4 ms·

> What should I know about the program as an international founder? > Applicants do not have to be United States citizens, but should be able to stay in Califo

by 21 8y ago

> What should I know about the program as an international founder? > Applicants do not have to be United States citizens, but should be able to stay in California for at least three months for the program. > It will be the responsibility of each applicant to ensure their team members have the proper paperwork in place to join. > Do we have to be U.S. citizens? > No, as long as you are legally permitted to operate your company and physically participate in the program (not virtual). > Can you get us work visas? > No, we won’t be able to handle any immigration related matters. If you need help, we can refer you to legal and immigration services teams. Can someone decode this one for an EU citizen?

dbbk 8y ago
A visitor visa typically disallows you from working, so I'd imagine not.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
jgh 8y ago
Basically the answer is "no". If they're not willing to help with visas, there is no legal way for someone who isnt a citizen or GC holder to stay in the states for 3 months and work.
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
pkaye 8y ago
Looks like for all practical purpose you have to be an US resident.
asdsa5325 8y ago
Do you already have a Visa? If no, you can't apply.
- jgh 8y ago
  Even if you do most are tied to employer..so that's a no-go as well.
jacobwal 8y ago
As others have said, there aren't any clear cut answers. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and you should ask a lawyer to be sure. At any rate, a few suggestions (assuming you're EU): - You could enter on an ESTA, which gives you 90 days. If you leave the US (Can+Mex doesn't count) and come back, the counter re-sets. Note that you're not allowed to work on ESTA, which means that drawing a salary is a no no. But if you desperately wanted to, you could probably figure out how to get paid in your home country or whatever would work for you. - E-2 visa. A lot of EU countries have a treaty with US which says that: if a company is A) majority (>50%) owned by people/groups from your home country and B) someone from the country (doesn't have to be you) has invested ~$50K-250K (equity, not debt) in the company, then the company can apply for an E-2 visa for their key employees. It takes 1-3 months to process from what I hear, and the investment is substantial, but it's at least one more route that is available. If anyone has more info on the two above, please feel free to correct me - I feel like I learn new things about the E-2 every time I speak to a new lawyer.
- pkaye 8y ago
  Approach 1 doesn't seem legal and I'm not sure if Yellow Incubator would agree to it. Approach 2 doesn't make sense. It seems to be more work (time and money) than the likely benefit from joining this incubator.
  - jacobwal 8y ago
    Approach 1 doesn't give you a work permit. It's merely an explanation of how you can spend 90 days in the US as a EU citizen. But I don't think Yellow Incubator would dive that deep to see if you have the proper immigration papers. Approach 2 makes sense for some. If you're just setting up a company to be in this incubator, then I 100% agree with you. But if you're working on something, and you think it'll have a better chance at succeeding if you're in the US, then it might very well make sense for you to get that kind of a visa. Many people (not involved with this incubator) do : )
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
manigandham 8y ago
Getting work visas can take considerable effort and the biggest resource is the sponsoring company that you are going to work for, so in the absence of such help it's unlikely that this is worth it. Also the terms about assigning all IP over to them doesn't help either.

by 21 8y ago

dbbk 8y ago

A visitor visa typically disallows you from working, so I'd imagine not.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

jgh 8y ago

Basically the answer is "no". If they're not willing to help with visas, there is no legal way for someone who isnt a citizen or GC holder to stay in the states for 3 months and work.

deleted 8y ago
[deleted]

pkaye 8y ago

Looks like for all practical purpose you have to be an US resident.

asdsa5325 8y ago

Do you already have a Visa? If no, you can't apply.

jgh 8y ago
Even if you do most are tied to employer..so that's a no-go as well.

jacobwal 8y ago

As others have said, there aren't any clear cut answers. Disclaimer: I'm not a lawyer, and you should ask a lawyer to be sure. At any rate, a few suggestions (assuming you're EU): - You could enter on an ESTA, which gives you 90 days. If you leave the US (Can+Mex doesn't count) and come back, the counter re-sets. Note that you're not allowed to work on ESTA, which means that drawing a salary is a no no. But if you desperately wanted to, you could probably figure out how to get paid in your home country or whatever would work for you. - E-2 visa. A lot of EU countries have a treaty with US which says that: if a company is A) majority (>50%) owned by people/groups from your home country and B) someone from the country (doesn't have to be you) has invested ~$50K-250K (equity, not debt) in the company, then the company can apply for an E-2 visa for their key employees. It takes 1-3 months to process from what I hear, and the investment is substantial, but it's at least one more route that is available. If anyone has more info on the two above, please feel free to correct me - I feel like I learn new things about the E-2 every time I speak to a new lawyer.

pkaye 8y ago
Approach 1 doesn't seem legal and I'm not sure if Yellow Incubator would agree to it. Approach 2 doesn't make sense. It seems to be more work (time and money) than the likely benefit from joining this incubator.
- jacobwal 8y ago
  Approach 1 doesn't give you a work permit. It's merely an explanation of how you can spend 90 days in the US as a EU citizen. But I don't think Yellow Incubator would dive that deep to see if you have the proper immigration papers. Approach 2 makes sense for some. If you're just setting up a company to be in this incubator, then I 100% agree with you. But if you're working on something, and you think it'll have a better chance at succeeding if you're in the US, then it might very well make sense for you to get that kind of a visa. Many people (not involved with this incubator) do : )

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

manigandham 8y ago

Getting work visas can take considerable effort and the biggest resource is the sponsoring company that you are going to work for, so in the absence of such help it's unlikely that this is worth it. Also the terms about assigning all IP over to them doesn't help either.