In my experience, startups simply cannot focus on the onerous paperwork and the twists and turns of the legal process. Sometimes circumstances change even from

In my experience, startups simply cannot focus on the onerous paperwork and the twists and turns of the legal process. Sometimes circumstances change even from month to month; new interpretations of the law come down, and so on. I've been through the visa merry-go-round three times. Once with a startup, once with an ultra-cool company growing at light speed, and once with a relatively uncool company that just has lots of experience with this. The third one wins hands down. This is one of the few advantages, in my opinion, to working for an established company.