Ask HN: What is the best way to set up a company in SF as a non-american?

I've been thinking through this a lot and intend to do a similar thing - but not immediately, and not without traction. These days, I think that moving down to SF without traction will probably mean you'll get a lot less made a lot more expensively, and you won't be all that more likely to raise money. After all, you're just another person who's there for the gold rush, and there are a lot of them, even if there's still a bunch of angels.

If you still really wanna do it, are you Canadian or Mexican? You can incorporate in the US, and get your business partner or whomever to sign your TN visa letter. Definitely go the TN visa way - though you'll usually need to back that up with proof of a technical degree or a lot of experience, because even if the "Computer Systems Analyst" says it just needs a bachelors of anything, in reality border agents will give you heck if your education doesn't match up with your experience.

From second hand knowledge, I believe this is non-trivial. My good friend is on an H1B and just raised a $1M seed round, but he has to be an employee. His cofounder (a citizen) is the only person on the board and is the CEO. Technically, my friend can be fired which makes the situation a little awkward. They had to rent office space so the company is more official for the H1B process. You definitely will need legal advice. Wish this was easy for you, but my impression is that it won’t be, and you may need a cofounder who is a citizen. If your visa type is different, it may be easier. Best of luck.

If you have $200000+ you can try for an E2 investor visa.