Adioso (YC W09), originally Australian, "re-incorporated" in the US.
How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
21–30 of 111 posts
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#22Okay, first things first. Apply for a greencard. I know it's a long process, it's expensive, and it's very invasive but do this first. People assume they don't qualify and don't even bother asking. But the US still has the highest immigration of all countries, only the UK is a distant 2nd. So obviously, people are getting in everyday. Now, contact the US embassy in your country. Get all your paperwork together, set a…
Actually depending on where you are from you can also apply for the Greencard Lottery. Free way to get a Greencard. http://www.dvlottery.state.gov/
Applying to the Greencard lottery puts you on some kind of blacklist for US visas. Happened to a friend from Romania years ago. No idea if this is official policy or not, but he always got his visas refused afterwards, even after careful preparation. Hope things have changes.
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#23I suspect that while the non-US teams are at YC, some of them are technically 'tourists' (i.e just on holiday). They don't need a visa to enter the country so it's a case of hear-no-evil, see-no-evil. If they decide to stay in the US after YC, then they have to deal with the nightmare of immigration and get themselves proper work permits. For those who need a tourist visa to even enter the US, I have no idea.
"Seeking investment" is a valid reason to enter the US from visa waiver countries. My (German) co-founder used that when entering for YC and had no problems. It's also a perfectly reasonable simplification of what happens at YC.
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#24I am not YC founder, so i dont know how YC do that. But technically everyone can come to US, register a company and work for it. Its YOUR company, so no prob here. Although you might need to come back to your country every 6 months or so. Edit: Surprised to see so many comments and and downvotes from "experts" for that. Get business/tourist (b1/b2). You are not working you are considering investing in US- one of the…
There is a visa (It's one of the E visas) for people bringing capital into the states but you it's not a trivial amount and you need to prove that you will employ a certain number of Americans.
Info on the E1 (trader) and E2 (investor) on the US Embassy in Mexico http://www.usembassy-mexico.gov/eng/evisas_E.html
Highlights for the investor visa: - The investor must be coming to the United States solely to develop and direct the enterprise - The investment must be substantial. It must be sufficient to ensure the successful operation of the enterprise - must have the capacity to generate significantly more income than just enough to provide a living to the investor and his or her family, or it must have a significant economic impact in the United States
I'm not sure if a YC funded founder would be elegible, but seems hard
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#25Okay, first things first. Apply for a greencard. I know it's a long process, it's expensive, and it's very invasive but do this first. People assume they don't qualify and don't even bother asking. But the US still has the highest immigration of all countries, only the UK is a distant 2nd. So obviously, people are getting in everyday. Now, contact the US embassy in your country. Get all your paperwork together, set a…
So you mean that I can just apply for a generic green card. As far as I know you have to be eligible for some certain types of green cards. I have tryed with the lottery but no luck there.
I have browsed through the various ways to get a green card and as far as I can tell the only way I can get it is either through getting a job at some company in the US or winning the lottery.
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#26Okay, first things first. Apply for a greencard. I know it's a long process, it's expensive, and it's very invasive but do this first. People assume they don't qualify and don't even bother asking. But the US still has the highest immigration of all countries, only the UK is a distant 2nd. So obviously, people are getting in everyday. Now, contact the US embassy in your country. Get all your paperwork together, set a…
I guess when you're talking "highest immigration" you're talking in absolute terms. Both Canada and Australia have significantly higher _rates_ of immigration.
I'm starting the green card process, and fwiw, the lawyer tells me it takes a minimum of 16 months, with 2 years being typical.
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#27Okay, first things first. Apply for a greencard. I know it's a long process, it's expensive, and it's very invasive but do this first. People assume they don't qualify and don't even bother asking. But the US still has the highest immigration of all countries, only the UK is a distant 2nd. So obviously, people are getting in everyday. Now, contact the US embassy in your country. Get all your paperwork together, set a…
So you mean that I can just apply for a generic green card. As far as I know you have to be eligible for some certain types of green cards. I have tryed with the lottery but no luck there. I have browsed through the various ways to get a green card and as far as I can tell the only way I can get it is either through getting a job at some company in the US or winning the lottery.
Basically there are 3 routes. Marriage, Job, Investment.
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#28This site has some info http://startupvisa.com/about/
"We hope to have one or both of these bills formally presented to Congress sometime later this year."
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#29I am not YC founder, so i dont know how YC do that. But technically everyone can come to US, register a company and work for it. Its YOUR company, so no prob here. Although you might need to come back to your country every 6 months or so. Edit: Surprised to see so many comments and and downvotes from "experts" for that. Get business/tourist (b1/b2). You are not working you are considering investing in US- one of the…
There is a visa (It's one of the E visas) for people bringing capital into the states but you it's not a trivial amount and you need to prove that you will employ a certain number of Americans.
Forget about E*. Get simple b1/b2 - everyone qualify or L1-bit more complex but possible
Re: How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?
#30I am not YC founder, so i dont know how YC do that. But technically everyone can come to US, register a company and work for it. Its YOUR company, so no prob here. Although you might need to come back to your country every 6 months or so. Edit: Surprised to see so many comments and and downvotes from "experts" for that. Get business/tourist (b1/b2). You are not working you are considering investing in US- one of the…
Tourist visas are 3 months, and are for tourism, not for working for your company. I do think that it's possible to register a company, but don't know how that works out for non-US people.
no b1/b2 is for 6 m and can be extended for another 6. visa waiver is for 3m (its EU can come without any visa)