While EB-1 green card issuance in the US is on hold, the same evidence file assembled for an EB-1 petition can be used in parallel for a UK Global Talent Visa application — in the case described here, the decision came back in two days.
In short
- An approved EB-1 petition without a visa doesn’t give you the right to enter the US on a tourist visa — doing so risks a five-year entry ban.
- The EB-1 evidence file can be partially reused for a Global Talent Visa application in the UK as a backup option.
- The Global Talent Visa leads to settlement (ILR) after 5 years, while the Startup Visa takes 3 years and suits even non-technical applicants.
- New UK tax residents get 4 years of tax relief on passive income under the FIG system, provided the business has no permanent establishment in the UK.
- London accounts for 80% of capital within the UK and 80% of all European investment, despite Brexit.
Why the EB-1 freeze pushes applicants to look for a backup plan
A pause in US immigration service processing has left applicants stuck at different stages of the green card process — some are waiting on petition review, others, like the subject of this story, Mikhail Bezhinsky, have already had their petition approved under the EB-1A category (“alien of extraordinary ability”) but haven’t received the physical green card. According to available information, the freeze has affected applicants from dozens of countries with approved EB-1 petitions — an exact figure has not been officially published.
After petition approval, the process formally continues: the applicant is scheduled for an interview, undergoes a medical exam, and prepares for the appointment. But instead of a visa, the interview can end with a document describing a technical denial — stating that the decision has been postponed “for technical reasons” and that the applicant will be called in once the freeze is lifted. In the meantime, the applicant is left holding an approved petition with no visa to enter the country.
Why you can’t just enter the US on a tourist visa
An applicant whose immigrant petition for an EB-1 green card has already been approved cannot enter the US on a tourist or student visa, even if they hold other valid US visas. Border officers treat such an attempt as misrepresentation: if a person is waiting on an immigrant green card, their intent is presumed to be to stay in the country, not to visit temporarily as tourist or student status requires.
A telling case involved someone in the same situation being turned away right at the border and given a five-year entry ban to the US. He was told directly: he was waiting on an immigrant green card, and therefore was deceiving the border officers by trying to enter on a tourist visa, because what he actually wanted was to stay. The risk of losing access to the country for five years is a reason not to try to get around the freeze, but to look for a parallel path to legal status instead.
he was waiting on an immigrant green card, and therefore was deceiving the border officers by trying to enter on a tourist visa, because what he actually wanted was to stay
Trying to enter the US on a tourist visa with an approved EB-1 petition is treated as misrepresentation — one known case ended in a five-year entry ban.
How the same EB-1 file becomes a Global Talent Visa application
The backup plan is built on the same set of documents assembled for the US EB-1 green card: materials that satisfy Global Talent Visa requirements are pulled from it, and a shortened package is submitted in the UK. The full US petition file runs to roughly a thousand pages, but a limited selection from that same file is enough for the UK application. In the case described here, the Global Talent Visa decision came back in just two days — an unusually fast result, and one that shouldn’t be counted on in advance: gov.uk does not publish standard processing times, and they depend on the volume of documents and the specifics of the case, especially since the applicant hadn’t even decided at that point whether they would use the status at all.
This two-track strategy works because of how close the two markets are: the UK and US markets are closer to each other than the EU and US markets are. Shared language and the traction of startups being worked with in the UK are transferable to the US market, or at least can speed up progress there. In this scheme, London becomes a staging ground for preparing a move to the US, not the final destination.
Materials can be pulled from the roughly thousand-page EB-1 evidence file to build a shortened Global Talent Visa application in the UK.
The UK’s ecosystem of startups, universities, and grants
The UK ecosystem for pilot projects is structured as a three-way link: a startup with a technology, a university researching it — for example, in artificial intelligence or computer vision — and a system through which funding for such pilots flows via universities, research programs, and corporate partners. In practice there are often four sides involved: alongside university funding for pilots with startups, corporations with their own budgets get involved too — and piloting through them is often faster than waiting on grant funding.
Grant approval itself moves quickly in the UK — not instantly, but noticeably faster than one might expect, since no single organization is responsible for it: grants and pilots are handled by many universities, each with their own institutes and departments, as well as by corporations that currently have budgets set aside for testing AI and its applications across various fields.
A symbolic but telling detail: the UK already has a minister for AI — without portfolio, more of a nominal figure with a limited budget — who nonetheless pledges support for the field. In parallel, the country is developing a dedicated AI strategy and setting up a separate subgroup for it under the Global Talent Visa program.
Global Talent Visa and Startup Visa: timelines to permanent status
| Route | Time to settlement | Who it suits |
|---|---|---|
| Global Talent Visa | 5 years (standard timeline for applying for settlement, ILR) | Applicants with a public profile — those willing to invest time, effort, and money into establishing their expertise |
| Startup Visa (Innovator Founder visa) | 3 years (accelerated route) | Almost anyone, including those without a technical background |
The standard timeline for applying for settlement (ILR) under the Global Talent Visa is 5 years, while the Startup Visa (Innovator Founder visa) shortens that path to 3 years. The Startup Visa, also known as the Innovator Founder visa, offers an accelerated 3-year route — noticeably shorter than the general timeline.
That speed comes down to a tension between economic logic and political populism: the authorities are keen to retain not only Global Talent holders but also entrepreneurs on the Startup Visa. This route is more accessible: you don’t need to be a technical specialist — being, say, a co-founder of a tech startup is enough.
Global Talent Visa vs. Startup Visa: which to choose
| Criterion | Global Talent Visa | Startup Visa (Innovator Founder visa) |
|---|---|---|
| Time to settlement (ILR) | 5 years | 3 years |
| Who it suits | Applicants with a public profile, ready to establish their expertise | Almost anyone, including non-technical specialists |
| Status requirement | Publicly recognized expertise | Being, say, a co-founder of a tech startup is enough |
Figures are based on the case described in the article; standard timelines may vary.
The FIG tax regime for new UK residents
New UK tax residents get a 4-year tax holiday on passive income — but not on everything. This refers to the FIG (Foreign Income and Gains) system, which replaced the non-dom regime that had been in place for decades. Under the new rules, the relief window has shrunk to that same 4 years, but the money can now be freely brought into the UK and spent there — something that used to be restricted.
The relief only applies if the requirements are met. You can’t set up a permanent establishment in the UK: if tax authorities determine that the business is actually being run from UK territory and profits are being paid out as dividends, the relief is lost. That said, formally meeting the requirements isn’t difficult — it’s a matter of correct declaration, not of giving up the business.
if tax authorities determine that the business is actually being run from UK territory and profits are being paid out as dividends, the relief is lost
In essence, FIG is the UK’s equivalent of Spain’s Beckham Law: the same principle of a temporary tax advantage for new residents that most other countries don’t offer.
New UK tax residents get 4 years of tax relief on passive income under the FIG system, but the relief only applies if the business has no permanent establishment in the UK.
Why launching a startup in the UK costs less than in the US
Getting a startup to pilot stage with a corporation or research institute happens faster and cheaper in the UK than in the US: competition is lower, and there’s more money per startup founder on a per-capita basis. The UK market is smaller than the US one but bigger than any single EU country’s, while being more uniform in mentality and language, which makes it easier to break into. The bulk of capital is concentrated in London: according to the figures cited, 80% of all European investment is still allocated from there, despite Brexit, and within the UK itself, London accounts for 80% of the country’s total capital — Cambridge or Edinburgh, by comparison, have noticeably less money.
80% of all European investment is still allocated from there, despite Brexit
An additional advantage is the practical infrastructure for getting started. It’s easier to open an account with a reputable bank in the UK than in the US, and faster to secure investment or grant support for research and development. The same goes for launching pilots with universities and corporations: the local network of accelerators, incubators, and coworking spaces is built specifically for getting a technology through fast viability testing.
Lower competition and more capital per entrepreneur, plus easier bank account opening and faster access to investment or grants than in the US.
Frequently asked questions
What happens if an applicant with an approved EB-1 tries to enter the US on a visitor visa arranged through a friend or agent anyway?
Border officers treat such an attempt as misrepresentation the same way regardless of who arranged the visit. The existence of an approved immigrant petition itself signals intent to stay rather than visit temporarily, so the formal reason for entry doesn’t matter. The outcome for the applicant is a real risk of being denied entry and facing a multi-year ban, as has already happened to people in the same situation.
Can an applicant withdraw an approved EB-1 petition to get a tourist or student visa without the risk of being accused of misrepresentation?
There’s no direct answer to this scenario, but border officers’ reasoning is built specifically around the fact that a green card is pending: as long as the petition is approved and the status isn’t closed, trying to enter on a temporary visa is treated as misrepresenting the purpose of the visit. Formally, this can only be changed by fully abandoning the immigrant path, not by pausing it on paper. That’s why pursuing legal status in another country in parallel remains a safer option than trying to maneuver around the status.
What happens if the EB-1 freeze is lifted before UK status has been finalized?
The approved EB-1 petition remains valid, and once the freeze is lifted, the applicant will be called in for further processing regardless of what they were doing in parallel. UK status neither hinders nor speeds up the US process in this case — they’re independent tracks. In practice, this means the applicant can keep using the UK route for as long as needed and switch focus to the US once called in.
Does an applicant need to make a final decision about moving to the UK before applying for a Global Talent Visa?
No, the decision on whether to actually use the status can be put off even after approval — in the case described here, the person behind the evidence file still hadn’t decided by the time the visa was granted. In this setup, the Global Talent Visa works as a backup and parallel option, not a commitment to relocate. That removes the pressure to decide right away while the main EB-1 process is on hold.
Can you get a Startup Visa without a working startup, just at the idea stage?
There’s no direct answer, but it’s known that the route is designed for co-founders of tech startups and doesn’t require the applicant to have a technical background. That makes the Startup Visa more accessible than the Global Talent Visa, which requires a public profile and established expertise. In practice, this means the bar for entry is tied to your role in the company rather than the depth of your technical skills.
Can you switch from a Startup Visa to a Global Talent Visa, or combine the two routes?
There’s no direct answer to this: both routes are described as independent paths to settlement with different timelines — 5 years for the Global Talent Visa and 3 years for the Startup Visa. The choice between them depends on whether the applicant is ready to build a public expert profile or finds it easier to rely on their role as a startup co-founder. Combining or switching between statuses would require a separate check of each visa’s conditions.
Does a new UK resident lose the FIG tax relief if they’re also running a business in the US under an EB-1 green card?
Running a business outside the UK doesn’t cancel the relief by itself — the problem only arises if a permanent establishment actually forms in the UK and profits are paid out as dividends from within the UK. Formally meeting the FIG requirements isn’t difficult; it’s a matter of correctly declaring income rather than giving up an overseas business. So a US status and a UK tax regime can be maintained in parallel with careful structuring.
Comments
Reader experience is useful, but it is not advice: check the rules on the official site.
No account needed: click Sign in, type any name, and you are done.