I am working on a startup idea and have received an interview call from an accelerator and very likely to get in. The problem is that I am currently working on F1 (opt ext) and will file for H1B this April. My visa statuses do not allow me to dedicatedly run a startup. Is there any separate visa I could file or any other way I could do this? Suggestions will be greatly appreciated
You can't.<p>These visa categories have been specifically engineered to prevent you from working outside of your original job. Trust me, you do NOT want to screw with Immigration.<p>I'd been on J1/H1B/pre-Green-Card-waiting-list for a total of 10 years, so I had a lot of time to think about this.<p>Best shot if you are in an insane hurry: Marry a US citizen and really mean it. So better stop hacking in the evenings and go out. Start an interesting hobby. Get a hair cut. Read good books. Make friends that are NOT hackers. Get a tan. Eat good food. Smile at members of your preferred opposite gender and get super-comfortable talking to them.<p>Do NOT think about get-rich-quick-start-up ideas, it will only drive you mad if you can't actually start them up. Nobody wants to hang out with a person torn by the realization that they are in an impossible situation.<p>Enjoy the ride. You are young, bright and you work in an amazing field while living in a (presumably) fascinating place.
Stay in OPT as long as you can. You get more flexibility that way. Try getting the 17 month (I think) extension.<p>If you are on an H1B, you need to get a US person co-founder and have them 'sponsor' you. Be wary about the start up failing because as soon as the sponsor breaks their contract, you will be out of status [1]. This means you may have to leave the country immediately.<p>The E5 visa [2] is the best alternative. If you can secure funding of around $500,000, you get the right to live and work in the US almost as a US person. You can work for yourself, travel in and out of the country as you wish, etc.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.klaskolaw.com/articles.php?action=view&id=8" rel="nofollow">http://www.klaskolaw.com/articles.php?action=view&id=8</a><p>> Terminated H-1B employees should be aware that time is not on their side. If the employee has plans to have another H-1B petition filed on his or her behalf, or to change to another nonimmigrant status, those plans should be implemented as quickly as possible.<p>[2] <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-5_visa" rel="nofollow">http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-5_visa</a>
IANAL but based on experience, in general you can legally "own" a company/startup while on F1/H1B but you cannot "run" it. However, USCIS has come up with an explanation of "Employer-Employee relationship [0]" which is worth looking into if on H1B. The Requirement 1 is interesting:<p><pre><code> + How do I demonstrate an employer-employee relationship if I own my own company?
If you own your company you may be able to demonstrate that an employer-employee relationship exists if the control of your work is exercised by others. For example, if your company has a board of directors, preferred shareholders, investors, or other factors that show your organization has the right to control the terms and conditions of your employment (namely the right to hire, fire, pay, supervise or otherwise control the terms and conditions of your employment), then you may be able to meet this requirement. Some of the evidence you may submit to demonstrate the distinction between your ownership interest and the right to control your employment includes:
Term Sheet
Capitalization Table
Stock purchase Agreement
Investor rights Agreement
Voting Agreement
Organizational documents and operating agreements
</code></pre>
Otherwise, your options are almost none unless you quality for EB5 [1]<p>[0] <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/h-1b-specialty-occupation/understanding-h-1b-requirements" rel="nofollow">http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/h-1b-specialty-occupatio...</a><p>[1] <a href="http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers/employment-based-immigration-fifth-preference-eb-5/eb-5-immigrant-investor" rel="nofollow">http://www.uscis.gov/working-united-states/permanent-workers...</a>
You can work as an independant contractor or start a company on an OPT, STEM extension and even on a Pre-Completion OPT.<p>I recommend that you read this policy guidance published by the ICE in 2010.<p><a href="http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/opt_policy_guidance_042010.pdf" rel="nofollow">http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/opt_policy_guidance_0420...</a><p>It clearly states that:<p>On page 18.<p> Work for hire. This is also commonly referred to as 1099
employment, where an individual performs a service based on a
contractual relationship rather than an employment relationship. If
requested by DHS, the student must be prepared to provide
evidence showing the duration of the contract period and the name
and address of the contracting company.<p> Self-employed business owner. A student on OPT may start a
business and be self-employed. The student must be able to prove
that he or she has the proper business licenses and is actively
engaged in a business related to the student’s degree program.<p>On page 19<p>For a student who is on a 17-month extension, this employment may
include<p> Multiple employers. A student may work for more than one employer,
but all employment must be related to his or her degree program and
all employers must be enrolled in E-Verify.<p> Work for hire. This is also commonly referred to as 1099
employment, where an individual performs a service based on a
contractual relationship rather than an employment relationship. The
company for whom the student is providing services must be
registered with E-Verify. If requested by DHS, the student must be
prepared to provide evidence showing the duration of the contract
period and the name and address of the contracting company.<p> Self-employed business owner. A student on a 17-month extension
can start a business and be self-employed. In this situation, the
student must register his or her business with E-Verify and work full
time. The student must be able to prove that he or she has the
proper business licenses and is actively engaged in a business
related to his or her degree program.<p>Contact me if you are interested in learning more about this topic.<p>Akshay Bhat (Cornell University)
I do not think that the comments here are very good advice. I know a very good immigration attorney if you need one. Here are my two cents:<p>* H1B hit its cap last year, probably hit its cap next year. It's a lottery if you'll get one – I know a lot of people that did not get them – It's also very hard to get a H1B if a) you own <i>majority</i> of the company, or b) if you have raised less than $500k.<p>* I have never met anyone on the E5 visa. It's supposedly a complete nightmare, and takes forever to process.<p>* The E-2 visa is good but it requires <i>you</i> investing significant capital – six figures – in your business. If you can do this, get this visa since it is the best one.<p>* I know people that did not get the H1B and ended up working in USA on a J-1 visa: it's a crappy visa but might work, usually requires you to have more structure in the USA though.<p>My advice is to get a good lawyer and get an O-1 visa. Everyone balks at this visa but if you match these requirements you are a long way towards it:<p>* Have press about your startup (techcrunch etc)<p>* Have been accepted in an accelerator<p>* Have a degree<p>* Can get 5 or 10 reference letters from customers / advisors / investors saying how great you are.<p>One caveat is that again, you need six figures in the bank. Of all the visas though the O-1 is by far the nearest to an Entrepreneurs visa. I know dozens of people with them.
This is what most hackers want:<p>- residence in the USA;<p>- working for a small salary to cover expenses,<p>- but with strong guarantees of equity (ownership or something like it)<p>US immigration law is designed to stop all of this. Because for most other cases, that would mask shenanigans like a foreign worker undercutting a US competitor, or even a foreign worker being exploited.<p>Bottom line, you may be able to hack this, but in doing so you will probably give someone else a lot of power over you. Even if you succeed, someone else may have the ability to extract a lot of that wealth you worked for.<p>I happen to be Canadian, so living in my own country is not such a hardship and I still have access to US investors.<p>This might be a thread derail, but how many people here would consider residing in Canada as an alternative? The country is much more friendly to immigration, and if you live in Vancouver, you're just a few hours from SFO or Seattle by air. Some Silicon Valley companies are starting up divisions in Vancouver for that reason. But maybe there could be a "Vancouver hacker house" doing the same thing for foreign entrepreneurs and startups.
<i></i>* You can do this on the OPT <i></i>*. Without OPT F-1 employment rules are strict. But the OPT is basically a green card when it comes to what kind of work you can do (anywhere, you don't have to ask anyone's permission to change employers, you can freelance, you can start a business, you can work for multiple employers).<p>You need to work full-time on OPT. I don't know how they check but you need to be prepared to prove that you're working full time. (I know about this because if you're freelancing, my school told that I need to keep extensive paper trail to prove that I'm employed.) There's limitations about how long you can be unemployed in the OPT.<p>You need to register your company in E-verify for OPT extension. To register for e-verify you need tax ID numbers and a DUNS number as well. It's a pain but I was able to do it myself. (They make you study for a quiz, etc). You actually don't need to e-verify yourself. Just registering the company and getting an e-verify number was enough for us.
There's no such visa unfortunately. If you qualify for an EB-1A you could self petition without a job offer and receive a green card that would entitle you to work wherever you'd like. But that requires you to be among the best in your field. It's a pretty high bar.
IANAL, I believe you cannot work on your startup or any other company with an F1 (you can only work part-time on campus edit: I forgot about the OPT, worth looking into) or H1B (you can only work for the company that sponsored you). You may want to look at the L1 visa.
<a href="http://watsonimmigration.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/h1b-visas-for-entrepreneurs-self-employed-h1b-visa/" rel="nofollow">http://watsonimmigration.wordpress.com/2011/08/09/h1b-visas-...</a><p>Hi, if you are on your OPT and have an H1b pending, you can extend your OPT until October 1. Depends when in April your OPT expires but H1bs must be filed by April 1 so you could very well utilize that opportunity.<p>Depending on the country of citizenship, you could consider an E2 visa also.<p>I am a strong advocate for the Startup visa which would have helped you.<p>I assist startup founders with visa options and would be happy to help.
Here is a link to USCIS own guidance for the above question.
<a href="http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/entrepreneur-visa-guide" rel="nofollow">http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/entrepreneur-visa-guide</a><p>IMHO, its not impossible and you have options, but it will not be hassle free. You'll have to jump a lot of hurdles before you get through.
You can do this by filing H1B through a consulting company and start working for the startup as a contractor through the consulting company. One catch is that consulting company has to pay a minimum h1B salary for you which shouldn't be a problem if you do get into the accelerator. If you need help for filing H1B, let me know through email. Good luck.
IANAL, you can start a startup on H1B if you can prove that you are not sponsoring yourself. The way few people I know did is, by having a board of directors with the power to fire you (maybe through majority vote). You need to list a member of board-of-directors as your manager.
How I hacked my US startup visa: <a href="http://qz.com/151333/how-i-hacked-my-us-startup-visa/" rel="nofollow">http://qz.com/151333/how-i-hacked-my-us-startup-visa/</a>
I think you are ok if you are still on OPT status.
As you long as you can show that are applying skills you learned from school.<p>But try checking with your international office at school.