I'm on an H1B with a startup after being on an E-3 for a few years with a much larger company. We have other E-3 employees as well. http://www.puppetlabs.com/

I'm on an H1B with a startup after being on an E-3 for a few years with a much larger company. We have other E-3 employees as well. http://www.puppetlabs.com/company/jobs/ http://www.puppetlabs.com/company/jobs/ Ultimately you need to make a judgement call when hiring. Is the position important enough to justify the cost of the visa application and processing? I'd argue that at an early stage for a startup, just about every position is that important. The right person matters a lot. The bigger problem might be the time it takes to get all these applications done. The USCIS doesn't exactly operate at startup pace... :)