4 ms·

I want to find out if we are the only ones, or if we have company. Basically myself and a couple of my friends are itching start up. We can't quiet sleep! We se

I want to find out if we are the only ones, or if we have company. Basically myself and a couple of my friends are itching start up. We can't quiet sleep! We see the products out there, and we get a funny feeling, we feel we can do a LOT better. But we are International Grad Students, on student visas. We cannot drop out, even if we want to.( Visa becomes invalid, Currently there are no start up visas :)) Oh, if only Paul Graham were president!. I felt so jealous when octopart posted about his/her dropping out of grad school. We have come to the point, where we are trying to moonlight it. But as moon-lighters know, sometimes it is very hard. Are there more people like us? Leave a comment as to how you deal with it (tips!) Or just leave us a comment!

pg 20y ago
Sorry, can't be president (born in England). But as far as I know there is no reason you can't start a company on a student visa. You can't be hired by someone else's company, but you don't have to be a US citizen or resident to own a company based in the US.
- sharpshoot 20y ago
  pg, you were born in england? where abouts :)
  - pg 20y ago
    Weymouth. My father was working at Harwell. Actually 2 out of 4 YC founders are immigrants. Trevor's from Canada.
- bluishgreen 20y ago
  Oh We can definitely own a company alright! But the problem is with time/mind space. Currently my entire spring break is dedicated (to pretending) to study for my Qualifier exams! I am hoping it will be better once I finish the requirements and start on the thesis. But it has to be moonlighting I guess, the visa has us cornered.
  - pg 20y ago
    At Viaweb, two of the three main hackers (Robert and Trevor) were in grad school the whole time and actually got their degrees. In fact, Trevor got his a day or so before the Yahoo deal closed, and was the subject of Viaweb's last press release: http://www.paulgraham.com/tlbphd.html I believe some cofounders can still be in grad school, as long as at least one isn't.
- motivi 19y ago
  I dont know about UK citizens, maybe there is an agreement by UK and USA but citizens from india cannot start a company or work on anything else other than the visa they are assigned.
gms 20y ago
I graduated from school in the States this past December, and was in the same situation as you. I did some research and concluded two things: 1) Be very careful about staying in valid visa status. You don't want to leave the US then come back only to be told you can't enter. 2) Consult an immigration lawyer (I did). It's not impossible to work in the US on a startup full-time, but there are a few issues you should be aware of (said issues might delay you). Our american friends do definitely have it easier though, as they can drop out of school and not get kicked out of the country :) The US does actually provide visas (look up E-2 visas) for people who want to set-up businesses in the States (only for citizens of certain countries). But it does seem that these visas stem from a somewhat antiquated view of what starting a company entails (some of the documents required for an E-2 application are incorporation papers, a detailed business plan, bank statements and other financial documents showing where the investment funds are from and how much are involved, business lease, receipts and documentation of equipments, supplies, inventories, contracts and receipts, customer/client list, etc.) Anyway, best of luck. Like I said, your best source of information is an immigration lawyer. Having said that, I'd also love to hear from other foreigners (real foreigners, not ones that are also American citizens :) who tried to start a startup in the States.

pg 20y ago

Sorry, can't be president (born in England). But as far as I know there is no reason you can't start a company on a student visa. You can't be hired by someone else's company, but you don't have to be a US citizen or resident to own a company based in the US.

sharpshoot 20y ago
pg, you were born in england? where abouts :)
- pg 20y ago
  Weymouth. My father was working at Harwell. Actually 2 out of 4 YC founders are immigrants. Trevor's from Canada.
bluishgreen 20y ago
Oh We can definitely own a company alright! But the problem is with time/mind space. Currently my entire spring break is dedicated (to pretending) to study for my Qualifier exams! I am hoping it will be better once I finish the requirements and start on the thesis. But it has to be moonlighting I guess, the visa has us cornered.
- pg 20y ago
  At Viaweb, two of the three main hackers (Robert and Trevor) were in grad school the whole time and actually got their degrees. In fact, Trevor got his a day or so before the Yahoo deal closed, and was the subject of Viaweb's last press release: http://www.paulgraham.com/tlbphd.html I believe some cofounders can still be in grad school, as long as at least one isn't.
motivi 19y ago
I dont know about UK citizens, maybe there is an agreement by UK and USA but citizens from india cannot start a company or work on anything else other than the visa they are assigned.

gms 20y ago

I graduated from school in the States this past December, and was in the same situation as you. I did some research and concluded two things: 1) Be very careful about staying in valid visa status. You don't want to leave the US then come back only to be told you can't enter. 2) Consult an immigration lawyer (I did). It's not impossible to work in the US on a startup full-time, but there are a few issues you should be aware of (said issues might delay you). Our american friends do definitely have it easier though, as they can drop out of school and not get kicked out of the country :) The US does actually provide visas (look up E-2 visas) for people who want to set-up businesses in the States (only for citizens of certain countries). But it does seem that these visas stem from a somewhat antiquated view of what starting a company entails (some of the documents required for an E-2 application are incorporation papers, a detailed business plan, bank statements and other financial documents showing where the investment funds are from and how much are involved, business lease, receipts and documentation of equipments, supplies, inventories, contracts and receipts, customer/client list, etc.) Anyway, best of luck. Like I said, your best source of information is an immigration lawyer. Having said that, I'd also love to hear from other foreigners (real foreigners, not ones that are also American citizens :) who tried to start a startup in the States.