Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months? • Hacker News Board

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#81

Post by rdtsc » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:44 AM UTC

anigbrowl wrote: post #38

rdtsc wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Calls for O-1aaS startup. Setup an organization that will: * Generate awards and prizes in computer science and its sub-fields. * It will have a journal that will be populated by a deep learning nn. Seeded by a few areas of interest a user will put in, it will then auto-generate articles. * Setup a contracting service where you invest in it initially, then it pays it back to you as salary for whatever minimum amount…

I'd advise tempering your sense of humor on this topic, since attempts to do more-or-less what you're talking about above tend to culminate in long prison sentences for both operators and customers of such a service, unless it's based in a jurisdiction that doesn't have an extradition treaty with the US. since 'securing the border' is one of those fundamentally unattainable political goals prosecutors tend to throw t…

Have an acquaintance working in USCIS, so heard all kinds of stories. Their own perspective is interesting as well. They are very pro-US, defending the borders and the law. Yet they at the same time they are very jaded about working in what seems like a beaurocracy full of incompetency and mismanagement.

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#82

Post by jaksmit » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:49 AM UTC

postila wrote: post #44

O-1 w/o lawyer is not only impossible, it's the way I recommend to everyone who already achieved smth in homeland country. I received O-1 visa in February 2015 and I did it without lawyer. After I id it, I helped a couple of my friends and they received O-1 as well. Again, without lawyers. All you need is: 1) learn USCIS docs (law itself and directions on the official site) 2) learn as many examples as possible (in m…

"RFE process ("request for evidence" – when USCIS asks you to provide more information) always occurs"

this is not true. I got my O-1 visa without any RFE.

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#83

Post by schappim » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:52 AM UTC

For the Australians in the audience... Geoff McQueen has made an awesome "How to"[1] on getting an E3 Visa.

Quite a few Australian Startmate[2] founders have done this.

[1] http://geoffmcqueen.com/2011/09/28/e-3-visa-for-australians-... [2] http://www.startmate.com.au

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#84

Post by hpagey » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:53 AM UTC

Finbarr wrote: post #9

If you have been running your company for a year or more outside of the US, you may have some luck with the L-1 Visa for intra-company transfer[1]. The visa is for managers/executives who are coming to the US to work for a US arm of a foreign company. Seems like it can be used for establishing US based offices as well. [1] http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/l-1-intracompany-transfe...

I think this is the best approach. If you transfer yourself as a manager or executive on L1A you can apply in EB1 category for Green Card. The EB1 category is current across all countries, meaning you can get your GC in around 3 to 6 months.

I would suggest

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#85

Post by Pyxl101 » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:55 AM UTC

What would be the downside of allowing anyone to immigrate to a country as long as they have qualified employment with compensation greater than a certain amount per year? (Let's say $75k or $100k or whatever makes a person an obvious net-bonus to society rather than net loss.) They can stay on that visa as long as they retain employment with any firm for that amount.

If a person has demonstrated merit justifying a six figure job, why prevent them from entering your country and staying? They'll be a net win for your economy. It seems like this would solve a lot of immigration problems in high-skill fields.

I'm not saying we should casually make this possible without deep thought, but as an immigration idea it seems appealing to me. Simplify the system and reduce it to an issue of whether the person can pull their weight. I suppose the downside is that any rich person who owns a company can allow virtually anyone they want to immigrate, as a "fake employee" of the firm. There should be oversight. Full time employment required, and proof of compensation in the way of wages, IRS review.

I suppose it wouldn't help YC founders. Maybe another visa for founders of companies that have raised above a certain minimum amount, above a certain valuation?

(I haven't settled how I feel about immigration, so please don't take this as a statement of my stance one way or another. Just seems like a neat idea to explore.)

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#86

Post by hpagey » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 12:57 AM UTC

Void_ wrote: post #64

Is the 3 months in the US while working on your OWN company legal? What do you tell the immigration cop if they ask you if you're going to work in the US? Would you explain that you're going to work on your own company? Would they accept it? Or would you just say you're going for a vacation?

So, you can own a company in US but you CANNOT work for it without proper work authorization ( H1B, EAD, OPT, CPT) etc etc. How would you prove that you won't work for your own company? You will also need to prove employer - employee relationship. What is an "immigration cop" ? Are you referring to the Visa Officer at the US consulate who is granting you the visa or the immigration officer the port of entry ?

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#87

Post by [deleted] » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 1:10 AM UTC

hugh4 wrote: post #59

dotBen wrote: post #22

Technically it isn't clear what visa foreign YC founders should use to stay in the US during the 3 months. Visa waiver[0] only allows for meetings, attending a conference, attend short-term unpaid training or negotiate a contract. Anything that really is 'working' - such as performing software engineering for a company (even your own) - is arguably outside of the visa waiver. I'm assuming YC doesn't want founders to…

If challenged I would stick it under "negotiating a contract". "Yes, I am negotiating a contract for investment. The work I am doing is part of the negotiation"

[deleted]

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#88

Post by adrianmacneil » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 1:34 AM UTC

Pyxl101 wrote: post #85

What would be the downside of allowing anyone to immigrate to a country as long as they have qualified employment with compensation greater than a certain amount per year? (Let's say $75k or $100k or whatever makes a person an obvious net-bonus to society rather than net loss.) They can stay on that visa as long as they retain employment with any firm for that amount. If a person has demonstrated merit justifying a s…

Continuing your thought experiment, why stop at people with a high paying job offer? What would be wrong with allowing anyone to move anywhere and stay as long as they please, provided that they pay their taxes and don't break any laws.

To put it in perspective, I've never heard anyone complain about people from other states moving to California and taking jobs from people who were born here, so why should we be so concerned about people moving from other countries?

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#89

Post by aytekin » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 1:38 AM UTC

sparkzilla wrote: post #10

Finbarr wrote: post #9

If you have been running your company for a year or more outside of the US, you may have some luck with the L-1 Visa for intra-company transfer[1]. The visa is for managers/executives who are coming to the US to work for a US arm of a foreign company. Seems like it can be used for establishing US based offices as well. [1] http://www.uscis.gov/eir/visa-guide/l-1-intracompany-transfe...

I was on this visa. You must have been running the business in your home country for at least one year, and you must continue to keep the business running in your home country while you are in the U.S. (The U.S. office is supposed to be a branch). You also need sufficient funds (at least $100K, but $150K is safer). However once you get it, you can renew it for up to seven years, and, unlike the E-2, it has a path to…

The downside is you have to renew it every year. Costly if the lawyer does it and too much waste of time.

With E2, you get it for 5 years and no more paperwork every year. Then you renew it for another 5 years.

Re: Ask HN: What visa do foreign YC founders use to stay in US beyond 3 months?

#90

Post by adrianmacneil » Sat, Oct 17, 2015, 1:39 AM UTC

adenot wrote: post #65

Although the visa discussion in this thread is healthy, nobody has yet answered the question. OP wants to know what visa do founders currently use, not available options.

The top comment in this thread is pretty accurate. Most founders (YC and other) I know came on a visa waiver originally, and moved to an O1 visa to stay long term.