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Is immigrating to the US really that hard for foreign entrepreneurs?

12 points by tesseract72 ↗ HN
I keep reading about the high percentage of tech startups in the US that are founded by foreign entrepreneurs (39% in California). I also keep reading about how hard immigrating to the US is for foreign entrepreneurs - i.e., people without prospective traditional employment. Can somebody explain this apparent contradiction? How is it that so many startups are founded by foreigners if it's so hard for them to stay in the country to do so?

I ask because I'm Canadian and I'd like to look into starting a software/biotech company in the US after college (I've heard about the proposed startup visa, but clearly plenty of foreign entrepreneurs are doing just fine without it).

7 comments

[ 2.9 ms ] story [ 25.2 ms ] thread
dj_perl
I came to the US as a student. I believe this is a very common background story for foreign entrepreneurs.
mailshanx
Is student->H1B->green card the only path available for entrepreneurs looking to set up shop in the US? That is an incredibly long path: especially the H1B->green card step, which can potentially take as long as a decade.

Does anyone know of alternate routes?

mansigandhi
I don't think there are too many.

One really roundabout way is for you to own a foreign company which is the majority stakeholder in a US company. Thus, if and when you get funding, you can come on an exec visa (an exec of the parent company). The caveat is that your foreign company must have a steady cashflow as well.

lobster_johnson
H1B only requires a sponsor who guarantees a position, so you don't need to be a student, only that you have a bachelor degree or the equivalent work experience (which presupposes at least 12 years of active employment). A very complex process, but it's possible.
ig1
H1B and O1 are the common visa options, there may also be some canadian specific ones.
nickbyfleet
Why the US? Are you just looking for a bit of a change? If so, you should look at New Zealand!