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There are multiple visas that you can apply for. There is the L Visa, E5 or EB-5 Visa, and also E-2 (Treaty Investor) Visa for which being a UK citizen you may qualify. So I would suggest reviewing the requirements and possibly consulting with an Immigration Lawyer in the US to actually see what you will realistically need to do.

The Startup Visa hasn't been passed yet, but there are some problems with it you may want to look at. http://www.businessinsider.com/why-the-startup-visa-is-actually-a-really-bad-idea-2010-3 You can read through the Senate bill here: http://startupvisa.files.wordpress.com/2010/02/startup-visa-act_-final-final-1.pdf Look at lines 10-15 on page 2 and you ...

It depends on whether you're looking for a co-founder or an employee. Offering equity instead of a salary may make it a bit trickier to post your job on traditional job sites, but here are some ideas: Ask Hacker News Stack Overflow Careers LinkedIn Jobs OnTechies Job Board - Run by a member of this site. Other things to consider are: If you have a ...

I was looking for an answer to the same question last September. I consulted an immigration attorney. Here are some points from my discussion that may help you. Most important rule of H1B visa - you can never do any 'work' for any other employer, that includes self employment, or even volunteer work for free while you are on an H1B (volunteering that ...

Based on the conditions of the visa you are in the US with, you can start a business. It is highly unlikly that you will be able to use that business to sponsor your H1b visa because you would not have the employer/employee relationship. As an equity owner you will be considered an owner receiving compensation rather than a pure employee. Your new business ...

Yes and no, you can start a business. This can be a C corporation as it allows for foreign ownership. Take this time to educate yourself business ownership in the USA. There is a wealth of information online.You maybe an out-of-status non-immigrant according to US immigration laws, so there are repercussions for that. Read up on; Investor Green card as ...

I don't know of your specifics and all possible options but an H-1B visa holder can be a partner in an LLC. However, you cannot actively work for it unless you have an H-1B authorization to work for your LLC as an employee. So it is certainly possible. You will need to need to speak to a lawyer to get more information on this.

Regardless of the answer to that, I think if you have the possibility to secure $250K funding today, don't delay it hoping to see the startup visa bill passed. The best piece of advice would be that you go on doing business as if you are NOT going to have a startup visa. Always plan for the worst. Just my opinion, P

There are several potential solutions to this problem if it is still a problem: Solution 1 Under H4 Visa a person cannot be employed in the US but there is nothing to indicate that he or she cannot own a business, so your company can simply contract a company that the H4 holder opens in the US and you don't have to have USCIS involved in this. One thing ...

The bottom-line is that an HB1 visa is not designed to support working in a start-up environment. There are elusive cases where it is rumored to have happened, but there are a host of reasons why it is extraordinarily difficult. First: Read the answers to the similar questions: Question on using a HB1 to startup a company Question about sponsoring your ...

Is there any way I'm jeopardizing my current H1B visa, or might this later create problems on the way to a Green Card? Yes, you ARE jeopardizing your current status and this will likely become an issue when it gets to getting your green card. Your H-1b status allows you to work only for your current company and nobody else. You are currently ...

You should talk to an attorney. Generally, partner's income is considered self-employment income. From tax perspective, you'll be earning money from self-employment. Since its an LLC - you cannot be a limited (passive) partner or shareholder (there are no shares in LLC), you're a member. I'm not a lawyer, so verify with a professional, but I do think that ...

I cannot say as far as salary requirements goes (as I am residing in Florida). However, I can point out the Visa stuff because I was running the same shop and had to file my own Visa through an immigration attorney. Visa: Apparently, you can file under multiple categories: B-Visa: B Visa L-Visa:L Visa Startup Visa: Startup Visa Depending on your ...

Regarding the equity question - there is an equity calculator for founders - http://www.foundrs.com/. While it's nice to get an idea about how others view the situation every situation is different. It sounds like you are late to the game on this one. The more a startup makes progress the lower the risk but also the lower the equity you can get as a member ...

First of all - check you contract with company A. There may be some legal limitations for you to do something like that. Second - you cannot officially work for you own company if you're on H-1b, but you can own a part of that company. So you can be a co-founder, but just make sure you're not officially employed there (e.g. you don't have official title and ...

I spoke to an immigration attorney about this. The answer is that you cannot do any 'work' even if it does not get you any money. Things like writing free iPhone apps may not really make you money but you can't do it. The reason for this rule probably was that you could do free work that would take away a job from the american worker. This is the reason why ...

As long as you are just on your H1-B, you can't have any active management role with the company you are purchasing. You are not allowed to work in any way for it. Once your pending green card gets you advance parole and EAD, then you can do whatever you want. Since your immigration status is not solid yet, personally I would wait before buying this ...

Normally startups would have no experience doing the necessary paperwork. Even if they got to an experienced lawyer, the process would take several months which for startups is an eternity - they want and must move quickly. Also be advised that an H1B for a startup is a very risky adventure. If they collapsed, you would legally have just one week to find a ...

I would read the rules thoroughly. EB-series visas can have an investment requirement, and articulate a clear relationship between investment in the US and visa eligibility. EB2, last I looked at it, required up to $1M investment and/or the promise of creating X full-time jobs. There was a version of the visa that reduced the investment requirement if the ...

There is currently no available visa to support immigration into the United States with the intention to allow you to launch your company. As you can see from the other questions/answers on here which address this issues there are people who try to develop work-arounds. They enter the United States on a work visa or a student visa and attempt to launch ...

I'd REALLY really refer to an attorney because this is VERY new because of the above, even in case of any disagreements down the road, the USCIS will see that you put in a reasonable effort in getting real information for an actual attorney (vs forum comments) Considering all the other risks inherent in any startup, do you really want to compound them by ...

As it's now clear that there is no straight forward way to file your own H1B visa for your own start-up, let me give you some more options you can look forward to in worst case scenario of not able to get any legal US visa. How about staying on a ship which is enough away from the coast of US that it is out of the US territory? Check out Blueseed. They ...

Yesterday White House announced Initiatives to Promote Startup Enterprises and Spur Job Creation To accommodate that, Employer-Employee Relationship section was updated to reflect Single Owner company, so self-sponsored H1B is possible. But, there is a catch which is answered in the FAQ's as follows Q: The memorandum provides an example of when a ...

Speak with a qualified, and talented immigration attorney. I am not one, and am not pretending to be one, though I have some experience with the US Visa system. From what I know, two important points: First, it sounds like you are trying to hack the US Visa/legal system. DON'T HACK THE LEGAL SYSTEM. If you are a foreign national, you could go to jail/lose ...

Start a company in India, use cheap outsourcing, let someone else manage it actively and when you get your greencard, you can move it here and work there. You are now blocked by law from working in the U.S. for anyone but your employer. If your greencard process is beyond the I-485 point, you may ask for an EAD which may allow you to work for anyone, ...