
Ask HN: Raise money in the US and get a visa - maxenceh
Hello all,<p>I&#x27;m a French student currently legally working in the US for a year on a J-1 visa in a software development company. I also have an interesting side project that I would like to build and I was thinking of contacting angel investors to fund it. Before even dreaming of getting any funds, I was wondering if I could get any type of visa to stay  here a least a year to build my start-up.<p>My plans would be like so:<p>- Contact angel investors go get funds during my J-1<p>- Go back to France and break my J-1 to finally ask for another visa that would allow me to work on my company in the US.<p>After doing some research, I found out that the E-2 visa would allow me to stay if I can get at least 100,000$, but it seems that I must own 51% of the company, so any american investor wouldn&#x27;t fit. What if I find a French investor living in the US (I found at least 10 french angel investors in SF), would I be able to get the E-2 visa?<p>Can I get funds from US angel investors and build my company in my home country?<p>Thanks for the help!
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andyjdavis
>Can I get funds from US angel investors and build my company in my home
country?

That is entirely up to the angel in question. I do however suspect that many
people would like the reassurance of being able to see you face to face
occasionally. Handing a check to someone about to fly out of the country would
understandably make a lot of people nervous.

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maxenceh
You're right, I don't consider it as a viable option, unless I find a french
investor.

