to check based on your 816 - > business model and the states where you're selling to.
817 - > Lukasz: Wow, that's probably one of the biggest surprises over 818 - > this entire recording for me, how complicated that bit is. 819 - > Because I thought it's like, okay, B2C, you pay where your 820 - > customers are, B2B, you don't pay because it's the reverse 821 - > tax, which I thought works everywhere the same, but really 822 - > not. 823 - > Floor: Yeah, and also another example of sales tax is based on 824 - > the zip code, so there are over 13,000 different sales tax 825 - > percentages.
826 - > So yeah, no, it's definitely a different beast. 827 - > Yeah. 828 - > Lukasz: Oh wow. 829 - > I thought we had to complicate it in Europe with 830 - > some like SAMS, you know, different rates for food, warm 831 - > food and cold food have different VAT rates, and I 832 - > thought this was ridiculous.
833 - > Well, okay, no, but it's they're grouped somehow, right? 834 - > I mean it it can be that there's like or the rates are 835 - > the same basically. 836 - > Floor: And the rates are different for a zip code, but 837 - > also here, I definitely want to say that it's mostly you need to 838 - > make sure that you set it up correctly, but then once you're 839 - > set up, it's so much easier to maintain. 840 - > And there are also a lot of different softwares like an 841 - > Avalara or a Tax Jar that then, based on the checkout, call 842 - > calculate the right sales tax percentage.
843 - > So there are definitely tools that can help you to manage this 844 - > efficiently. 845 - > Lukasz: And to send it back to the corresponding zip code area 846 - > or I don't know, state tax office as well, right? 847 - > Or for the sales tax I mean. 848 - > Floor: Yeah, yeah.
849 - > Okay. 850 - > Lukasz: I could imagine this is pretty automatic these days. 851 - > Floor: Yeah. 852 - > Lukasz: All right.
853 - > And what would that mistake be for companies in terms of 854 - > immigration, Khensani? 855 - > Khensani: It's a less a specific mistake, more about I think the 856 - > fact that the system is so slow that clients get impatient. 857 - > And you know, even near the end, for example, they'll book 858 - > flights before their visa interviews, despite our advice 859 - > not to do that. 860 - > And so they attend their interview, and this is just 861 - > practical matter.
862 - > Once it's approved, you leave your passport at the embassy, 863 - > and the embassy returns it to you in five to ten business 864 - > days. 865 - > And so if you booked a flight, you may not have your passport 866 - > back in time, right? 867 - > For the flight. 868 - > So it's small things like that that can create a lot of 869 - > stress, which is why careful timing really matters.
870 - > Lukasz: Most visible consequence for mistakes in this field is 871 - > it just time loss? 872 - > Is it like can you get the ban, you know, or can you like 873 - > really suffer long-term consequences from these mistakes 874 - > beyond like I don't know, paying extra for settling your 875 - > taxes and figuring things out? 876 - > What's the actual worst case scenario for paying for that 877 - > lesson? 878 - > Floor: What we see with hiring is yeah, of course, it's 879 - > important to set everything up correctly.
880 - > And if you're not set up, you can have penalties. 881 - > So you need to make sure that you set up workers' 882 - > conversation, that you're registered in the state, but I 883 - > think most importantly, and that's different now compared to 884 - > a few years ago, because a few years ago we were talking to 885 - > companies that were all afraid about product liability and 886 - > getting sued because someone was harmed by their product, but 887 - > nowadays it has shifted more to employment liability.
888 - > So in the hiring process, you really want to make sure that 889 - > you do everything correctly, and that if for some reason it 890 - > doesn't work out with an employee, that yeah, you are 891 - > protected, and then that they cannot sue you for 892 - > discrimination, for example, because yeah, unfortunately, 893 - > that happens sometimes in the US that employees will try that. 894 - > So I think that's very important, and that's also one 895 - > of the main reasons why it's important to hire with your US 896 - > entity and not with your foreign entity, but also to be very 897 - > mindful about documenting everything and being compliant 898 - > and making sure that you don't make any mistakes there.
899 - > Khensani: On the US immigration side, you know, if you don't 900 - > honor the terms of your ESTA or visa for ESTA, you can lose 901 - > your ESTA. 902 - > And also, you know, it's not just getting you into the 903 - > country on the appropriate visa, but you also have to extend 904 - > your visa in time, right? 905 - > To make sure that you are never out of status. 906 - > And a very real consequence is, for example, if you overstay 907 - > for less than a year when you leave, it triggers a three-year 908 - > ban.
909 - > If you overstay for more than a year, it triggers a 10-year 910 - > ban. 911 - > Lukasz: Wow. 912 - > Khensani: Right? 913 - > So those are real consequences.
914 - > But even outside of overstaying, if you just if you 915 - > don't honor the terms of your particular visa, and many of 916 - > these visas only enable the individual to work for the 917 - > particular company that has petitioned for the visa. 918 - > So they you would, for example, on E-2, on L-1, you can only 919 - > work for the petitioning company. 920 - > You cannot work for yourself and you cannot work for any 921 - > other company. 922 - > So it's really, you really have to understand what the visa 923 - > type will allow you to do and definitely work pursuant to the 924 - > terms of your visa.
925 - > Otherwise, it can have real implications for your next visa 926 - > application or green card application. 927 - > Lukasz: Quickly on that, that's actually I missed that before. 928 - > Is it a huge process? 929 - > Like if we refresh visa multiple times for an individual 930 - > or for a founder, but they're staying in the US constantly 931 - > over the course of five, six, seven years, then the green card 932 - > is a natural thing that happens, or is it an extra 933 - > effort, extra process that has to happen in peril?
934 - > Khensani: Oh no, no, no. 935 - > Unfortunately, it's not intuitive like that. 936 - > US immigration, it's quite kind of a two-fold process. 937 - > There are non-immigrant visas, and then of course there are 938 - > immigrant visas, you know, for permanent state.
939 - > There are individuals who qualify for a green card and 940 - > don't qualify for a work visa, and there are individuals who 941 - > qualify for a work visa and don't qualify for a green card, 942 - > which is what, yes, right, counterintuitive. 943 - > And this is why getting US immigration advice is so 944 - > important, because often our role is to strategize both for 945 - > the immediate temporary work visa, but also for the long-term 946 - > green card. 947 - > And so we would apply for the most appropriate one, and 948 - > usually we do so in tandem if you qualify for both.
949 - > Yeah, but it's a long process. 950 - > EB-1 categories are not subject to perm, which is a 951 - > labor condition basically test for basically the employer has 952 - > to show that there are no equally qualified US citizens 953 - > for the role. 954 - > That is a very long process that applies to those green 955 - > cards, EB-2 and EB-3. 956 - > But for EB-1 priority green cards, you don't have to go 957 - > through that process.
958 - > So that makes it quicker. 959 - > And there are three categories. 960 - > So the first is for individuals of extraordinary ability, the 961 - > second is for multi-level managers and executives, and the 962 - > third is for professors and researchers. 963 - > And so you'd have to meet the eligibility requirements for one 964 - > of those categories in order to pursue one of those green card 965 - > options.
966 - > Lukasz: And in no way choosing one particular path through visa 967 - > application shuts the door to green card, or is it not 968 - > related? 969 - > Because that's the last bit of the counterintuitiveness that I 970 - > didn't get. 971 - > Khensani: No, I'm not trying to go through every single 972 - > scenario. 973 - > No, generally not.
974 - > But they are separate things. 975 - > You know, you have to meet the eligibility requirements for 976 - > the particular work visa and then meet the eligibility 977 - > requirements for the green card. 978 - > Unlike UK immigration, where you enter on the work visa, and 979 - > then over a certain amount of time you are eligible for you 980 - > know permanent residency, it isn't a given in US 981 - > immigration. 982 - > Lukasz: Okay, fantastic.
983 - > Thank you. 984 - > Thank you for the detailed explanation. 985 - > Really, really great to understand that actually. 986 - > Super.
987 - > So my last question to both of you today is among you know 988 - > startups, early stage startups, scale-ups, or you know, 989 - > well-oiled working organizations of hundreds and maybe thousands 990 - > of employees, which one of these would benefit most of the 991 - > conversation when they plan to enter US market, of course? 992 - > Floor: I think, yeah, both of them, but we definitely see that 993 - > it's of course an expensive market. 994 - > So I think if we look at our clients at our early stage 995 - > startups, it's very important to determine whether you have the 996 - > budget available to actually be able to make it work in the US 997 - > and to make it a success.
998 - > But now more than ever, of course, there's a lot of 999 - > insecurity when it comes to doing business in the US. 1000 - > So you have to prepare for that insecurity. 1001 - > So I think most of all, it's very important to prepare well 1002 - > and prepare for any changes or a lot of changes that may happen. 1003 - > Khensani: The US immigration front, all of all of the above.
1004 - > And right now, with policy changes happening frequently, 1005 - > it's critical that companies get proper immigration advice to 1006 - > stay ahead of how changes might affect their workforce on visas. 1007 - > For example, there are various trouble bans, right, that are 1008 - > applied in different ways and can it can affect whether an 1009 - > employee's visa extension will be processed or whether an 1010 - > immigrant visa, their green card, will be issued. 1011 - > So definitely have US immigration council to track 1012 - > the policy changes and to alert you when one of your employees 1013 - > may be impacted.
1014 - > Lukasz: Fantastic. 1015 - > Well, Khensani, Floor, thank you so much for today and for 1016 - > such a practical and honest perspective on the matter. 1017 - > Floor: Thanks so much for having us. 1018 - > Khensani: Thank you for having us.
1019 - > This was great. 1020 - > Lukasz: Khensani, Floor, thank you for such a practical and 1021 - > honest perspective. 1022 - > As we can see, US expansion is not just about entering a new 1023 - > market, but also aligning migration, hiring, payroll, and 1024 - > compliance decisions early before the pressure builds up. 1025 - > To everyone listening, if you are planning US expansion, start 1026 - > earlier than you think and treat operational readiness as a 1027 - > leadership responsibility, not an afterthought.
1028 - > Thank you for listening and see you in the next episode.
Kamil Chudziński from PepsiCo Poland on digital transformation, technology impact, and the role of leadership | The Dev is in the Details #20 | S0290 / 100
Jeff Gombala from Helios and Evidexa on AI behavioral models, digital twins, and shaping patient experience | The Dev is in the Details #19 S0288 / 100
Ben Ward from StudyStash on building an EdTech startup, scaling across markets, and the importance of timing | The Dev is in the Details #18 | S0277 / 100
Ninder Johal from Nachural on celebrating the success, building communities, and shaping the future | The Dev is in the Details #1777 / 100
Cassandra Vranjkovic from AIQ Nexus on leadership, vulnerability, and curiosity in the age of AI | The Dev is in the Details #1681 / 100