Hi Peter, I'm a start-up founder, on a H1B, and I just filed my EB-1a-based I-485. My H1B expires end of March 2021. Do I need to renew my H1B, or can I simply use the AOS application to maintain status while the green card comes through? I imagine after my H1B expires, if I don't file for a renewal, I won't be able to work, unless my EAD comes through on time? Under normal circumstances I'd renew my H1B, but given t…
How can someone on a H1-B which is tied to an employer start a start up and file EB-1a?
For salary requirement, to start off with, don't list yourself as CEO or CTO in your first petition, as that greatly increases the salary you have to be paid, this may not make sense in the early days of the company. In reality, for the first 3 years, I was a solo-developer, so I simply listed myself as a software developer. 3 years later, once we had a team, and when my H1B came up for renewal, I listed myself as CTO, and had to pay myself 2x.
Just be careful to list the role that closely resembles what you actually do in the company, and while it maybe nice to call yourself CEO or CTO, in all likelihood, in the first couple years, you're not really functioning anywhere close to that capacity, so take advantage of that :)
H1B => EB-1a (assuming your credentials are in place) is also quite straightforward. EB-1a can be self-petitioned, so you don't even need the company to sign off. Just get a good lawyer (like Peter) and that'll be sufficient.