Regina Durán sat down with immigration attorney Arturo García, partner of Villar and Garcia, whose practice helps individuals and business owners navigate the visa process. The conversation ranged from the H-1B lottery to investor visas — but one detail stands out for any business owner with cross-border ties: the type of visa a person holds can directly affect how their taxes are filed.
Immigration status and financial planning aren’t separate conversations. Getting one wrong can create real problems with the other — which is exactly where good tax preparation in Phoenix starts to matter.
Quick Takeaways
- The H-1B now carries a much larger fee for new applicants, though current holders and renewals appear exempt (rules still being clarified).
- An E-2 investor visa doesn’t require living in the U.S. full-time — and an E-1 trader visa doesn’t even require a U.S. company.
- Someone can legally own a U.S. LLC while living and working entirely from Mexico, as long as they’re not physically working inside the U.S.
- Visa type changes how a person is required to file taxes — an easy detail to miss until it causes a problem.
Lesson 1: Owning a U.S. Business Doesn’t Always Require a Work Visa — But It Does Require Getting the Filing Right
Can someone form and own a U.S. LLC while living entirely from Mexico, without a work visa? Generally yes — a B1/B2 visa covers business activity like forming a company or opening bank accounts, as long as the person isn’t physically working inside the U.S. on a regular basis or drawing a U.S. payroll.
But owning a U.S. entity while living abroad raises real questions about classification, income flow, and filing obligations. It’s the kind of cross-border situation worth sitting down with a tax professional over before it becomes a problem on a return.
Key takeaway: You can legally own a U.S. business without a work visa — but the filing requirements still need to be handled correctly from day one.
Lesson 2: The Type of Visa Someone Holds Changes How Their Taxes Get Filed
A student visa holder typically files as a non-resident and can’t be treated the same as someone with permanent residency, even working legally under OPT. Certain government-sponsored visas carry their own filing restrictions too.
For business owners hiring international talent — TN, H-1B, or otherwise — the hiring conversation and the tax conversation need to happen together. Getting a visa classification wrong on payroll paperwork creates headaches later, which is why new hires need to be set up correctly through a dedicated payroll service from the start.
Key takeaway: A worker’s visa type directly affects how taxes must be filed — a mismatch here can become a tax filing problem, not just an immigration one.
Lesson 3: There’s More Than One Path for Entrepreneurs — And Some Are Overlooked
Many business owners don’t know the E-1 “trader” visa exists — available to anyone regularly exporting or importing goods between the U.S. and a treaty country, with no U.S. company required. Compare that to the better-known E-2 investor visa, which does require forming a business and investing a substantial amount.
The same pattern shows up in tax planning: owners often assume there’s one standard way to handle a filing situation, when a closer look reveals options they didn’t know applied to them. Sometimes the wrong choice can end up with you requiring tax representation services.
Key takeaway: Don’t assume the most talked-about option is the only one, or the best one for a visa category or a tax strategy. Ask someone who knows the full landscape.
The Bigger Picture
Both immigration law and tax law are full of nuance and options most people don’t know exist — and both are full of confident, incorrect advice circulating online. Arturo’s core message — ask someone who actually knows — applies just as much to financial decisions as visa applications. As Regina put it: don’t wait until January to find out what you owe. The time to plan is now.
Want to Hear the Full Conversation?
This recap only covers part of the episode — Arturo also discussed investor visas, the EB-5 program, and what’s happening with immigration enforcement at the border. Call us at 480-248-6755 to talk through your business’s accounting, tax preparation, or payroll needs, or watch the full episode (in Spanish) on the Duran Business Group YouTube channel.