What options are there for foreign startup founders in the US?

It is common knowledge that most successful tech companies nowadays were actually founded by immigrants. A Russian immigrant was co-founder of Google, a Hungarian was a co-founder of Intel, and Steve Chen of YouTube is from Taiwan, as is Jerry Yang of Yahoo. Nowadays, these are some of the biggest tech companies in Silicon Valley.

Perhaps you feel that you have the skills and ability to be a startup founder, and you feel you will be most successful in the United States. However, the problem is you are not an American citizen and you don’t know how to go about the process and what options are available. Let’s take a look at several options and you can find out what best suits you.

EB-5 visa

The EB-5 visa is a type of immigrant visa. The prerequisite is that you will invest $1 million, or $500 thousand if it is in what is known as a Targeted Employment Area (high unemployment or rural area). This obviously requires a lot of cash, which is what most startup founders don’t have, especially in the beginning. There are other options that require much less money.

EB-2 (C) visa

This visa pertains to employment-based permanent residency. Those who are eligible for this type of visa includes those who have an “advanced degree” for their profession, or have “exceptional ability or talent” in either of the fields of arts, sciences, or business. The C category is the variety of this visa that does not require you to have an employer.

E-2 Investor visa

This is a type of visa that allows a certain individual to enter and work in the United States if he/she opens a business in the US and invests a substantial amount into it (around $100,000). Only citizens from certain select countries are eligible for this type of visa.

O-1 visa

This is a non-immigrant temporary worker visa given by the US to a foreigner with an exceptional ability in the arts, sciences, education, business, or athletics, or someone who has an outstanding record in the television or motion picture industry. Documents showing proof of achievements are required in order to qualify for this type of visa.

H-1B visa

This is a type of non-immigrant visa that allows US employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in certain occupations. At least a bachelor’s degree is required in order to be considered eligible.

B-1 visa

Perhaps the most well-known type of nonimmigrant visa (aside from the tourist visa) – the B-1 visa allows foreigners to enter the US for business purposes. However, the maximum stay is only 6 months for one time. An extension can be requested, for an additional 6 months. In addition, this visa does not allow you to work while in the United States, but you can do some research and analysis while you’re in the US.

Summary

These are some options you can take. For non-immigrant visas, it’s good that you can enter the United States and then perhaps make your way from there. For immigrant visas, it’s also recommended to get a good immigration lawyer to help you and your start up. The immigration lawyer will help you by detailing to you all the steps to immigration, so that you know the entire process and requirements.

By getting a good immigration lawyer, your chances of getting in the US (and settling there with your startup) are much higher. He/she will also be able to answer your questions and advise you on how to best go about the process – what type of visa to apply for, what is the easiest route, etc.