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This point is glossed over in the article but H1B visa workers cannot start their own companies and employ themselves. The best case scenario for anyone on this

This point is glossed over in the article but H1B visa workers cannot start their own companies and employ themselves. The best case scenario for anyone on this program is spend 2-3 years in university while building a network. You can't work on your startup during this phase. Get a GC and then start working on your startup idea. For some countries like China and India GC takes more than 10 years so this program is not an option for people in those countries.

rjzzleep 8y ago
That's actually incorrect, you can get a part time non university H1B as long as it doesn't impede your work. You need be fireable though, so no majority stake in the company. But IANAL if you have a good lawyer he might tell you about some interesting workarounds in that situation though, maybe.
- justfor1comment 8y ago
  Yes, that's what I was aiming at. You can have a passive majority stake (you don't work for the company) or employment at the company with a minor stake. Note in the later scenario the majority stake must belong to an American citizen and as such you will need someone you can trust and who is American to go that route. May still be feasible for some folks but need to know these caveats before moving to a new country with your dreams.
giobox 8y ago
> “Get a GC and then start working on your startup idea” Practically speaking for many foreign tech workers, a visa such as the H1-B is pretty much the first step to getting a GC eventually, so advising they skip the H1 and go “get a GC” isn’t going to be all that helpful for many. It’s pretty hard to go straight to a GC for most foreigners, even among those with excellent academic qualifications. How hard this is also often depends entirely on your passport lottery result - be unfortunate enough to be born with an Indian one and you are easily looking at a minimum 10 year wait times in a great many cases, and to live and work in US during that period you are likely going to need some kind of work visa like the H1. Even for the best case scenarios (passport from a country with a current GC priority date etc) it still realistically often takes at least a year to complete the GC process.
- justfor1comment 8y ago
  I think you misinterpreted my comment. I never suggested skipping the H1B. I was actually laying down the sequence of steps needed in this program. Join Program on H1B -> Wait till GC approval -> Then start working for your startup.

rjzzleep 8y ago

That's actually incorrect, you can get a part time non university H1B as long as it doesn't impede your work. You need be fireable though, so no majority stake in the company. But IANAL if you have a good lawyer he might tell you about some interesting workarounds in that situation though, maybe.

justfor1comment 8y ago
Yes, that's what I was aiming at. You can have a passive majority stake (you don't work for the company) or employment at the company with a minor stake. Note in the later scenario the majority stake must belong to an American citizen and as such you will need someone you can trust and who is American to go that route. May still be feasible for some folks but need to know these caveats before moving to a new country with your dreams.

giobox 8y ago

> “Get a GC and then start working on your startup idea” Practically speaking for many foreign tech workers, a visa such as the H1-B is pretty much the first step to getting a GC eventually, so advising they skip the H1 and go “get a GC” isn’t going to be all that helpful for many. It’s pretty hard to go straight to a GC for most foreigners, even among those with excellent academic qualifications. How hard this is also often depends entirely on your passport lottery result - be unfortunate enough to be born with an Indian one and you are easily looking at a minimum 10 year wait times in a great many cases, and to live and work in US during that period you are likely going to need some kind of work visa like the H1. Even for the best case scenarios (passport from a country with a current GC priority date etc) it still realistically often takes at least a year to complete the GC process.

justfor1comment 8y ago
I think you misinterpreted my comment. I never suggested skipping the H1B. I was actually laying down the sequence of steps needed in this program. Join Program on H1B -> Wait till GC approval -> Then start working for your startup.