Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13452150

Points: 9

# Comments: 1

50-70 days from university handshake to visa in hand.

About 10% right now

While founders are getting their startups off the ground, they're working 8-10 hours a week as mentors at the center for entrepreneurship.

It's just too much of a risk to flout the clearly defined congressional cap, and since we can help founders, we want to ensure we can continue to do so as we scale rather than calling down the wrath of Congress.

IANAL

Happy to answer any questions folks have about the cap exemption and the process we're setting up.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=11125279

Points: 1

# Comments: 0

Now that all of these universities have entrepreneurship centers, certain options opened up for founders.

Also, J-1 being run by State rather than DHS/USCIS introduces some extra weird things.

There are lots of different options and none are all that good a fit for founders.

If you've got a year advance notice, you can set things up for the L-1. If you've got the ability to generate old media press and can raise $500k (rule of thumb), then O-1 is a good fit. If you're from the right country with $50k-150k, then E-2. If you're from Australia, E-3.

For the O-1 in particular, the three criteria we tend to use are media coverage, mentorship/conferences, and high salary for those who have been employed previously to becoming entrepreneurs.

YC asked the White House to make some tweaks to the O-1 to be a more straightforward path for founders, but the White House went in a different direction with something yet to be announced.

We have the Global EIR program which might be of assistance. Our flagship program in Boston: http://masstech.org/innovation-institute/projects-and-initia...

We have a pathway that takes advantage of cap-exemptions built into the H-1B program and partnerships with universities. It's pretty straightforward, and in exchange for a few months of part-time work, you'll draw a runway-extending salary and be sponsored for a work visa, after which you'll have a visa runway to raise capital more easily and then switch over to 100% startup time.

www.globaleir.org will have more in a short while.

Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=10241813

Points: 2

# Comments: 0

Various states who have launched or are considering launching have different requirements. CO does require either an undergrad or masters' degree, so work experience wouldn't count. MA is Masters' only.

Keep in mind that the H-1B itself does offer work equivalency, but it's 3 years work experience → 1 year of academic training, which means that 5+ years is unlikely to meet the USCIS test requirements.

But these were all details to be worked out over the next few weeks iff the WH was willing to move forward with these discussions. It's unclear if that's the case, unfortunately. So we might be discussing details that were never on the table for a broad proposal that has already been rejected on the political merits.

It was proposed by the Department of Homeland Security in May, went through a 90 day public comment period, which is now closed. We're waiting for the official announcement.