All things being equal, public policy usually prefers employer-employee relationships over 1099. Tax collection is more sure, worker's comp and unemployment get

All things being equal, public policy usually prefers employer-employee relationships over 1099. Tax collection is more sure, worker's comp and unemployment get paid (and the individual is covered), etc. Probably the best way to deal with "startup visa" is to instead have a small-business visa. Small-business already has an understood (to the government) meaning, and there's already a lot of examples of slightly different rules for them.