

Foreign national cofounder - kokani

Hello, there have been numerous posts on this topic but I have yet to figure or find out a solution for my situation. Am a 
software engineer on the H1 visa, based in New York, work full time for a tech firm in the city. Over two years ago started working 
on a fashion tech startup on the side, last week we secured some angel funding. Its more than the prevailing wage in NY for H1 but 
since we have no full time employees yet and only few K of revenue a month, chances of securing visa transfer seem to be slim 
(consulted immigration lawyer). Am an Indian national so other visa options are very limited. Also checked with a lawyer for the 
genius visa(O1) and it seems I don&#x27;t qualify for one, no surprises there :). Have been putting in 120hrs&#x2F;wk to do the two jobs 
and was hoping I could quit my job and focus on the startup once we had some cash, liberty seems elusive though. Other than going 
back home and working remotely was wondering if any of you are aware of any solution for this situation. Any advice would be much appreciated.
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suitless
I've had a ton of success with O-1s for founders and key hires for early stage
companies; it's definitely not a "genius" visa. I sometimes refer to it as a
founder's visa. It's even easier that you've secured angel funding.

Shoot me your contact information, and we'll find out within 15 minutes
whether it's worth a shot.

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palakchokshi
IANAL but have you tried looking into consulting firms? A friend of mine was
in a similar situation and he essentially hired a consulting firm that
sponsored his H1 transfer to the firm and then essentially put him on contract
with his startup. He had to pay the consulting firm some fees for the service.
I don't know if this is on shaky legal grounds.

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kokani
Thanks @palakchokshi. Yeah, have been looking into that option. My only worry
is many of the smaller consulting firms who would be willing to do such an
arrangement usually follow shady practices, some even exploit immigrants, so
am a bit worried about taking this option. Will have to dive and take the risk
if nothing else works though.

