N-470 sponsored by small company

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beanlee

Registered Users (C)
Hi,

I would like to preserve my GC status by applying N-470. One of the requirements for N-470 is that you have to be employed by an US company. if that's the case, could I set up a small company (like LLC) that do trading with foreign country and hire my wife as an employee to work aboard for N-470 application?

Thanks
 
I would like to preserve my GC status by applying N-470.
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N-470 doesn't preserve your GC status; it preserves your continuous residence for naturalization. The Reentry Permit is the thing that preserves your GC while you are abroad for over a year.

So this is your own, brand new company? That won't work. Otherwise everybody who wants to go abroad for a long time would just set up an LLC and hire themselves or their spouse and get an N-470. I've never heard of anybody being successful with that.

You might have a chance if it was an established business with real revenue and employees, but not a brand new company with nothing really going on yet.
 
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Wow what you learn from here. Jackolantern~ Question...

When you apply for the RE permit, I see you said that on the N-470 (or someone said) that you have to be employed by a US company..

How would this work~~ As I mentioned here repeatedly our company IS out of the country and has been this whole time. (remember that is the income from which they GAVE hiim the GC based from-my salary from it, he owns the co)... We are thinking of also making a company related to this (like an offshoot) shortly-coincidentally I have an appt with our accountant in a couple weeks. I was thinking about doing this for other reasons (ie...insurance, etc)...but never know this other little hurdle....

2 things..

1. It is true in order to get the permit you need to be employed by a US CO?

2. How would our situaiton fly then since it (new co) would be an linked to an well- established company...(but in foreign with an 'arm' possibly being based in the US)..

Thanks! I never realized the US CO part...as we are not yet sure if we are applying..

TX!
 
vandeluca said:
1. It is true in order to get the permit you need to be employed by a US CO?
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You don't need to be employed at all for the reentry permit. It is the N-470 that requires being employed by a US company, the US government, or certain international organizations that the US is a member of (e.g. UN, NATO). See the N-470 instructions for details.

2. How would our situaiton fly then since it (new co) would be an linked to an well- established company...(but in foreign with an 'arm' possibly being based in the US)..
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The criteria is somewhat fuzzy, but I understand they require the company to be more solidly American than that. A company originated and headquartered outside the US with 90%-100% of its business activity going on outside the US probably won't work.

This lawyer's page explains it a bit more: http://www.murthy.com/news/n_pr4ctz.html
They say the sole owner of the company cannot get an N-470.

Also see http://imminfo.com/Library/citizenship/preservation_n470.html
 
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N-470 is so the long months or years working abroad will count towards the 5-year (or 3 year) residence requirement for naturalization.

I-131 is to get a reentry permit to preserve the GC for 2 years. Don't confuse the two. But somebody with an N-470 would also need the reentry permit, because without the reentry permit he/she would probably lose the GC for taking the long trips, which would make the N-470 useless.
 
Thanks for the answer. really appreciate that.

Yes I would like to set up a company before leaving for preserving continuous residence for naturalization, and it's a real company that do trades with the country my spouse is heading to. So my question is from the standpoint of USCIS, what is the definition of American firm or corporation? If my company has a US citizen appointed as director, make profit and file all taxes, would it be qualified? Thanks!
 
You haven't set up the company yet, but it's already a "real company"? Or do you mean the company is already operating abroad, but you want to set up a US company along with it?

If the US company is really just a shell, and it was set up recently before you applied for the N-470, it will become apparent that it was set up just to apply for the N-470 and they'll reject it.

As stated above, sending yourself overseas as the sole owner won't work for the N-470. I figure the same would also apply if you and your spouse are the only owners.

Unfortunately, they don't give a single all-encompassing definition of what they consider to be a US firm or corporation. You won't know for sure what they think until you actually apply. There is a clear-cut case: publicly traded companies that are exclusively traded on a US stock exchange. But for the others they look at the overall set of factors.
 
Jackolantern ~ (haha..I love halloween)..

Is there a time frame that WOULD be acceptable? Just curious. 1 month, 3 month 6 month prior to the departure out of the US? Just curious.
 
There is no magic formula, other than the publicly traded+US stock exchange case.

A 3 month old company might be acceptable if it has 100 employees and 10 million dollars of venture capital. A 2 year old company might be unacceptable if its revenue is just $20K per year.

Just be aware that small companies founded by the N-470 applicant are viewed very skeptically.
 
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