Someone here has already suggested that you enter the US through another country. For some reason, that comment is dead. However, you should be sure to spend so

Someone here has already suggested that you enter the US through another country. For some reason, that comment is dead. However, you should be sure to spend some time considering that option and similar alternatives that will not put you at a Silicon Valley startup immediately but which will could put you at one eventually, or at a non-Silicon-Valley startup (maybe Berlin?) and if you're really lucky you might be able to find a US-based startup with an international office (possibly in India) that can get you the sort of visa where you transfer to the US office after working there a year. (Currently I'm doing something quite similar to this myself, except at the US offices of a company that has offices in London too. For non-EU/EEA residents the UK immigration regime is a little better than the US regime, but not that much, and worsening.) The visa sponsorship regime in the US is ridiculous and extraordinarily risky (in the sense you must put in a lot of time and effort for a small chance of getting a visa). Not a lot of startups are able to put up with that. If I recall correctly, the H-1B in particular involves (a) posting a job requirement that you don't end up filling with an existing citizen/resident - a little game to appease the bureaucracy that's meant to ensure you're not TAKING OUR JOBS!!!11 (gag) (b) applying for a visa and paying $$$ at the right time of the year when they reset the annual quotas (c) waiting months for an answer. :( That said, if you don't take risks you don't get lucky.