Anyone can submit an application for H-1b visa sponsorship but generally there are strict requirements that the employer has to present to justify the application. Plus gvt only issues 65k new H-1b visas a year. Based on the needs and resources I have seen and read with most prop shops, they will not do it.
Couple the above with the fact that many prop traders are former engineers, technical people, and programmers who lost their jobs to H1-b initiatives. Given that fact I would say the chances are very slim indeed.
At best your odds of getting an H1B are slim. The 65k visas that are offered are gone within about two hours of their allocation. The ratio of applications to visas is around 3:1 so unless you have connections it ain't gonna happen. Expect that 65k number to drop for next year with the way the economy is circling the drain. If you qualify look into a TN visa, that's your best best. opm8
A TN Visa (only for Canadians and Mexicans to work in US) won't work, as trader is not on list of occupations that are granted TN visas. The full list is here: http://www.amcits.com/nafta_professions.asp
You have to remember that H1B are for "highly skilled" employees, typically someone with a Masters degree or higher. The employer (the prop firm) would have to pay prevailing wages (anything under 70k is unacceptable), AND provide evidence that no US citizen can do the job. Not likely for a prop trader.
If I recall, from several years ago...a person starting a business in the U.S. (from Canada) can qualify for a visa. I'm not sure of the investment amount, but I'm pretty sure it can work with some capital invested. And, obviously, starting a trading business should work. There are many lawyers who are versed in this type of thing that will help for very little costs I'm told (under $5,000). Reminds of 1992 when I had to actually hire a friend of mine who was the Deputy Prime Minister of Canada (Erik Nielsen, brother of the actor Leslie, long time friend) to work for me at Zapworld (zapworld.com) so he could maintain a dual working visa. I figured if the ex Dep. Prime Minister couldn't work a deal, that it might be pretty tough. FWIW, Don
These are the requirements for the EB5 Visa - Which allows permanent residency by investment. In most cases you will need to invest minimum of $1Million, which is most likely necessary to start a trading business...... Eligibility Permanent resident status based on EB-5 eligibility is available to investors, either alone or coming with their spouse and unmarried children. Eligible aliens are those who have invested -- or are actively in the process of investing -- the required amount of capital into a new commercial enterprise that they have established. They must further demonstrate that this investment will benefit the United States economy and create the requisite number of full-time jobs for qualified persons within the United States. In general, "eligible individuals" include those: 1. Who establish a new commercial enterprise by: * creating an original business; * purchasing an existing business and simultaneously or subsequently restructuring or reorganizing the business such that a new commercial enterprise results; or * expanding an existing business by 140 percent of the pre-investment number of jobs or net worth, or retaining all existing jobs in a troubled business that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months; and 2. Who have invested -- or who are actively in the process of investing -- in a new commercial enterprise: * at least $1,000,000, or * at least $500,000 where the investment is being made in a "targeted employment area," which is an area that has experienced unemployment of at least 150 per cent of the national average rate or a rural area as designated by OMB; and 3. Whose engagement in a new commercial enterprise will benefit the United States economy and: * create full-time employment for not fewer than 10 qualified individuals; or * maintain the number of existing employees at no less than the pre-investment level for a period of at least two years, where the capital investment is being made in a "troubled business," which is a business that has been in existence for at least two years and that has lost 20 percent of its net worth over the past 12 to 24 months.