H-1B Visas for Canadians Investing in a U.S. Business

Foreign owners of U.S. companies may be able to sponsor themselves for H-1B visas if the owners have a bachelor’s degree or higher in a specialized field and the company will employ the owner in that occupation. For example, a Canadian with a computer science degree who founded a U.S. tech company can sponsor himself for an H-1B to work as a software engineer at his own company. The applicant will have to show that the company has the right to control the owner’s employment.

There are benefits for an entrepreneur to seek an H-1B visa. First and foremost, the entrepreneur does not have to invest the high amount of capital that he/she would for an E-2 visa or and EB-5 green card, which can be anywhere from $100,000 to $1 million. Furthermore, unlike the E-2 visa, the H-1B can offer a path to a green card or U.S. citizenship.