Business Travel to USA: Immigration Attorney Advice for When Restrictions Ease

This article was derived from the interview above with Marin Ritter, Partner & Co-Director at Green and Spiegel Midwest, LLC.

Travel restrictions have immensely impacted business travel to the USA since the COVID-19 outbreak. From the restrictions put in place from March 2021, which suspended the entry of certain non-immigrant visa holders to the United States. In addition to Biden’s renewal of COVID-19 travel restrictions on foreign travelers entering the US. Many non-citizens who previously worked in the US, have had no other choice but to run their operations remotely from afar.   

With the welcomed news that business travel will be permitted for fully vaccinated passengers from early November 2021, we spoke to Immigration Attorney, Marin Ritter to find out her expert advice for business travel to USA.  

How have the COVID-19 restrictions over the last year impacted US business immigration? 

The pandemic is the main conversation of the moment when it comes to US immigration. It has significantly impacted business travel from the UK to the USA. As you probably all know back in early 2020 the Trump Administration closed the borders to China and Iran.  

Then subsequently to the UK, Ireland and the Schengen countries. The borders remained closed until the Biden administration announced that they are going to lift the COVID-19 travel restrictions for fully vaccinated international travelers from November 8th.   

There are lots of other issues involved with how readily available vaccines are in several countries but as far as I’m aware in the UK most of the vaccinations that you are getting are approved by the WHO or the CDC. So, if you are vaccinated you will be welcome to come to the US, even as a visitor or somebody who has a business interest. 

Over the last year, there has been a lot of conversation around national interest exemptions. If you were a business person hoping to partake in business travel to the US, if you could prove that what you were doing was related to critical infrastructure in the United States, some embassies were open to issue those national interest exemptions. 

However, a lot of embassies were closed over the last year and a half. Some of them are only starting to reopen to issue visas. This means we're seeing long backlogs and visa appointments that people aren't really prepared for. With the COVID-19 travel restrictions set to expire soon, a lot of people expect things to happen immediately but that's not going to happen due to delays.  

What are you seeing in terms of US embassy appointment times?  

The embassy in the UK is only just now scheduling appointments. They have a huge backlog to contend with. If someone applies for a visa today that requires that appointment, the typical wait time for those appointments would be around four to six months. That’s just for the appointment, not the actual convention of the visa. The US embassy in London is fully booked and doesn’t have availability for appointments until March or April 2022.  

If at some point in the future businesses know they are going to relocate employees to the US, how should they prepare for this? 

1. Call an immigration attorney

One of the first things you should consider if you are planning to relocate employees or start a branch of your business in the US, is calling an immigration attorney. The reason for this is because you may need to explore whether the activities, you're thinking about doing are allowed under US immigration law. 

US immigration law is very complex and inflexible. They have lots of boxes that they like to put certain kinds of people and jobs in. If you don't fit neatly into any of those boxes it can be very difficult to get a visa to work in the United States. So, as part of your due diligence and your planning, it is recommended that you make an immigration lawyer one of your first actions.

2. Be patient

You should be prepared for the time it takes to relocate employees to the US. We're facing significant delays in visa issuance but even without the backlogs COVID-19 has caused it still takes time. As a US immigration attorney, I often get calls from people who say, “I want to transfer an employee to the United States, and he needs to be here in two weeks.” I tell them that it’s not going to happen. Even without all the craziness that has been covered in the closures and the travel restrictions. In a totally normal world, it takes time to transfer employees to the US. You need to be mindful of that and plan ahead of time. Be realistic about your expectations.  

What are some of the most common US business immigration mistakes you have seen as an immigration attorney?

When approaching US business immigration, one of the most common mistakes is to think that you can send an employee over here on a business visitor visa. This is either on a B1 visa or on the visa waiver using an ESTA to come and do whatever they want. Even if they're on the foreign payroll, you have to be careful. I’ve seen businesses be really surprised when they send an employee on his fifth trip to the US and the immigration official at the airport says, “What are you doing, are you working here?” Then they throw them out. 

That’s when the businesses call me confused as to why they can’t go over to the US to do those activities. It’s because they needed a work visa for what you were doing. Make sure you know what you're going over to do over in the US and if it requires a visa or not before you make the plans to come over. The consequences can be significant if you go to the US on business without a work visa and you work right away. 

What would be your ‘golden points’ of advice for US businesses immigration right now? 

To plan in advance and be patient. Even in a perfect world, it takes a significant amount of time to process immigrant or non-immigrant visas. If you assume that it's all going to go very quickly you will be disappointed and frustrated. So it is best to plan ahead. Let it take as much time as it needs to take and call an immigration lawyer for advice. 

Thinking of expanding your business beyond borders to the US now that travel is permitted? 

With business travel to USA now permitted from November 8th and the $4 Trillion to fund President Biden’s Build Back Better Plan, there has never been a better time to expand your business into the US. At PGC we’re here to assist you with any queries you have regarding US business expansion. If you need any information on US business immigration, get in touch with Marin Ritter for expert advice. 

Disclaimer: PGC does not endorse any personal views or opinions of the author. All information here is for general informational purposes only and is not intended to be a substitute for professional and/or legal services.