British Expatriate Network

Hi everyone.

I am moving from Poole Dorset to SoCal to start up a new division/business for the company I am a Director of here in the UK. T/O $9m employ 120

Our attorneys in LA have advised me to go over on my visa waiver to setup the business which you are allowed to do on this, then at the same time he will file for an accelerated L1A visa which they say takes about 8-10 weeks to get. Has anyone gone through this loop?

My next question is for income tax. While I am in the US on my visa waiver I am not allowed to earn a salary in the US, does this mean therefore that any salary I earn while on the waiver will be tax free (I will be out of the UK for the whole tax year) ?

Next question is concerning driving licences, cars and insurance. I will have a company car, but while I am on my Waiver can I buy a car and get insured or do I have to wait until I get my L1A in order to get insurance etc..? Do I need to get a California driving licence to be able to buy the car and get insurance? or am I best just renting until the L1A comes through?

I'm sure as I move forward here I'll have heaps more questions but suspect this is enough for now.

Looking forward to hearing from you all. Noel D

A visa waiver can only be used for short periods - it's limited to 90 days. You can't actually start your new life from a visa waiver, even if the L1 visa is in the pipeline. Here is information of what are acceptable business activities:

Business trip

It's quite restricted in what business activities you are allowed to do,

It's pretty normal for intracompany transferees to go on a "look-see" visit before accepting the assignment and therefore applying for the L1 visa. It's common to look at houses, schools etc at this time, but to leave the US before actually taking up residence. You need to return to London for your visa anyway.

If you are in the US on a visa waiver, your tax home is the UK; your money will be UK sourced and UK taxed. Time spent in the US will accumulate to your significant presence test that will become important after your official move.

Visitors to the US are allowed to drive for up to a year on their foreign license. However, once you officially migrate using the L1 visa, your become a new residence. ISTR for California that you then have one month to get a local license. As long as you leave the US at the end of your visa waiver period, I don't think there is any issue in buying a car - but it doesn't take long to buy a car in the US, so there's probably not a lot of benefit in doing it before you have your visa.