HACKER Q&A
📣 wollofpu

On student visa working on startup, options for staying in US?


I'm a 25 year old student on F1 Visa (OPTX) that expires in 7 months. I work as a software engineer at a tech company. The company will sponsor me in applying for the H1B visa. I'm also working on a startup with a US citizen. We plan to have the startup sponsor me as well for the H1B visa. Hopefully applying for a concurrent H1B visa (source: https://www.am22tech.com/concurrent-h1b-multiple-jobs/) will help improve my chances of getting picked during the lottery. I'm also considering a US O-1 visa and EB-1 visa, but might not have the right credentials. I have a Master of Sciences in Computer Engineering with Master Thesis in Machine Learning. I've built sophisticated logistics tools that generated $500k+ of annual recurring revenue in my role as a software engineer. The startup I'm working is launching soon and will be a B2B SaaS that should generate good cash flow. For who have been through similar situations or with immigration knowledge, your feedback and advice would be greatly appreciated:

1. What are my best options for staying in the US?

2. What other options do I have for staying in the US?

3. For an H1B visa, is there any downside to applying through multiple employers for different positions at different companies?

4. Do I have a shot for the O-1 or EB-1 visa?

5. Is it worth exploring options in Canada? If so, what is recommended for my situation?


  👤 uberman Accepted Answer ✓
Have you already used your 24 month STEM OPT Extension? If not that is the clear path to proceed IMHO:

https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/students-...

Word of caution. I would not mention the startup in any immigration context. I'm not a lawyer but I worry that your F1 OPT is not a blanket license to work anywhere or for a second entity even if it is related to your field.

Word of advice, get an immigration lawyer, particularly if you want to do startup stuff.

My gut tells me no shot at an O-1 and unless your are well published or worked on multi-million dollar grants during your masters little shot at an EB-1 visa. Again, your immigration lawyer is the real authority on how best to proceed though.

Canada is an option to be sure, I would again recommend a Canadian immigration lawyer but I have been told it is easier than the US system:

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/se...


👤 gregjor
Best option is to marry a US citizen.