Carsten Alting

Carsten has been practicing in the United States since 1996 and was previously of counsel at another firm before joining HBS in 2007. He is fluent in English, German, and French.

After completing his German law studies at the University of Mainz in 1988, he passed the German second state exam in 1991 and was admitted to practice law in Germany. He also received a Master of Laws from St. Louis University in 1994.

Experience

Business Litigation

Carsten’s work includes corporate matters, where he helps start-ups to select the appropriate business entity form and undertakes all the legal work to form the entity. He further drafts corporate agreements such as shareholder, (limited) partnership, or operating agreements. He also assists clients in mergers and acquisitions (M&a) or similar corporate transactions such as joint ventures.

Business Transactions

Carsten advises numerous foreign clients doing business in the United States on all legal issues they may face, with an emphasis on Germany and other European countries. The work primarily includes corporate and commercial work like transactional, contract, employment, and immigration matters.

The transactional work consists of assisting clients with setting up a legal entity in the United States, including advice on the best corporate structure as well as corporate restructuring matters, joint ventures, and mergers and acquisitions (M&A) work.

Immigration

As part of his international practice, Carsten helps clients and their foreign employees secure all necessary visas and work permits, be aware of the numerous immigration laws, and to be in compliance with these laws. Visa work focuses on getting non-immigrant and immigrant (permanent) visas for the clients’ executive, managerial, professional, and other employees, including their spouses and children. In addition, Carsten assists individuals getting the proper non-immigrant and/or immigrant visa.

International Business

Carsten advises numerous foreign clients doing business in the United States on all legal issues they may face, with an emphasis on Germany and other European countries. The work primarily includes corporate, contract, employment, and immigration matters as well as litigation and product liability issues. Services range from helping clients form a new company in the U.S. to giving continuous legal support and advice as the business is manufacturing, marketing, and selling its products and/or services in the U.S. The work also includes estate matters involving foreign individuals or another country.

Further, Carsten gives legal advice to businesses or individuals residing in the U.S. on issues involving other countries’ laws, with a focus on Germany. This may include assisting a U.S.-based company that has foreign operations or is in the process of setting up a foreign base, getting a visa or work permit for another country, or dual nationality questions (especially the so-called German Beibehaltungsgenehmigung) .

Where needed and appropriate, Carsten uses his contacts with other professionals in and outside the United States, including those offered by the legal networks of which the Firm is a member.

Publications

•Piercing the Corporate Veil in American and German Law - Liability of Individuals and Entities: A Comparative View
Tulsa Journal of Comparative and International Law; March 1, 1995
•Doing Business in Germany
2001

In the Press

FY 2027 H-1B Cap Initial Registration Period Opens on March 4

February 3, 2026

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (https://www.uscis.gov/) has announced that the initial registration period for the FY 2027 H-1B cap will open at noon Eastern on March 4, 2026, and will close at noon Eastern on March 19, 2026.