Moving to a startup when under H-1B could be a very risky and possibly disastrous choice. If those are companies that are illiterate on the most basic things,

Moving to a startup when under H-1B could be a very risky and possibly disastrous choice. If those are companies that are illiterate on the most basic things, such the difference between an H-1B application and a transfer then there's a good chance they will fuck it up on the important parts. Important things like H-1B renewal schedule, green card sponsorship, visa renewal expenses and so on. You change jobs and the next thing you know is that you're stuck in the USA for up to 6 months because one of the overworked founders didn't apply for the renewal early enough. The above is an easily manageable one compared to all the horror scenarios that a mismanaged H-1B immigration can be.