Chinese entrepreneurs, wary of tariffs, tag along with investments in US visa bids

Until this year, working – much less living – in the United States had never crossed Daniel Mai’s mind.

The idea only took hold after he had set up production lines for apparel in California and a cross-border e-commerce company to service them, establishing a foothold in the American market in preparation for the tariffs on Chinese goods he saw as inevitable.

Mai, a seasoned businessman previously based in Guangdong province, runs his US operations on an L-1A visa. The temporary status is granted when a US employer wishes to transfer employees of its foreign offices stateside, or a foreign company meeting certain conditions sends a manager to establish a satellite firm.

After his positive experiences in the US – the rate of profit, he said, is higher than several emerging markets – Mai decided to begin the application process for an EB-1C visa. The permanent worker status, reserved for managers and executives, would be a next step to obtaining a green card and gradually relocating his two children.

“I had never come to the US before this year, nor had I considered immigration. But now, it is on the agenda.”