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ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

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Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#21

Post by donohoe »

ahmedaly wrote: post #10
donohoe wrote: post #7

First, as someone who is not originally an American, it is tough to get into America legally regardless of your religion or country of origin. The USCIS, formerly called the BSCIS, formally called the INS is tough to go through for everyone. You need to understand that this is not becuase of your religion or whatever - its becuase you are not American like the rest of the world (be it Irish, French, SOuth African, Eg…

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program... which is not available option for Arab Muslims. I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose of travel!

For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Being a tourist for a few weeks will not result in funding...

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#22

Post by donohoe »

ahmedaly wrote: post #16
dutchbrit wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Vacation, sure, but for a work visa it's quite tough!

I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose! It's kind of impossible for a young Arab Muslim to enter America.. or obtain any kind of U.S. visa (tourism, business, study)

No. You talked about entering America for business purposes.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#23

Post by semanticist »

Towle_ wrote: post #17
ahmedaly wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am not talking about immigration... I am talking about entering America. All Arab Muslims who apply for U.S. visa, fill a specific forms which created for Muslim Arabs from age 18 to 45 yrs. You did not apply for a U.S. visa, so of course you have no idea about it. :)

How do you plan on starting a company here if you cannot live here permanently?

You don't need to be in America or a US citizen to start a US company. The company is essentially just an entity to 'hold' the business assets so you can easily sell them to another American company.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#24

Post by semanticist »

If you honestly feel that you can't do your startup in Egypt, look to Europe as well as the US. There's a broader range of immigration policies and plenty of places with a 'startup culture'.

Alternatively, develop a model that doesn't require external funding, at least until you've got demonstrable traction. You can create a US company even without being in the US and it can sell shares as normal.

I know there's this huge pressure to get to San Francisco, but it's really not the only place in the world where you can succeed.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#25

Post by burnout1540 »

ahmedaly wrote: post #15
Towle_ wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Honestly buddy, keep your stats. I have neighbors. It's difficult for anyone who's not from a rich country to immigrate here, not just Muslims. It's difficult for Indians, Latin Americans, Africans, everyone. edit: By the way, if you didn't want all this off-topic discussion, you shouldn't have said what you did in the post. You should have asked your question with just the relevant information.

I am not talking about immigration... I am talking about entering America. All Arab Muslims who apply for U.S. visa, fill a specific forms which created for Muslim Arabs from age 18 to 45 yrs. You did not apply for a U.S. visa, so of course you have no idea about it. :)

What form are you referring to? I've poked around the US Embassy Cairo site and I don't see any out of the ordinary requirements. Also, I sincerely doubt there are any forms that only have to be filled out by practitioners of a specific religion.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#26

Post by arst »

ahmedaly wrote: post #10
donohoe wrote: post #7

First, as someone who is not originally an American, it is tough to get into America legally regardless of your religion or country of origin. The USCIS, formerly called the BSCIS, formally called the INS is tough to go through for everyone. You need to understand that this is not becuase of your religion or whatever - its becuase you are not American like the rest of the world (be it Irish, French, SOuth African, Eg…

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program... which is not available option for Arab Muslims. I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose of travel!

The waiver program is tied to citizenship, not ethnicity or religion. Arab Muslims who are citizens of a VWP nation are just as eligible as everyone else.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#27

Post by c00p3r »

World is much bigger than America. Of course, there are established economic clusters, like the valley, but it isn't the only destination.

Try Bangalore, India or China. Try to find a niche for your startup around your home (which means find a people with a task/problem and money and turn it into your next startup. Usually that is some internet service for an non-IT established business).

And it is also possible, but really difficult, to bootstrap yourself, if your startup idea is really innovative. Technology is very cheap nowadays.

And the last but not the least - try to find people in situation like your and cooperate and collaborate with them.

I'm personally think that geo-dispersed teams, like that one which develops FreeBSD or Webkit or Go are the answer to the problem. Communication is the key, not a connectivity.

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#29

Post by [deleted] »

arst wrote: post #26
ahmedaly wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program... which is not available option for Arab Muslims. I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose of travel!

The waiver program is tied to citizenship, not ethnicity or religion. Arab Muslims who are citizens of a VWP nation are just as eligible as everyone else.

[deleted]

Re: ASK HN: Do I have to be in America to make success?

#30

Post by petercooper »

donohoe wrote: post #21
ahmedaly wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry for making a comment off-topic..but you are wrong! Just for your information, all Europeans can enter U.S. without a visa, through the visa waiver program... which is not available option for Arab Muslims. I am talking about entering America, regardless the purpose of travel!

For vacation only! You cannot use that for business. Being a tourist for a few weeks will not result in funding...

You said: For vacation only! You cannot use that for business.

Sorry to nit pick but it's always worth clarifying these issues if people might make decisions based on them.. You can use the VWP for business: http://travel.state.gov/visa/temp/without/without_1990.html

  The Visa Waiver Program (VWP) enables nationals of 36 participating
  countries to travel to the United States for tourism or business 
  (visitor [B] visa purposes only) for stays of 90 days or less without
  obtaining a visa.
However, you cannot "work." Some things are explicitly allowed, though:

  consult with business associates, travel for a scientific, educational, 
  professional or business convention, or conference on specific dates,
  settle an estate, or negotiate a contract
Getting funding should fall under a valid B-1 usage as long as you're not doing any work but merely demoing/meeting people/thrashing out contracts. It would take a few words with the folks at your local US Embassy to nail that down though.
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