Opening in New York: Staffing Plan for Japanese Restaurant Groups

When a Japanese restaurant company plans a New York opening, the first staffing question is not who to bring from Japan. It is what kind of company you will open with. The US has no work visa for chefs as such, and the two routes Japanese food companies rely on most, the E-2 and the L-1, both depend on ownership and on employment history inside the group. Once you have decided how to structure the US business, you have largely decided which visas are open to you.

This article is written for a Japanese restaurant company or owner opening in New York, and follows the order of the opening plan. The day to day side of hiring in New York (job ads, food safety certification, where to find candidates) is covered in Hiring a sushi chef in New York.

1. New York in numbers

MAFF's survey is by country and region and does not give a figure for New York alone. Even so, this is a city with a large Japanese population and a deep bench of Japanese restaurants. Assume many restaurants are chasing the same candidates.

2. How you enter decides your visa options

A Japanese food company can enter New York in roughly three ways.

The E-2 is available under the US and Japan treaty of commerce and navigation (in force 30 October 1953) where at least 50% of the US business is owned by nationals of the treaty country, Japan. Employees of that business can also get E-2 status, but only if they share the company's nationality (Japanese) and either hold a supervisory or executive role or have specialised skills essential to the operation. For Japanese nationals, E-2 visas are issued for 60 months with no reciprocity fee (the application fee is $315).

In a joint venture, the ownership split directly decides whether you can bring a head chef from Japan. Take the staffing plan into the meeting where the capital structure is set.

3. What each route is good for

E-2: the standard route for Japanese chefs at a Japanese owned restaurant

If the US company is Japanese owned, the E-2 may be usable even for a Japanese chef you recruit from outside the group. A head chef or a craftsman who holds up the food would be presented as having skills essential to the business. Details are in bringing restaurant staff on an E-2 visa.

L-1: sending your own chefs

The L-1 is for people who have worked full time for a group company abroad for at least one continuous year within the three years before the petition. The US role has to be managerial or executive (L-1A) or require specialized knowledge (L-1B). The regulation defines specialized knowledge as special knowledge of the organisation's product, service, techniques, management or other interests, or an advanced level of knowledge of the organisation's processes and procedures. Whether a long serving head chef from your Japanese restaurants meets that is decided case by case.

The point to watch in an opening plan is the L-1 for opening a new office. The regulation requires evidence that sufficient physical premises have been secured, and approval is for a maximum of one year. To extend, you must show that the business is actually operating. In other words, you cannot file the L-1 before you have signed for the premises.

O-1: chefs with a track record

For chefs who can show extraordinary achievement in the culinary arts (an award, or at least three of six criteria). It runs for up to three years, with no annual cap. It can work for a chef who will be the face of the restaurant, but it is not a route for everyone. See the O-1 visa and chefs.

H-2B and EB-3: a poor fit for permanent opening roles

The H-2B requires a temporary need (generally one year or less), so it cannot fill a permanent post at a year round restaurant. For the EB-3 green card, the September 2026 Visa Bulletin shows a final action date of 1 September 2024 for skilled workers. It is not a route that will deliver a chef in time for opening.

4. Hiring locally

56.1% of Japanese nationals in the US are permanent residents, so a meaningful number should be able to work without sponsorship. For a front of house manager, a sous chef or a Japanese speaking manager, look locally first.

Remember that only Japanese nationals can work for you on an E-2. Everyone else on the team has to come from the local workforce with their own right to work. Design the opening kitchen and floor as a Japanese core on E-2 or L-1 plus a locally hired team. Models for that mix are in staffing an overseas opening.

5. Pay levels and hiring rules

• Market pay: the median for Chefs and Head Cooks in the New York metro area is $71,780 (May 2025), and the 90th percentile is $120,370. Use this as the benchmark for a head chef you bring on an E-2 or L-1 too.
• Minimum wage: from 1 January 2026, $17.00 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester, and $16.00 in the rest of the state. For tipped food service workers in New York City and the same areas, the cash wage is $11.35 plus a tip credit of $5.65.
• Job ads: under New York State's pay transparency law (Labor Law section 194-B), employers with four or more employees must include a compensation range in job advertisements.

Bringing a Japanese pay structure over unchanged tends to create a sense of unfairness between local hires and chefs from Japan. Set pay ranges by role before opening.

6. Building it into the opening schedule

Processing times vary by period and by case, so this article does not give them. Ask a US immigration lawyer for an estimate on your own facts.

7. Checklist

• Does the Japanese side own at least 50% of the US business? (E-2)
• Has each person you plan to send worked for a group company for at least one continuous year in the last three? (L-1)
• Is everyone you plan to employ on an E-2 a Japanese national?
• If you will use a new office L-1, is securing the premises scheduled before the petition?
• Is the head chef's pay reasonable against the New York metro market (median $71,780)?
• Do your job ads include a pay range?

General information, not legal or immigration advice. Visa requirements were checked as of September 2026. Ask a US immigration lawyer about eligibility and processing times for your case.