
Tell HN: My own version of the American dream - hecontreraso
I have spent the last year, thinking about how I&#x27;m going to spend the rest of my life.<p>I started to work as a software developer in government in my country, but found that entrepreneurship is really my thing. So I quit my job and began my own startup. I learned a lot about how to start a company, but the reality hit me like a truck. Colombia is a really tough environment to be a tech entrepreneur. (Very low purchasing power, internal conflicts, the government doesn&#x27;t help, etc.)<p>So although I have felt frustrated, I&#x27;m a big dreamer. And I&#x27;m willing to leave it all to achieve my dreams.<p>I wish to make it big in one of the best places in the world to be in tech: SF. (I&#x27;m in love with this city). So I studied a lot of english the past months, saved some money, and sold some things, to travel to SF and pursue my dream.<p>My goal in this trip is to find an opportunity to join a good startup. It would be awesome to get a internship as a developer, some short-term job (I can stay up to 6 months in U.S.), or even a remote job.<p>I&#x27;m have Ruby on Rails and AngularJS skills. Not an expert yet, but I have code some projects.<p>Just wanted to share this with you guys, because this is the board of the best entrepreneurs community in the world. If you know about some opportunity, some startup to write at, some place to visit, or some advice for me, It would be hugely appreciated.<p>best,<p>Stephen
======
steven2012
Sorry to be negative, but it will be almost impossible for you to get a job
here this way, unless you are from a country that has a flexible work visa
arrangement (Canada, Australia, etc). In fact, you could get banned from
entering the country for 10+ years if you lie as to your intent for entering
the US and you get found out. And if you tell them your intent is to find a
job, you will also be denied. It's a no-win situation.

No companies can hire you, unless you already have an existing H1B. If they
want to sponsor you, the earliest they could attempt is April 2016, for work
in October 2016. And this is if you have a university degree to qualify you
for H1B.

You could apply for graduate school, that's probably the easiest way in, and
then once you get your degree, you could go on OPT, which gives you 19 months
to get an H1B.

Or you could marry someone in the US, but if it's deemed fraudulent, then you
would also be barred from entering the US as well.

You could join a large company that has offices where you are, and then
transfer to the US on an L1 visa, which would give you a green card very
quickly, and then you could quit and do whatever you want afterwards. However,
there is the option that the company could take back your green card if you
leave too quickly after getting your green card.

Again, sorry to be so negative, but just coming to the US and looking for a
job will not work, not in this environment. You need to do it properly, but
unfortunately, there is a very slim chance of actually getting a job.

~~~
austenallred
As an American, if we continue to turn down would-be immigrants like this, we
are shooting ourselves in the foot.

~~~
dennybritz
As an immigrant, I do think the American immigration system is broken
(especially around H1Bs and for US university grads), but just letting anyone
in isn't the solution either and would do more harm than good.

------
jasonlbaptiste
Hey, you should talk to Andres Barreto, I'll intro - j@jasonlbaptiste.com He
runs a small seed fund and connects Colombian engineers with US startups. It's
a great program and I've hired from it before.

Ps- ignore any discouraging comments. Fight hard and you can get what you
want. Best of luck

------
adrianmacneil
A little word of caution. You haven't mentioned your visa situation, but given
that you said you can stay for 6 months I'm going to assume you are on a B2
visa.

When you arrive in the US, be ready to explain why you are NOT planning on
moving here or finding a job. You aren't coming to SF to look for work, you're
coming as a TOURIST and are going to see some sights, and then head home.
Also, the longer you say you are going to stay in the US, the harder they will
grill you. I would even suggest booking a refundable/changeable return flight
a few weeks after you land, and say you are only going to stay for a few
weeks. You can always "change your mind" after you get here, because they will
almost always stamp you for 6 months in your passport regardless of how long
you say you want to stay.

Remember: it's against the tourist visa rules to even THINK about working here
or look for a job. So do not mention anything about looking for work, or
wanting to live in SF, or even that one day you would like to live here. As
far as they should know you love your home country and can't wait to get back
there. It also helps if you own property or have dependent family in your home
country (this gives you a reason preventing you from illegally immigrating).
Failing this, get a letter from an employer saying that you have been granted
x weeks vacation and will be expected back at work on a particular date.

If you haven't applied for the visa yet, then get your story straight, and
everything above applies x10 for the visa interview.

Take it from someone who learned all this the hard way :)

Now, with that out of the way I would love to meet up when you get here. If
you're interested, my email address is in my profile.

~~~
steven2012
Sorry, but this is terrible advice. You should not be counseling someone to
lie when they enter into the US. You literally could get them banned from
entering the US for many years, or even permanently, if their lie is caught by
the agents. And these agents are trained to catch liars, so if the OP uses
your advice and gets caught up in his lies, he could be turned away without
any hesitation.

~~~
adrianmacneil
I'm not suggesting anyone outright lie. I am simply saying that your reason
for entering the US must not be to look for work, and that it helps to bring
along evidence supporting the fact that it would be impossible for you to stay
here anyway.

This is fairly well known in startup circles, in fact YC themselves have an
internal guide for how to speak to US immigration. The important thing is to
know the terms of your visa, and not say anything which could jeopardize that.

I also don't think OP's case is completely hopeless. There are plenty of
companies which will sponsor you on a J1 visa, which will usually buy you
enough time to apply for an H1B or O1. If he wants to come visit SF and
meet/network with people here, then he definitely should do so.

------
r3m6
Does it have to be the US? What about Berlin or Paris?
[http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/...](http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/blaue-
karte-eu-node.html)

In a nutshell, if you find an employer willing to hire you for a regular paid
high-tech job, you will get a work visa, aka "Blue Card".

~~~
yitchelle
I was about the make the same comment. There are plenty of other tech centers
around the world, although SF is one of the better ones. Berlin and London are
also pretty good and vibrant. You may also try to look at the 2nd tier tech
cities in Spanish speaking countries such as Barcelona may be another option.

------
sssilver
So you get a job at a decent startup that actually has viable potential
(likely not), get 1% equity (likely half that, since you said you're not an
expert), work super hard effectively two full time jobs hardly making ends
meet, and then your startup beats all odds (likely doesn't), and gets acquired
for 20 million dollars (likely less).

You've just made $200,000 before taxes. Was it worth the risk and the effort?

Correct me if I've got my assumptions wrong please. Chance to unicorn doesn't
count, coz at that level of probability he might as well just keep buying the
lottery.

~~~
buffoon
Yep that ain't likely to work. For every success story there are 99 failures.

Get a popular cert. Work premium contract jobs (£600/day here). Screw the
market hard and retire after 20 years with some reasonable cash. Sure you're
not going to be Musk or Zuck rich but how much money do you really need?

Take equity if someone offers it but not in lieu of hard cash. I've made about
£20k in equity pay outs which isn't a whole lot of money really.

I know no one who got anywhere working hard. It was all sly opportunistic
stuff and luck.

~~~
puranjay
It's practical and you'll be right 8 times out of 10. But it also assumes that
the only motivation for starting a company is money.

I'm running a startup that solves a very real problem lots of people have. The
money is a nice bonus, but the real thrill is being able to solve a problem.

If you have an engineering brain, you know this as well: solving a problem
just feels good. Doesn't matter whether the problem is fixing a broken faucet
or helping people manage car repairs better (what I'm trying to do).

So for me, the real benefit of running a startup is that you get to solve a
problem you care passionately about. If you can do that at someone else's
company (and get paid handsomely for it), then by all means, go ahead and do
it. But if you can't find companies solving the problems you care about, then
you have no option but to roll up the sleeves and solve it yourself

~~~
buffoon
You're right. That's the thing though; don't expect to make any money out of
doing anything you love. The phrase "labour of love" is very appropriate.

Currently I'm digging a large financial company out of a big hole full of poo
that they dug and then tried to swim in and decided that they didn't like it.
If I'm honest, I really don't care about that but it pays the bills. I prefer
fixing and replacing bits of my friend's Macs for nothing and playing BOFH on
all the kit in my house.

------
gwbas1c
One of the most valuable pieces of advice I've heard is: "Don't run from
problems. Run to solutions."

Perhaps if you look a little harder, you can find a solution in Columbia?

I'd like to point out that moving to San Francisco is not a solution. You
state: "I'm a big dreamer. And I'm willing to leave it all to achieve my
dreams."

There's a huge difference between chasing a dream, and running a business. San
Francisco is a very expensive place to live. A salary that's the envy of most
of the United States won't even cover basic expenses in San Francisco. It's
simply too expensive to subsidize people chasing dreams; and believe me, there
are a lot of people in and around San Francisco chasing their dreams.

So, IMO, learn the difference between chasing a dream and running a tech
business. Solve your problems at home before you move; or if you do move, find
a place that's cheap enough to let you learn how to run a business.

There are a lot of good reasons to move to San Francisco. Wait until the city
offers you a tangible reason to move there; because the best place to be a
dreamer is to live at home.

~~~
hecontreraso
Thanks for your answer I would like to get a remote job in a SF company. I'm
planning to visit some startups to have interviews, but I'm not sure that is
going to work. Seems like most startups hire remote workers only from U.S.

Where do you think that I could begin?

------
dtech81
Hi Stephen,

Congratulations on your great aspirations and willingness to pursue them with
hard work!

If it doesn't work out for you in California, I suggest moving to Buenos
Aires. Although I am from California, I lived there for many years and it's a
great city with tons of entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial spirit as well as
hacker and programmer culture. In some ways, it is much more of an
entrepreneurial place than anywhere in the USA, in my opinion, due to the fact
that people have necessarily developed more of a DIY attitude. Best of all:
Colombian immigrants/expats are much more welcome there than most other
places, especially the USA. In fact, I heard that Colombians can attend and
graduate from the University of Buenos Aires (which has an excellent Computer
Science dept.) so you may be able to get an education there also. FYI,
University of Buenos Aires is more or less FREE. If you have skills and can
show that you are developing them quickly, I think getting a good job as a
software developer there should also be possible. I'd checkout Globant,
OmbuLabs and Inaka first. They are software consultancies with good
reputations.

Good luck and keep going!

------
huydotnet
I have the same story with you, I also came from a small country with has
nothing special in IT, and working as a Software Engineer in the US is a
paranoia dream for me. Except one thing (luckily for me), my family immigrated
to the US and I have to follow them.

If you are still looking for a job in SF (or anywhere in this Bay Area), go
ahead and create an impressive profile on Angel List
([https://angel.co/jobs](https://angel.co/jobs)), this is the website for
startups company looking for developers, and I got my first job after 2 weeks
in the US by this way (they found me on this site when I was in my home
country, and ~1 month long phone calls/interviewing/testing/waiting...).

Spending your time create/contribute to some cool project on Github should
help, the people here love that. It's the best way to prove yourself as a good
developer.

We all have a dream to live for, and it's great to meet and sharing with
people who has the same dream as I have.

Good luck to you, and welcome to the Bay Area ;)

Cheers,

Henry Tr.

~~~
hecontreraso
Thanks Henry, that's very friendly of you.

I think that I'll visit some startups, looking for a remote job when I arrive
to SF :)

------
mabbo
Everyone is telling you that basically America is a no go. Try Canada.
Vancouver and Toronto have small but growing startup scenes, lots of big
companies opening offices up north as well. Canada is pretty welcoming to
immigrants, as long as you're earning enough to pay the fairly high taxes.

------
lucasnemeth
Do you necessarily need to go to the US now? Since you don't have a Visa, that
is really complicated. You cannot legally work with a b2 visa, if you do that,
it can jeopardize future opportunities in the US. I would not recommend this
path, not now at least.

I would recommend you to get more experience in the start-up environment
first, get a good resume, and then apply for a H1B in the states, if that's
your ultimate goal. If you can't find start-up jobs in Colombia, have you
considered moving to São Paulo, Brazil? You're a Mercosul resident so it is
easier for you to get a work visa in Brazil than in the US. Brazil is
currently going through a crisis, so things aren't easy, but there's still a
vibrant entrepreneur market. It's not hard to find technology jobs there. It
is a good place to get experience in more modern technologies and in
entrepreneurship.

~~~
hecontreraso
Seems like a cool Idea. I'll explore it. Thanks

------
datarobot
South American here did something similar and I can say one thing: the
American dream is dead... at least for immigrants.

With unintelligent politicians and immigration policies, it's REALLY hard to
start your own company. Even if you raise 1M+ still is REALLY hard to
get/transfer your H1-B visa. It doesn't matter if you're the CEO. I know it
seems ridiculously stupid, and it is.

In addition, things will NOT get better. People like Trump and other 'fake
right-wing socialists' will continue to maintain an idiotic immigration policy
and there won't 'be a way'. South Americans(even if legal) feel disdain and
hatred in the disguised eyes of niceness.

I would EXTREMELY suggest you to consider certain EU countries with a more
reasonable immigration policy. My experiences have been great and never did
anyone looked down on me because I'm hispanic or that I speak Spanish(duh).

~~~
hecontreraso
Thanks for your answer :) I have two options in mind right now. Some good
friend, who also lives in SF, suggested me to search for an internship. It may
be technically illegal for me to work there, but he told me that fortunately
some startups won’t care, and I could give the company the option to get paid
in my country as if you were an overseas contractor.

The second option is to get a remote job in a SF startup. I'm planning to
visit some startups to have interviews. But I'm not sure that I'll work. Seems
like most startups hire remote workers only from U.S.

What do you think about this? Could it work?

Thanks again!

------
smoyer
Well Stephen ... it's ironic (to me) that you view SV (and more generally the
US) as your technological Mecca when I've been considering where I might live
if my government continues to engage in practices I can't endorse. The great
thing about "software eating the world" is that you can make if from anywhere.
I'd recommend you develop your on-line presence and start networking
(virtually is fine) with those you wish to emulate.

Either way - Good luck!

------
kushti
But SF is already overfull with techies talking about how to make the world
better why swerving away homeless people lying on streets. Why do you think
joining the crowd and making real estate prices even higher is the best
application of your abilities?

------
DrNuke
You have done a lot, so congrats. Now you should refocus to make your dream
really happen imho: have a look at countries near home (Argentina, Canada?)
and try to climb the ladder from a friendlier environment instead of risking
wreckage in a pond that basically does not need (saturated with techies) and
does not want (severe visa issues) you yet. Good luck!

------
huydotnet
OK, forget about the visa things. It's another story. Many people here give an
advice that just find a company in the US that has office in our hometown, or
do a remote work with US companies. For me, I did it. And now I'm working in
the US. There are many huge different. The most important thing is the
developer's culture, since developers here in the SV keep asking something
like: "What's that company building?", the developers in outsourcing countries
just ask: "How many (outsource) projects does this company having?" Just a
simple thing like that enough to see the big different about the environment.
That's why I think we should choose SV instead of remote work.

------
EGreg
Come as a tourist. You do not need to be physically in SF to run your
business. In many countries (not all) you can continue to work for your
startup or clients outside the country. In fact, you should have an existing
startup established in your country.

Startups and self employment are truly a great way to open doors and attract
others. I recommend everyone start one at least on the side. Traveling is good
for networking. Think of it that way!

------
aepearson
I don't understand why you'd need to relocate to work for a startup. I can see
how it would be really exciting, for sure!

But...can't you do the same work remotely from your home country. From a place
that doesn't cost $4,000/mo in rent?

~~~
hecontreraso
Thanks for your answer.

I would really like to get a remote job in a SF company. I'm planning to visit
some startups to have interviews, but I'm not sure that I'll work. Seems like
most startups hire remote workers only from U.S.

Where do you think that I could begin to search?

------
worldadventurer
I think your best bet is to build a highly valuable skill-set that makes it
worthwhile for companies in the US to go through the trouble of getting you a
Visa. You need to differentiate yourself from talent they can find
domestically without the visa hassle.

In the interim, look at joining startups in other countries where you can
build that highly valuable skill-set. This is self-promotion, but check out
our startup, engageSPARK, where we use highly valued skills (GoLang, Docker,
Microservices, AWS, Thrift, Django, etc) and based in Philippines. And, at the
same time, help build a startup with American founders that is working on
poverty alleviation. :)

------
akshat_h
Not at all sure of the legality of this, so if someone else can comment that
would be good. If your are coming to US, I would recommend you try to find a
remote working job at startups,and then go back. The visa situation being what
it is, as others have suggested, doesn't really leave you with that many
options. Also it is arguable whether being physically present in SF would help
that much to offset the cost of coming and staying there for whatever time
required.

~~~
hecontreraso
Thanks for your answer akshat!

That's what I'm planning to do, but I'm not sure that I'll work. Seems like
most startups hire remote workers only from U.S. Where do you think that I
could begin to search?

------
amelius
Even if you cannot easily get a visa to work here (as some of the comments
mention), you could still write apps for the US market, I guess.

~~~
VLM
Interesting strategy idea: Work remotely for a SFO company for months/years at
a time, then visit SFO as a tourist between jobs. There are also other
interesting places to visit in the USA while between jobs or contracts.

------
BillySquid
Connect with US companies that have dev teams in Colombia and be careful with
shady headhunters.

------
pavornyoh
The American dream is a lie bought on credit. Just an FYI...

------
maxwin
I have similar story. Cheers.

