2 ms·
Residency for misv?
It looks like the current startup I work for won't manage to get its next round of funding.. which means at the current burnrate its time to start making future plans. My situation is that I'm non-resident in the US, on H1B, and wondering whether its possible to stay here, and become resident, while bootstrapping a MISV?
While I'll be making initial calls to immigration lawyers this week about this, I'm wondering if anyone here has practical experience with this? I do not plan, at least initially, to immediately reach for the "hire 10 residents and invest $1M" level required for an investment visa. My plan is to grow slowly and sustainably with paying customers. I have about $500k savings so living expenses are not a problem (based on past experience with this type of product I expect 6 months development required to reach first release).
- alain94040 18y agoBeen there, done that. First: you are confused about the $1M investment. That's for getting a green card. No one ever got it by the way, that's one of immigration's little secrets. Just as good is the E-1 visa, which requires no minimum investment. So if you can build a strong business case that you are starting a business in the US, with legitimate customers, it's definitely to explore. Your country of origin needs to have a treaty in place with the US. It costs a good lawyer about $6,000 to do a "treaty investor" visa. http://fairsoftware.net http://fairsoftware.net: where geeks are their own boss
- anonymous4this 18y agoThank you for the reply. I'm investigating the E-1 as an option. My preference is to be resident though. I would like to settle down and consider purchasing a home during the real estate downturn. But I would rather prefer my residence to be taken care of before then. If I consider not being resident, I could live temporarily elsewhere and fly in on B visa as required. As I say though, I would like to settle down a bit.