O1 isn’t that hard with a good immigration lawyer. It’s about checking boxes, not extraordinary talent.
They just need the guts to do it.
How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
41–50 of 209 posts
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#42Thank you for sharing this openly, the content is personally useful for me.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#43I have a dumb question but how often do tourist visa overstayers get deported while running their own business under an incorporated ITIN? There's not even an I-9 check for non-employee income. There's got to be millions of people doing something like this or as 'independent contractors' considering how trivial it is and the obvious completely broken immigration system that demands these kinds of hacks.
There may be "millions of people" doing this, but they are running street carts and house cleaning services, not tech companies.
You are wrong. Only from personal experience.
I have an informal waiver from ICE right now, and I'm running a tech business, but I'm deportable and would ordinarily be in immigration jail except I'm in a sanctuary state.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#44Earlier quoted context omitted.
They won't use a Chase account. They'll get paid cash or a physical check they can take to a check cashing place.
Why wouldn't they? They'd probably just use the business tin as the taxable account owner and then their real foreign passport as the UBO for KYC. If they can't do that it would surely break the wheels of industry as foreign owned US businesses need US bank accounts. IIRC banks need a ITIN or SSN + passport or ID of the UBO
Documented immigrants will get a ITIN and/or EIN.
Undocumented immigrants are far more likely to go the... undocumented route.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#45I have a dumb question but how often do tourist visa overstayers get deported while running their own business under an incorporated ITIN? There's not even an I-9 check for non-employee income. There's got to be millions of people doing something like this or as 'independent contractors' considering how trivial it is and the obvious completely broken immigration system that demands these kinds of hacks.
Why would you go through the trouble? Most people I worked with in restaurants would just find someone’s name/ssn to use, put they had 10 children, and never ever file taxes. I think there was a shady underground way to match illegal immigrants with SSNs. Or they just networked heavily in their communities.
As an illegal, the biggest problem is.. how would I get ID with matching photo that I can use to sign up for web sites? A huge amount of web sites now want to ID verify with government ID and selfie. I have to get other people to do this for me.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#46Earlier quoted context omitted.
Why would you go through the trouble? Most people I worked with in restaurants would just find someone’s name/ssn to use, put they had 10 children, and never ever file taxes. I think there was a shady underground way to match illegal immigrants with SSNs. Or they just networked heavily in their communities.
I can imagine this being true but at the same time it's so weird. I tried to open an account with Chase and Bank of America and they ask me for SSN, and I can't get one because I am from outside the US (I just want to get one to have my freelance money in an actual bank and not Paypal/Payoneer/an app). There are companies that provide a LLC with a SSN for just a fix payment of $400, but I am sure it comes with a lot…
Legal immigrants get an SSN. I have an SSN it is just suspended or something. If I try to use it online it causes 500 errors everywhere as whatever status is attached to it isn't handled by any financial site.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#47Unless I’ve misunderstood something, a phd holder who has published papers and worked in tech/banking/etc with a high salary can get that kind of visa ?
Either conditions are typically sufficient, not necessarily both. Still, O-1s still have significant limitations. You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for example. That means no additional freelancing.
> You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for example.
Nice, just like in the good old days with serfs and feudal lords.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#48Glad you made it OP, congrats! As an immigrant in the US I went through the "Extraordinary Ability" path and the process was a journey of pain and anxiety. Many roundabouts with a lawyer that promised me expertise in the process and it ended up with a NOID (Notice of Intention to Deny - something like that) from USCIS. My wife and I had to study the USCIS manual page by page and re-wrote almost all documentation from the lawyer. It wasn't easy but we made it.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#49There should be a series on hacking the American immigration system to work around all of its draconian rules.
Re: How I got an O-1 visa as a software engineer
#50O1 isn’t that hard with a good immigration lawyer. It’s about checking boxes, not extraordinary talent.
if you're not hacking the immigration system, are you really an engineer??