Getting a visa to the US for a French business owner

You may qualify for an E1/E2 visa which is available to French nationals. I don't know much about your case so I can't say which of these (if either) may work for you. An E1 visa is a non-immigrant visa available to certain foreign nationals who make a substantial investment in the U.S. (typically no less than $50,000) E2 is for executives and key employees of foreign firms who have substantial trade with U.S. Whether you may qualify for either of these visas requires careful consideration of a number of factors that cannot properly be addressed here. This is one type of visa that I would not attempt to obtain with the assistance of an immigration attorney with experience with E1/E2 visas. I hope this gives you a little guidance. I've also included a few links below that may be helpful.

If you have worked for your French company in an executive or managerial capacity for at least a year and you would like to open a related company in the US and you are otherwise eligible, an L-1 Intra-Company Transferee Visa could be an option. You should definitely use an immigration lawyer to help you file your petition. Bonne chance!

I am French and lived in France for 10 years; I know many French business people think they can just open a branch in the US and voila! It's not that simple. And if you believe that 50,000 dollars is enough of an investment you'll believe anything.

I suggest you read this quick list of documents required for obtaining an E visa:

"Supporting documents should be submitted in a binder with a table of contents and tabs. The following are examples of supporting documentation which should be attached to first-time applications (not every type of document is applicable in each case; the consular officer may request additional information if required): Evidence of possession and control of investment funds (bank records, financial statements, loans, savings, promissory notes, etc.); evidence of remittance to the United States (bank drafts, transfers, exchange permits, receipts, etc.); evidence of establishment of business in the United States (articles of incorporation, partnership agreement, organization and staffing charts, shares, titles, contracts, receipts, licenses, leases, etc.); evidence of the nationality of the investors/traders (passports, articles of incorporation of parent company, stock exchange listings, etc.); evidence of trade between the United States and the treaty country (invoices, bills of lading, customs clearances, warehouse receipts, shipping receipts, sales receipts, contracts, etc.); evidence of investment in the United States (titles, receipts, contracts, loans, bank statements, etc.); evidence of substantiality (financial statements, audits, U.S. corporate or business tax returns, etc.); evidence that the enterprise is not marginal (payroll records, IRS Form 941, personal tax returns, evidence of other personal assets and income); evidence that the business is a real, operating enterprise (annual reports, catalogs, sales literature, news articles, and other evidence as appropriate); curriculum vitae of the proposed visa recipient (optional)."