You cannot just "rig" it; if you've looked closely at the law (I have), there's a whole checklist of items that prevents you from doing exactly just that. For s

You cannot just "rig" it; if you've looked closely at the law (I have), there's a whole checklist of items that prevents you from doing exactly just that. For starters, the company that employs you has to show a track record of profitability, and they need to show that they are paying you the market rate. So you can't just start a company tomorrow that profits $1 a month and say you're taking a $1 salary. If your title in the company is "web developer", then the USCIS will find out what the average salary for a web dev is in SF and say you need to pay that much. And you cannot say you're the company's official janitor either - the job has to require at least a bachelor's degree. You (the immigrant) definitely cannot start your own company and hire yourself. I'm an immigrant, I've been looking closely at these laws specifically for startup founders, and what you said makes it a lot simple than it sounds - and I can assure you that as of today, it is simply not. From the immigration front there's no clear cut answers. Advice on getting a job at a big company makes sense, because they can easily pay you market rate, and show a track record of profitability. The trouble is, also because of the laws - most big co's are incentivized to hire locals, since it's so difficult to bring an immigrant to work in the US. Also, immigrants who are already physically in the US (from another job, or just fresh from a US university) has a better chance than an immigrant still outside of the country (can you imagine the cost the company has to pay for just a face-to-face interview?) But if you're a superstar and can convince them to want you that much - then you're golden. As in, you can get in the US and live and work here. Then the next challenge begins, once you're already here. How do you start a company? Because permission to work for someone else != permission to start a company & work for yourself. But that's a whole different topic. One step at a time. The US has a different relationship with every country, you said you're British. Look up to see if there is any special exceptions to the law (they call them "treaties" between the two countries). I know Singapore, and Canada has them, not sure about the UK. Perhaps, just do you homework - its all on the Web. But immigrant to immigrant I understand the draw to the valley - best of luck!