Are U.S. start-ups able/willing to help foreign (European) developers get an employment visa, or is this too much hassle for a smaller company? Have you done it in the past?<p>EDIT: I rephrased the question, as it was meant to be general. I myself am not going anywhere for at least 1 year. I am merely planning my career on a long-term basis during this weekend.
I was lucky enough to get a startup to sponsor my H1B. It was a big investment for them since I'd cost them a large chunk of money and time before I'd written a single line of code. You spend most of the process feeling guilty for taking time from extremely busy people's days to go through huge email discussions with lawyers and filling out forms. When you actually land at the company people will wonder why so much time and effort was taken to ship someone in from abroad rather than hiring locally.<p>From the employee side there's also risk, while you can switch jobs on an H1B it's not trivial and startups have a tendency to go under (luckily my current employer is kicking ass so my chances of an unemployment related deportation are very close to 0 but it still worries me at times). Having your company go under is never fun, that coupled with facing a deadline to find another job with visa related friction slowing the process down is not something I'd like to try.<p>On the upside working for a US startup is an amazing experience. Ireland has some hardy souls trying startups but it's like another planet over here. A lot more energy and enthusiasm around starting something new and people don't treat startups like a last ditch attempt at employment which is nice.
We'll, let's look at the figures.<p>A H1B costs $8k max. A startup salary starts at $80K per year. Would you pay 10% of salary to get a good candidate? In this job market, in a heartbeat.
We're currently in the process of sponsoring two foreigners for H1B visa, and we're a small bootstrapped startup, so yeah it's definitely possible.<p>The legal costs are fairly high, but we have been working with the 2 applicants for several months already, so I'm comfortable sponsoring them. I would not have done it based on a resume and job interviews alone.<p>I'd be happy to answer any questions if you need more details.<p>oh, and to address some of the other comments here, my understanding is that it's illegal for the applicant to pay for the legal costs.<p>Also, as employer we cannot underpay the applicant. Part of the application process requires us to disclose the salary offered and document prevailing wages for the same position in the same area. Should the salary offered be too low, the visa would be denied. (many requirements in the application process are designed to protect American jobs)
> I am merely planning my career on a long-term basis<p>I would suggest that if you're planning for the <i>long-term</i> and want more job security, stay away from startups. Too much can wrong and you'll have too much too lose if they go belly-up and/or don't have people that can competently handle your immigration paperwork.<p>I moved from the UK to the USA in 2001. I came here on a J-1 visa (18 months), then got an H1-B (6 years) and finally got a green card through marriage. I worked for a federal government agencies - they were throwing H1-Bs at everyone and had a dedicated team for handling foreign/immigration issues. When I transferred from government work to 'Company B' their HR screwed up my immigration paperwork so bad that USCIS issued a <i>deportation notice</i> and I lost my job. Nightmare scenario given that I had a mortgage, and my partner was 7-months pregnant, commuting 10 hours a week, working F-T and finishing up her MBA.<p>Visas/immigration (and attorney fees) have been a pain in the rear for the last decade. I think I'll pay Uncle Sam the $700 just to become a citizen so I can sleep better...
I'm vaguely curious about this too. What a lot of people don't know is that there a special visa for Australians to work in the US, called an E3 [1] that (IIRC) came about only 5-8 years ago as part of a settlement of a trade dispute (basically the US blocks Australian wheat imports on quarantine grounds but the real issue is Australian agriculture isn't subsidized and is competitive with US agriculture, which is hugely subsidized).<p>Anyway, an E3 visa is actually MUCH easier to get than a H1B visa. For a H1B visa you have to "prove" that the job qualifies (Labor certification) and that you can't find anyone locally to do it. The first part is a formality (getting an LCA from the Department of Labor). The second is the hard and expensive part.<p>For an E3, you only need to do the first part.<p>So if you can't find people locally, consider employing Australians. I am curious on the cost and hassle of doing this from the employer's side too.<p>Anyone had any experience with this?<p>[1]: <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-3_visa</a>
In the bay area, given the current market, any reasonably funded startup would likely work with you, assuming you passed interviews, etc.<p>It may be somewhat easier at a company that's dealt with the process before, but most valley startups will have access to experienced immigration attorneys.
There's a threshold, just because of the cost involved. In general, if a startup is big enough to be able to afford it, they'd gladly sponsor you.<p>A previous company I worked at sponsored somebody after their second round of funding.
I've recently had some experience with this and it seems only about 60k h1b visas are available each year (year starts in September).<p><a href="http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f35e66f614176543f6d1a/?vgnextoid=4b7cdd1d5fd37210VgnVCM100000082ca60aRCRD&vgnextchannel=73566811264a3210VgnVCM100000b92ca60aRCRD" rel="nofollow">http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/menuitem.5af9bb95919f...</a> If you want to see a count down for the 2012 quota<p>I've been told that most of those go to larger companies and that startups might find it harder to get them (this is anecdotal though)
I am in your exact situation, I plan to leave everything I've behind and hit the states or Canada in one year or so and as far as I know there shouldn't be any problem for any kind of startup to get you in(legal wise), of course there's the money problem, the startup has to choose if you are worth the money they are going to spend on lawyers and other expenses (~$10k as I've heard) but nothing that a good resume can't beat, also you can offer to pay for the expenses as I am willing to do.
There are startups willing to go through the troubles of H1B sponsorship. Engineers are in demand and the (typically) $5k it costs is a small number when signing bonuses can be much higher. There have been periods where this was a timing problem, and a small gamble, but the past couple years and this year there has been a significant drop in applicants. What this means is that your H1B is all but assured if you're qualified.
I'm currently in San Francisco with a H1B at Academia.edu, a reasonably well-funded startup (not that early stage, but still only 5 developers and very much a great startup atmosphere), so it happens.<p>Also, they/we did/do interviews through Skype, so no flights. Though interviews being convenient does not make them any easier :)<p>(ps: we are hireing: <a href="http://www.academia.edu/hiring" rel="nofollow">http://www.academia.edu/hiring</a>)
I myself left Europe in 2001. It wasn't easy. I attempted to get sponsorship from 77 businesses but no luck.<p>I finally settled agreeing to work for 3 months unpaid internship, at the end of which I got my first job in Australia.<p>It ain't easy to wing it, so be ready to think outside the box.
We're hiring. We will sponsor a work visa for the right person, and would consider exceptional new grads.
<a href="http://careers.thinknear.com" rel="nofollow">http://careers.thinknear.com</a>
Does it have to be a startup?<p>There's a huge continuum between fledgling startup and entrenched multinational. There exist smaller multinationals where you can still have a huge impact.