Update: The administration changed its position on Friday. Read here.
Voted last Friday, the CARES Act provides, in particular, for massive assistance to SMEs. But for entrepreneurs who are in the United States on visa, the news will quickly turn to false joy: the administration published this Tuesday, March 31, the first documents, which appear that they will not be entitled to this “ Paycheck Protection Program ”.
The law itself did not, however, specifically exclude anything, but the Treasury Department interpreted it restrictively. The loan request form (which must be made to a bank) published on Tuesday indicates that companies owned more than 20% by a shareholder who is not a US citizen or does not hold a green card will be refused the loan. .
Visa holders, as well as subsidiaries of French companies for example, will therefore not be able to claim these particularly advantageous loans, which can go up to $ 10 million and, above all, can turn into a subsidy if the company maintains the initial payroll (more details here).
They can, however, apply for another category of loans, called "Economic Injury Disaster Loans", but these are subject to credit score conditions which do not apply to PPPs and are more limited.
Contacted about the reasons for this restrictive interpretation, the US Department of the Treasury had not answered our questions at the time of publication of this article.
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