Navigating your path to the United States can be challenging. Let Henning Law Firm PLLC help simplify the process by designing a plan that is right for your company or family.

Click on the tiles below to open general descriptions of some of the most popular visa categories available. Embedded links to government sites provide additional detail.

Startups - don’t let visa eligibility for key personnel be an afterthought! We work with your corporate counsel to help create the right structures to allow you or your employees to enter the United States to pursue your goals. 

Contact us to discuss your individual situation and learn how we can assist you with everything from work and residency visas to U.S. property ownership.

Temporary Business and Work Visas for Non-Immigrants and Start-Ups

Business and leisure travelers from many countries can travel to the U.S. briefly without a visa - but for all others or when frequency of trips increases and visits turn into “work” that may no longer be enough. We understand the complexities of moving yourself, your family or your company’s essential personnel into the United States - step by step.

Popular Visas we can help you obtain include:

Visitor Visas - B1/B2 multiple entry visas for temporary visits for business or pleasure, not to exceed 6 months for each entry. These visas may be sufficient for seasonal residents or even frequent business travelers but must not be used as a revolving door.  Each family member must qualify individually, the traveler’s primary residence must remain abroad and employment/work is not authorized except for foreign employers and under certain narrowly-defined conditions. Children may not attend school. 

The categories below allow the applicant’s spouse and children under 21 years of age to apply for visas to accompany the principal applicant for the duration. Children are permitted to attend school and - in the E and L categories - spouses receive unrestricted work authorization.  

Treaty Trader (E-1) and Treaty Investor (E-2) Visas for owners, leadership personnel or essential skills employees from treaty countrys whose companies conduct “substantial trade” with or made a “substantial investment” in an active business in the United States.  Trade can be in goods, services or technology and the “substantiality” of the investment depends on the kind of business founded or purchased. Let us help you evaluate how your plans may be a good fit for this flexible visa category. Unless a change of status is desired in the United States, decisions are made directly at the consular level in the applicant’s home country. 

Multinational Transferee Visas for Executives/Managers (L1A) or Specialized Knowledge Employees - the L category does not require a specific nationality, a substantial investment or substantial trade but a qualifying relationship between a “sending” foreign employer and the “receiving” petitioning U.S. company. Common ownership and control are key here, and the transferred employee must have at least a one-year work history with the related foreign employer within the preceding three years before their transfer to the U.S.  The prerequisites for Managers and Executives may also present a basis for permanent residence avoiding the need for a costly and lengthy test of the U.S. labor market. This category requires pre-approval of a petition by USCIS and - for most - a trip to a U.S. consulate to obtain the corresponding visa. 

O1 Visas for Persons with Well-Documented Extraordinary Abilities in the Arts, the Sciences, Academia, or Business. Benefit from your background in a new position, your own company or re-invent yourself for the next phase in your life. Please see the separate section for this special category.

The appropriate choice for students - including life-long learners of any age - is student visas that allow enrollment in degree-seeking courses or English language programs in the United States. Students generally do not receive work authorization until after graduation. Families can accompany the student as long as sufficient financial resources can be shown.  One advantage of this category is that U.S. taxation of the student’s worldwide income is suspended even if the student spends substantial time in the U.S. 

There are many more, and each category has its pros and cons. Let us take the headache out of trying to determine what is possible and help you make the best choice to accomplish your goals. 

Alphabet Soup - there are visa categories for almost every letter in the alphabet for trainees, students, diplomats, religious workers and much more. Let us see if we can find one that is right for you.

Permanent Residency through Employment or Investment (EB-5)

Employment-Based Immigration generally requires a job offer and clearance by the U.S. Labor Department involving a test of the U.S. labor market - a process called Labor Certification. Once that has been established, employers can then offer the advertised job to a qualified foreign worker on a permanent basis, and the worker can apply for permanent residency. Existing quotas  may drag this process out for some time. 

Fortunately, the following categories of workers are exempt from the Labor Certification requirement and processes are often shorter: 

• Aliens of Extraordinary Ability (EB-1A)
• Multinational Executives/Managers (EB-1C)
• Immigrant Investors (EB-5) and
• Individuals with advanced degrees/exceptional ability pursuing projects in the United States that are of substantial merit and in the U.S. National Interest. (EB2-NIW)

Aliens of extraordinary ability, immigrant investors and those qualifying for a national interest waiver can even self petition, eliminating the need for a job offer.  Please see the special section covering this topic below. 

Also excepted from the Labor Certification requirement and able to petition without an employer or job offer are immigrant investors under the EB-5 category who make a qualifying investment and create ten U.S. jobs - either with their own business enterprise or by participating in one of the many USCIS-approved EB-5 Regional Centers.  Minimum investments range from $800,000 to $1,050,000 depending on the location of the investment enterprise.

Based on or - if visa numbers are available - simultaneously with a successful petition, the immigrant may be able to apply for permanent residence at a consulate abroad or by adjusting status in the United States.

Petition + Consular Processing Abroad: For intending immigrants located outside the United States, the successful “Petition for Alien Worker” is forwarded by USCIS to the National Visa Center. Once a visa number becomes available, the immigrant and petitioner will complete further processing and the immigrant and their family (if applicable) will attend a visa interview. Unfortunately, processing times vary significantly from post to post, and much patience is needed. 

Petition + Adjustment of Status in the United States:  If and when visa numbers are available, intending immigrants already inside the United States may opt to apply for their Green Cards through the adjustment of their appropriate non-immigrant status within the United States. Simultaneously, the immigrant can apply for work and travel authorization. 

Let us evaluate your background and your plans to see which one of these options may be suitable for you. 

Visas and  Green Cards for Persons with Outstanding Achievements in the Arts, Athletics, Academia or Business

Multinational Executives/Managers

Options for people in these categories are technically housed under “Business” or “Permanent Residence through Employment,”  but they deserve a field all to themselves.   

High achievers in their “field of endeavor”  - (the arts, sciences, education, business or athletics), outstanding researchers or multinational executives/managers  can achieve temporary or permanent residence without a Labor Certification. Let us evaluate whether your achievements and plans qualify you for a visa or even permanent U.S. residency.

Nonimmigrants with outstanding records and an employer or manager in the United States may qualify under the O-1 category, and those who wish to immigrate permanently (even without an employer) would be wise to look at the EB-1A or EB-1B

Multinational executives or managers transferred within an international group of companies and with the requisite history may qualify for a non-immigrant L-1A visa or its permanent cousin, the EB-1C. 

At Henning Law Firm PLLC, we have experience evaluating and shaping our clients’  backgrounds to fit into the various criteria required for a successful petition. 

Temporary Visas and Permanent Residence for Athletes 

Amateur and professional athletes who come to the United States occasionally and only compete for prize money can usually do so as business visitors. 

We have represented athletes and coaches from the world of tennis, soccer, and billiards who wanted to spend more time and - through agents or sponsors - engage in activities other than prize money events. Possible categories for athletes to accomplish these goals are P-1 and O-1 visas, which require a petition to USCIS based on their own set of criteria. Successful petitions result in either adjustment of status in the United States if the athlete is already here in a qualifying status or consular processing of the visa in their home country. 

Reinventing Yourself for the Next Phase of your Life   

60 is the new 40 - particularly in the sunny South where communities target seasonal residents - including foreign visitors - with advertising of a worry-free warm and active lifestyle filled with tennis, pickleball and social events. And that is certainly possible with a  visitor visa if you can maintain your primary residence abroad. 

However, if you want to spend more time in the United States and are not ready for retirement, the United States offers alternatives for those who wish to create a new academic, personal, entrepreneurial or professional phase in their lives. 

Have you always wanted to get that degree in philosophy? In the United States, you’re not too old to study. How about contributing your talent, wisdom or expertise to the United States as a consultant in your area of expertise? Can you see yourself going into business with an American partner? The American Dream is not dead, people with visions do not need to seek medical assistance and … before we run out of clichees … if you see a fork in the road, take it. (The last sentence does not constitute legal or medical advice, by the way.) 

Imagine your best life, review the categories on this page, and you might be surprised where your background and goals may fit. It would be our great pleasure to brainstorm co-create your future with you. 

Permanent Residency through Family Based Immigration and Marriage

U.S. citizens and Lawful Permanent Residents can petition to have certain close family members (or aspiring family members) come join them permanently in the United States by filing a “Petition for Alien Relative.” Categories and processing options depend on the petitioner’s U.S. status, the degree of family relationship and the beneficiaries’ location and - if in the U.S. - their own status and/or manner of entry. Filing the petition triggers issuance of a “priority date” by which one can follow the expected time frame in which visas become available.

Visas are immediately available for spouses, children and parents of U.S. citizens, while adult sons and daughters and siblings of U.S. citizens are assigned preference categories that may entail long waiting times.  Green Card holders can sponsor spouses, children and adult sons and daughters but not parents, fiances or siblings. 

Successful petitions allow the beneficiaries to apply for Immigrant Visas or Green Cards at a consulate abroad or within the United States under certain circumstances: 

Petition + Consular Processing Abroad: For family members located outside the United States, the successful “Petition for Alien Relative” is forwarded by USCIS to the National Visa Center. Once a visa number becomes available, the immigrant and petitioner will  complete further processing and the immigrant and their family (if applicable) will attend a visa interview. Unfortunately, processing times vary significantly from post to post, and much patience is needed. 

Petition + Adjustment of Status in the United States:  Family members inside the United States may opt to apply for their Green Cards through the adjustment of their appropriate non-immigrant status within the United States. Simultaneously, the immigrant can apply for work and travel authorization. Although not everyone is invited, petitioners and beneficiaries should be prepared to present themselves at a personal interview before a USCIS officer at a local field office. In case of a marriage relationship and if the marriage is less than two years old at the time of the initial interview, a conditional green card is issued for a period of two years. 90 days before the first conditional residence card expires, the couple - or in case of a marriage termination - the foreign spouse must file an application to remove the condition. As long as the marriage can be shown to be true at conception, the foreign spouse should be able to successfully remove the condition on permanent residence.

When and whether a petition for a family member should be filed is a personal decision for the couple or family. The timing has to be right. For beneficiaries in categories where visa numbers are not available for a long time, one should be cognizant that otherwise available non-immigrant visas - such as a student or investor visa - might be precluded by a premature manifestatioin of “immigrant intent.”  

We have guided many families and couples in the planning of the steps toward permanent residence. Some of the couples even had Ms. Henning perform the marriage rites. Call us to discuss the steps involved to create a smooth transition for your loved one to the United States. 

Citizenship - the Final Step in Your Immigration Journey

Green Cards are great but still come with requirements for renewal and physical presence that can make an international family’s life difficult. In order to creat true permanence, most immigrants therefore take the final step to naturalization. Particularly for families, this is a good idea, as an immigrant parent’s naturalization usually means that the children automatically receive citizenship without having to file their own applications. 

Eligibility to apply for naturalization depends on how the Green Card was obtained. With some exceptions for military families, those who received a Green Card through marriage can apply after only three years as long as the marriage continues. Anyone else must wait five years. All applicants must meet their respective physical presence requirement and prove that they are persons of “good moral character,” the show of which involves not only a clean criminal record for the qualifying period but a show that one meets ones obligations by paying taxes and child support where such obligations exist. Questions need to be carefully and truthfully answered, as youthful indiscretions or prior misstatements can come back to haunt the unwary. 

At Henning Law Firm, we have assisted many immigrants with this final step in their immigration journey. Call us for a consultation. 

Planning for the Tax Consequences of U.S. Residency 

Welcome to the United States of America, where your worldwide income is subject to taxation once you become an income tax resident.   

While Green Card holders and U.S. citizens are U.S. income tax residents no matter how much time they spend in the United States, non-immigrants must spend “substantial time” in the U.S. to become taxable. This flexibility therefore may make a non-immigrant visa an advisable first step for all those looking to make a move, as it allows time for the all-important process of pre-immigration tax planning.  

Even without residency, U.S. assets may be subject to U.S. estate tax, so early planning should include estate tax considerations when purchasing and holding U.S. real estate. 

Together with your tax advisors or with specialized professionals in our network, we can help you avoid unforced errors by planning your activities and time spent in the United States accordingly. 

Real Estate and Estate Planning -               Civil Law Notary Services 

Ms. Henning has been advising foreign investors in U.S. (Florida) real estate since 1996 and became a Florida Civil Law Notary in 2002.  This designation is reserved for licensed attorneys and very different from that of “notary public.”  

Property Ownership: Property ownership rules for foreign owners with or without tax ID numbers and/or Social Security Numbers can be complex and are governed by each individual state. We understand the differences in the legal systems when it comes to contracts and closings, title insurance, the roles of real estate agents and other concepts that are very different in the United States vs. most code-based Civil Law countries. Tax rules upon the sale of property are also different for foreign owners. Knowledge is the key to smooth transactions without aggravation and unnecessary adrenaline rushes. Whether you’re buying or selling, getting a mortgage or transferring property to the next generation or just want clarity - let us or our network of local professionals help. 

Common Property and Estate/Inheritance Issues:  Rules regarding ownership of real property and transfer upon death or disability differ from state to state. Here are some general considerations* to keep in mind: 

• First and foremost - a state does not “take” the property of people who die without a Last Will & Testament. To transfer a decedent’s assets and pay creditors, an interested person would likely have to open a probate estate in which the existence of statutory heirs will be determined. If no one pays taxes on the property for some time, savvy investors purchase and later foreclose on tax liens, but that’s another story. 
• Second: Public records are really public and on the internet. If you know the state, the county and the property address, you can find the record owner and how much they paid for the home. Holding title through an entity is possible to safeguard a measure of privacy, but corporate records are available on the internet as well. 
• Plan for disability, not just death. If a property owner (or co-owner in the case of multiple owners) becomes disabled without having appointed a trusted person to take care of their affairs, an expensive guardianship proceeding may be necessary. Durable powers of attorney are very helpful to avoid such unnecessary expenses. 
• Don’t assume notarial documents from your home country, including your will at home, are acceptable in the U.S.  In Florida, for example, a will has to comply with certain formalities to be acceptable. The secret handwritten will in your desk drawer may be perfectly o.k. in Berlin, but it is not in Florida.  documents, such as separation agreements, etc. may require transfers or real estate to have their desired effect. 
• Whether an asset forms part of a decedent’s U.S. estate depends on the nature and location of the asset. It is important to keep this in mind, particularly when a decedent owns assets in multiple jurisdictions - even different states in the United States.
• Forced share rules common in many countries to benefit adult children may only apply to current spouses and minor children in the United States. 
• Probate is expensive and can be quite aggravating for your loved ones who are already going through a difficult time. Most U.S. persons hold title to real property, bank or investment accounts and other assets in a manner that keeps them out of the “probate estate” to avoid having to go to court to resolve inheritance issues.
• Last but not least - be open with your lawyer when making an estate plan. While probate or trust administration after death or disability may be charged at a percentage of the assets under administration, American attorneys generally do not charge for estate planning based on the value of the assets you own. Thus, to avoid additional expense based on hourly rates, it is more cost effective to be forthcoming from the start. 

*Each case is unique. Thus, the points in this section are based on experience and should not be taken as legal advice. 

We are happy to consult with you, your family, and your tax and foreign estate planning professionals to arrive at a plan that protects your family.