recently I've switched to freelance and got many interesting projects from US. The problem is all companies wants me to be there at least for regular face checks and coffee meetings.
I'm based on Europe and planning to move to US. Can I go there without a working visa and work like beeing in Europe?
I'll meet my clients out of office and we will sign regular freelance contracts as we did before.
Is this legal?
"Fulfill that contract in Europe" means I can still sit in my apartment in US and do the work?
The ways for a non-US citizen to be able to work in the US are to either have a work visa (L, H, E etc) or a work authorization via a spouse who has the appropriate visa (L1, J1).
How the immigration service will know that you are working in your apartment in the US is another question altogether. You're not allowed to, but you don't really have to tell anyone either. It's a grey zone: business trips are fine, "working" isn't. When you go in the country, say you are there for meetings, no more. Never say "work" (ever).
Here's what can happen: MANY people go to the US on a tourist visa, and then work there. Mostly they work as waiters and such, and it's not really a big deal. You can easily rent an apartment, even buy a house, and not have a working permit. The US is friendly to immigrants.
However, you don't get rights. You can't easily leave the country and be expected to be let back in. You are now "illegaly" in the country and it's not a great long-term situation.
Another option is to get a 6-month tourist visa, stay for 6 months (and work), and then leave.
All you can do now, is the queue at the nearest US ambassy to try to get a green card. Without that, don't by a flight ticket to the US, it'll be lost money and time.
Speaking from personnal experience.
My advice: keep working remotely. Use Skype for meetings.
Meetings are fine, but if it can be proven that you intend to work illegally (which AFAIK,IANAL anything more than meetings would be) you can potentially run into serious trouble.
You might look into E-1 or E-2 type of visa (in your case I guess it would be E-2) which is by far the easiest way to work in the US but also the most restrictive as it is a non-imigration type of visa.
It requires a substantial investment (always check with an immigration lawyer for advice) to start a business. It is restrictive in the sense that if you go out of business or stop the business you'll have to leave the country. Your spouse can get a work permit, but your children can't.
Another route is possible if you have a business in your own country that has been operating for a few years. You can open a subsidiary in the US and apply for an L-1A visa (for managers and executives) and from there petition for an EB-1C Green Card.
Whatever you try, consult an immigration lawyer and have them assist you and let them file paperwork. It will cost some money but this is something too complex and tricky to do yourself.
I'll have to go the visa/green card lottery way I think ...
As a summary I see I'll need a visa in any case. And that visa is very hard to get without bothering my clients with sponsorship & help.
No, but there is plenty of encouragement for technically skilled foreign workers here. Getting a work visa should not be a difficult issue.
as freelancers have no employers this is not a solution for my case.
That's correct -- you have to apply before arriving, and I think it's also true that you need to have a job lined up as well. But you can certainly work here.
> as freelancers have no employers this is not a solution for my case.
Even freelancers eventually settle on an employer.
The primary test there is that there must be someone above you who can fire you.
* There's the EB-5. You could establish a subsidiary of your foreign parent company in the US using this visa, or even start fresh new company with it. It requires that you invest $1 million ($500k in some cases), create (or "preserve") 10 jobs for American citizens or greencard holders by the end of the first year (that you're in the US). There are probably other requirements. You can look it up. For more info: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-5_visa Unless you have $1 million+ and a solid business plan lying around, this isn't really an option.
* The other option is the L-1A and EB-1C for mutinational executives and managers. This can also be used to establish a subsidiary in the US. Assuming you are the owner/CEO of your company, I would imagine it being subject to more scrutiny (stringent requirements). Generally though, I would assume the primary test would be in terms of how "big" your company is (in terms of revenue, number of employees, etc.)
Warning: IANAL. This is just knowledge I've picked up here and there. You should really look research this though. Generally though, the US doesn't want individuals "self-immigrating" -- that's why there are so many laws and guards it. Think of it this way: if you could immigrate to the US via your startup (say you spent $300k on your startup), then how many more people (non-startuppers) would try to imitate and do that? There are millionaires who would love to move to the US but can't due to the immigration system there.
If you don't mind a slightly conservative culture, and would like to avoid paying taxes -- you can check out the various emirates of the UAE. You could move to the UAE, and not have to pay the (from what I hear) 40% taxes in Europe. If the tax is 40%, no tax means a 66% rise in actual after-tax income. :-) The UAE has laws specifically set up for foreigners to come in and start businesses in the country. It's extremely start-up (and freelance consultant) friendly. You generally apply through a "free zone authority". FWIW Dubai is probably one of the most modern cities in the world. There's a lot of fun stuff to do there. One free zone authority is the DMTFZA (based in Dubai): http://www.dtmfza.gov.ae/en/current-business-partners/regist... Another (slightly cheaper) option is the RAK Free Trade Zone: http://www.rakftz.com/en
- If you have more than $1 million, go for the EB-5.
- If not, ask a lawyer if the EB-1C and L-1A can be used to move to the US in the manner you described. I don't know if it's possible. My hunch is that it's not.