Visa requirements for foreign board members of US public companies
<p>Does a foreign member of a US public company board of directors need a work visa in the USA? For example, if a large foreign company invested in a US public company and wanted board representation, would the representative need to have a work visa? </p>

<p>Or is there a special visa that is used for this, such as a B1?</p>

<p>Does it differ depending on whether the member dials in from abroad or attends the meeting in the USA?</p>

<p>A normal requirement of B-1 status is that the visitor may not receive compensation for any activities in the US.  However, there appears to be an exception for board members.</p>
<p>I was not able to find anything about this on any government sites, but several law firms have information online about permissible B-1 activities, and they all agree that attending board meetings in the US is a permissible B-1 activity.</p>
<p>The first one I saw that noted this as an exception to the rule against receivng compensation was <a href="http://www.maggio-kattar.com/sites/default/files/B-1%20Compliance%20Guide.pdf" rel="nofollow noreferrer">http://www.maggio-kattar.com/sites/default/files/B-1%20Compliance%20Guide.pdf</a>, which says</p>
<blockquote>
<p>Some foreign nationals who will perform actual labor for compensation in the U.S. may be admitted as B-1 visitors, including:</p>
<ul>
<li><p>Members of Boards of Directors of U.S. corporations coming to the U.S. to attend a board meeting or to perform other functions of board membership.</p>
</li>
<li><p>[...]</p>
</li>
</ul>
</blockquote>

united-states labor-law visa