# The LIKE Act: A New Visa Path for Foreign Entrepreneurs and Their Teams

The LIKE Act creates a new type of visa called a "W visa" that allows foreign entrepreneurs to start and run businesses in the United States, along with key employees they need to help them succeed. Think of it as an immigration pathway specifically designed for people with business ideas and the investors backing them.

Here's how it works in practice: If you're a foreign national with a promising startup idea, you can apply for a W-1 visa if your company has attracted serious investment money—either $250,000 from qualified investors or $100,000 in government grants within the past 18 months. You need to own at least 10 percent of the company and play a hands-on role in running it. Once approved, you get three years in the United States to develop your business. Your spouse can also get a work permit and come with you. If your startup is doing well after three years—either by raising more money, creating jobs, or generating significant revenue—you can extend your stay for another three years, and potentially for two more years after that.

The bill also lets startups bring in up to five foreign workers on W-2 visas to fill critical roles, depending on how many total employees the company has. These essential employees need to have expertise that's genuinely important to the company's success. Additionally, if your startup really takes off and meets certain milestones—like creating at least 10 jobs and raising $1.25 million total—you can eventually transition to permanent resident status (a green card) without competing against the normal immigration quota system.

The practical effect is that foreign entrepreneurs with solid business plans and real investor backing now have a clearer legal pathway to build companies in America, rather than trying to fit into existing visa categories that weren't designed for startup founders. It's aimed at attracting international talent and investment that might otherwise go to other countries.

LIKE Act

Let Immigrants Kickstart Employment Act of 2021 or the LIKE Act This bill establishes a new class of nonimmigrant visa (W visa) for qualifying start-up owners and essential employees (and the accompanying spouse or child of such aliens) and addresses related issues. Under this bill, a start-up is a U.S. entity that has lawfully conducted business and was formed in the five years preceding an application for a start-up owner visa. To be eligible for an initial visa as a start-up owner, an individual must (1) possess at least a 10% interest in the start-up; (2) play a central and active role in the start-up's management or operations; (3) possess knowledge, skills, or experience to substantially assist in the start-up's growth and success; and (4) provide evidence that the start-up has received certain investments, created jobs, or generated revenue. The holder of a nonimmigrant start-up owner visa may receive lawful permanent resident status upon meeting certain requirements, including by establishing that the start-up has created a certain number of jobs and has met certain revenue targets. To be eligible for a visa as an essential employee of a start-up, an individual must (1) have an offer of employment in an executive or managerial capacity at a start-up; and (2) possess knowledge, skills, or experience to substantially assist in the start-up's growth and success. The bill limits the number of employees on essential employee visas that a start-up may have.