U.S. Market Entry for International Companies
A Chinese or other international company entering the U.S. market usually has the commercial plan worked out and the legal plan not. Who signs the first customer contract, which entity holds the trademark, how the founder gets a visa, and what the parent company is exposed to—those questions are cheaper to answer before the first sale than after. We work with management teams in Chinese and English to put the structure in place.
What we look at first
Entity and structure
Whether to form a U.S. subsidiary, which state, how it is capitalized and governed, and how it relates to the parent for liability, tax and immigration purposes. We coordinate with tax advisers in both countries.
People
L-1 transfers for managers coming from the parent, O-1 or H-1B for specialists, and the employment agreements, handbooks and classification questions that come with hiring in the United States.
Contracts and brand
Customer and distributor agreements drafted for U.S. law and U.S. courts, a trademark strategy that puts the mark in the right name before someone else files it, and terms of sale that limit the parent's exposure.
Regulatory and compliance basics
Export controls, data and privacy rules, product-safety obligations and state registrations—identified early, with specialist counsel brought in where the industry requires it.
How the matter proceeds
Discover
Understand the business, the timeline and the people who will be in the United States.
Prioritize
Identify what must be in place before the first contract, the first hire and the first shipment.
Execute
Form the entity, file the petitions, draft the documents and coordinate the specialists.
Common questions
Practical answers to frequently asked questions. Individual circumstances can affect the best course of action.