
Ask HN: How can I leverage a profitable Internet startup to get a US/EU visa? - rayalez
Hi! Suppose I have built a cool and profitable website that has a lot of traffic and makes a lot of money. I live in a 3rd world country and the dream of my life is to move to US.<p>Is there any way I can leverage a successfull online business to have a possibility to live in US?
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kjksf
If "lot's of money" means "$1 million or more" you can look into US investor
visa ([http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/eb-5-investor-who-
qua...](http://www.nolo.com/legal-encyclopedia/eb-5-investor-who-
qualifies.html),
[http://www.h1base.com/visa/work/compare%20work%20visas/ref/1...](http://www.h1base.com/visa/work/compare%20work%20visas/ref/1133)).

But if you want to explore that further, better contact an immigration
attorney (which I'm sure you can find on-line) for more specific advice.

That being said, US is not all roses (I live here) and most other countries
have much more sensible immigration policy e.g. Canada, Australia, New Zealand
all have easier and more rational paths for getting citizenship.

Also most countries won't kick you out so as long as you can easily get a
traveller's visa to a given country, you can live there pretty much
indefinitely by renewing the visa (which usually lasts for at least 3 months)
when it expires.

The biggest question is where are you from - the exact details on visas depend
on country you're from and some unlucky countries have it much worse than
others.

Also some asian countries (Thailand, Singapore) are welcoming to (rich)
people.

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siscia
Probably move to Europe will be simpler.

The tax are a higher, the wage lower, but if you will have a better social net
if things go south.

Also I guess will be simpler to move from Europe to US.

A lot depends also from your background ?

Where you from ? What languages you know ? Do you have relatives/friend
anywhere in the world ?

~~~
rayalez
Thank you for your reply!

Can you give me some advice on moving to Europe? Which country is easier to
immigrate to? What are the conditions that I have to fulfill?

My situation:

I'm 24 year old single male, my English is not perfect but I have no problem
speaking and understanding people. I don't have relatives anywhere outside of
my home country. I have a bachelor's degree in a field that has nothing to do
with CS or entrepreneurship(I'm mostly self-taught). I'm not sure what else is
relevant.

~~~
siscia
I am not really an expert...

Anyway, the basic idea is that when you enter in the Schegen area you can move
in any country.

Here I am talking about Italy, however you don't want to open a company there,
remember that.

Basically you need to show that you can sustain yourself (and your family),
also you need to show that you have an accomodation.

It sound harder than what really is...

Are you going to be self-employed ? Or you will need to work for somebody ?

Do you have cash for ~10.000€ ? (probably you need less, but I guess that have
a big safe margin is desiderable)

If you know who you are going to work for (yourself is an acceptable answer)
and have enough money emigrate in Europe is not difficult, the best thing you
can do is to figure out which country you like the most and understand the
procedure.

Anyway I would suggest you to read here:

[http://italy.angloinfo.com/moving/residency/](http://italy.angloinfo.com/moving/residency/)
[http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/view/10717/](http://www.poliziadistato.it/articolo/view/10717/)

~~~
rayalez
Wow, this sounds awesome!! Thank you, I didn't know that, I will definitely
look closer at the EU countries....

------
adventured
Yes, you can buy your way into the US in several ways:

[http://cis.org/north/aliens-guide-buying-american-visa-
three...](http://cis.org/north/aliens-guide-buying-american-visa-three-
pathways-available)

Or you can pursue a green card on the basis of extraordinary ability:

[http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/2012/09/13/how-to-
get...](http://www.bbcamerica.com/mind-the-gap/2012/09/13/how-to-get-a-u-s-
green-card/)

Alternatively, there's the slow, gradual process. If you were making decent
money, you can also hire professionals to attempt to expedite your process as
much as possible.

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smartician
In addition to the other options, if your country has an investor visa treaty
with the US, you can qualify for an E-2 visa:
[http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/treaty.ht...](http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/fees/treaty.html)

There is no explicit minimum investment required, I've heard of people getting
in with five figure sums.

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sidarok
This Wikipedia article gives a good overview of the Startup visas countries
have to offer :
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_Visa](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Startup_Visa)

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pcunite
Awesome, good for you. Others will be able to answer this question. I don't
know.

