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Y Combinator Reaches Farther Beyond Silicon Valley
- sixQuarks 13y agoIt says there are founders from 22 countries in the latest batch. How does that work as far as visas go? Do founders simply need a tourist visa?
- timw6n 13y agoI was wondering that as well. I guess many foreign founders will be from countries that are part of the visa waiver program, but my understanding is that it doesn't strictly allow working (as opposed to business meetings) within the US, which would seem to rule out being actively involved in a YC startup.
- recuter 13y agoThis is actually one of the things that made me not apply. So I'd be curios what people came up with.
- seiji 13y agoMost of them probably just cheat. I've known half a dozen people in the country illegally working on startups. (With values of illegal from "left company sponsoring them but didn't leave the US" to "founded company on visitor visa and stayed in country for ten years without getting the visa updated.")
- recuter 13y agoThat is exactly the sort of risk I wouldn't take - how can anybody invest in them when they can be deported at any time for a long stretch of time?
- argonaut 13y agoThis might be a little harsh, but I feel like this kind of risk-aversion is actually a negative signal/filter for YC and other investors. The fact that someone would let a small risk (<1% chance of getting caught if you're smart about it) deter them from applying in the first place. That's just the illegal route. I know founder who have found ways to make the legal route work (O1, finding a co-founder who will stay in the US while the other co-founder travels back and forth, etc. etc.)
- saryant 13y agoRisk aversion isn't bad. A founder is already taking significant risks in other parts of their lives, controlling the remaining risk is just smart. Of the successful founders I know personally, each and every one is incredibly risk averse in anything ancillary to the startup itself.
- argonaut 13y agoYes, but YC/investors/moving to the US is hardly ancillary to startups. And this was enough to dissuade someone from even applying!
- jorgeortiz85 13y agoIt's not about risk, it's about overcoming obstacles. Dealing with US visas is a pain, but it's nowhere near as painful as everything else you need to do to make a startup succeed. If you're going to give up because of a visa obstacle, you're not cut out to be a founder.
- thefallsman 13y agoI'm curious about this too, because once the visa is up do they have to go back? How hard is it to get a permanent or semi-permanent status? I'm assuming an H1 B or similar would not apply here since the founders would be immigrants..
- trustfundbaby 13y agoactually new H1-b rules allow you to get a visa using a company you founded as long as there is another party that you "report to" or has a controlling share like a board or a cofounder. But this would apply more if you were already in the country.
- _delirium 13y agoA handful of YC participants have mentioned they came on O-1 visas, which are for "extraordinary ability". But for that one, you have to prove that you are already a prominent person in your field to qualify (have published influential papers, have won major awards, have been invited to selective panels/membership bodies in your field, etc.).
- argonaut 13y agoKeep in mind this is a government agency that does the screening here. I knew someone who was not a "prominent person" in their field who got an O-1 visa with the help of their VC investors / angel investors.
- untog 13y agoAlso, many in government are entirely aware that the visa system is broken and do all they can to change it without legislation. Changing the criteria for the O1 is a simple way of freeing up more visas.
- jamesmcbennett 13y agoOn official US Govt site, it says you need an award, e.g. nobel prize for O1. But that is a complete exaggeration as many people have rather average creditentials getting the O1. Having a good degree is enough for several people. Everything in addition helps.
- argonaut 13y agoPlus if you think about it, if you're in YC, getting PG or Vinod Khosla or Ron Conway (the YC VC people) to sign a letter talking about your "genius" will probably go a long way.
- siong1987 13y agoYC will try to help on this as much as possible. We have a YC-International mailing list for international founders who have to deal with visa problem. In most cases, one or more founders who were from the previous batches will be able to help because they were in the same situation before. There isn't a one-size-fits-all solution for this. Once you are accepted, it helps to reach out to the mailing list(or other sources) to figure this out as soon as possible. I was in the summer 09 batch, thing may have changed since then.
- deleted 13y ago[deleted]
- benjamincano 13y agoI read a while ago that with a tourist Visa it's illegal to work but not start a business nor hire workers. However I am not sure about the technicalities of a startup but raising money might be a pro when getting a working visa.
- lquist 13y agoSeems like PG's Submarine essay (http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html http://www.paulgraham.com/submarine.html) may be relevant here?
- ableal 13y agoAnyone have a good link about what's up with the "Sponsored Content by Taboola" at the bottom of so many pages nowadays? To me, they seem to have come out of nowhere over the last six months or so. P.S: their own words at https://www.taboola.com/hear-our-story https://www.taboola.com/hear-our-story
- PaulHoule 13y agoUnfortunately if they're showing sponsored content, all of those things suck.