

Getting visas to attend programs like YC - amrithk

Hi all, 
A group of us were interested to apply for the YC program in the summer but were detered because of visa issues.<p>All three members in the group currently have full-time jobs and two of us are on H1-B visas. The third member of the team is a U.S. citizen. Quitting our jobs to attend YC fulltime is therefore difficult as two of us will lose our H1-B status and will not be able to stay in the country.<p>I read on the YC website that people from other countries have been able to participate in YC before. I was wondering if anyone knows anything about this? What visa status were they on? Is there a temporary business visa available for this sort of situation?<p>Also, if you are facing similar problems, feel free to comment.<p>Thanks
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lux
We're in Canada and we're wondering the same thing. People here we've talked
to don't know much about it, but we're assuming there must be something
available since YC has funded Canadians before I'm pretty sure. I figure
they'll let everyone know when they're accepted what forms need to be filled
out.

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delano
For Canadians, the quickest method is the TN Visa
(<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/TN_status>).

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DaniFong
Self-employment is neither allowed or particularly well defined, so applying
for a TN is a risky proposition.

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wheels
<http://germany.usembassy.gov/germany/visa/vwp.html>

There's a large list of countries for which a stay of up to 90 days for
business or tourism does not require a visa.

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petercooper
A temporary business visit under visa waiver or one of the B categories does
not, as far as I'm aware, allow you to "work" except under certain
circumstances.

Meetings, sales calls, repairs, market research, and similar activities are
not considered "work" and are allowed. It would need to be investigated
whether R&D (which, effectively, is what you're doing when working on a YC
project) is allowed.

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wheels
There's a pretty good list here of what's allowed and not allowed:

[http://vkvisalaw.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/what-“business”-ca...](http://vkvisalaw.wordpress.com/2008/02/23/what-“business”-can-
you-do-on-a-b-tourist-visa-or-visa-waiver/)

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jamiequint
Our guys were just on Tourist Visas the whole time and are now going for O1
and J1 respectively. Not sure how it works differently if you have an H1-B
first though.

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gustaf
If you've not been on VISA previously you might be able to apply for a J1, the
application time is fairly short but for a non-established company the
authorities will have to do a "site-visit" to check that you are an
established company.

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ojbyrne
You probably get a grace period after you leave your jobs that might be close
to the 3 months required for YC. At least as a start.

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yawl
There is no grace period for H1B, not a single day. If you leave your H1B job,
your H1B status is lots immediately.

It might be possible to apply a new H1B based on your YC company, or obtain
other work authorization like EAD to be able to work in the US.

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amrithk
Thanks for the links and information. It seems like there aren't too many
options. The other visa classes seem too restrictive.

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gms
An H1-B visa doesn't prevent you from switching jobs no?

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amrithk
It doesn't. But the company will have to be registered as a U.S. based entity
first which may take some time and will only be done after YC starts.

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gms
You get a grace period if you leave your job right? I just don't see this as a
showstopper...you could've applied and dealt with problems as they came up.

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ashu
Actually, no. You don't get a single grace day as somebody else has pointed
out below. Plus, even if these guys applied and incorporated immediately, they
can't (i.e., the INS will not approve it w.h.p.) sponsor H-1s from their own
company (even an H-1 transfer) unless the company receives significant
investment. All-in-all, it's certainly a big show-stopper.

~~~
gms
So how did you guys do it?

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ashu
We were students on F-1 which turned out to be just the right thing to have.
We went on an OPT immediately and by the time we needed H-1Bs for ourselves,
we had raised enough money to be able to justify the INS that we are a totally
legit company capable of paying H-1B level salaries.

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mikeryan
Can't you work on it as long as you don't get paid?

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gustaf
In practice, yes. Work is generally defined as getting a salary. In theory no,
i think

