
Ask HN: I feel my dream slipping away - whatnext
They say advice is what we ask for when we already know the answer but wish we didn't.<p>Well, I'm not looking for hang-in-there-buddy-advice but rather employment ideas or immigration hacks from someone in my situation or who understands it. I'm an Engineer working at a big corp in California - a job I so hate but have been needing to hold on to for green card purposes (I'm a foreign citizen). I'm still at least 2 years away from getting it. Meanwhile, in my spare time, I've been hacking away on my boostrapped startup idea. I released a MVP two months ago and it has been gaining steady traction. I intend to hit ramen profitability by early next year. This is where it gets hard on me. In spite of spending many waking hours working on it, moonlighting often translates to slow progress. At the end of a full 10 hour day working for the man, creativity and productivity are not at their peak when I get to work in the evenings. I fear that when competition gets wind of the opportunity that exists in their blind spot, they will get to work and could outdo me quickly.<p>One option is quitting my job cold turkey but that may mean going back to my home country. I've lived in the US for 8+ yrs now and want to stay here. I want to build my business here. I like it here. Is that so bad? Isn't America the land where you can realize your dream and help others realize theirs too?<p>It gets very frustrating at times and I fear my dream is slipping away. I will turn 30 soon (no, that is not precipitating this :). I'd like to spend the next decade of my life building my own company, not waiting for a green card. I am making progress but at a snail's pace (at least I feel so). Plus from my last venture, I learned the lesson that working with a useless co-founder is worse than going it alone. This time, I am solo-ing until I can find a partner who is as passionate &#38; hard working.<p>I've been bearing this situation for two years now and feel like I'm stuck in this rut for the foreseeable future.<p>Are any of you in similar shoes? How do you deal with it? Are there any immigration hacks that you are aware of? Have you figured out some way to spend a major chunk of your time working on your startup but staying in legal status and maintaing your perm residency petition?<p>tl;dr: Working on startup venture. No green card. Stuck in this situation for 2+ yrs. Slow progress and sometimes feel dream slipping away. Suggestions?<p>Gosh. I hope I don't come across as whiny. I'm not.<p>[EDIT] I've been trying to reply to some of your comments but the post isn't going through. Would you know why? I'm a long time HN user but this is a throwaway account and I'm not sure if it's because this is a new user.
======
edw519
Five minutes after winning the presidential election of 1904, Teddy Roosevelt
vowed not to seek re-election in 1908. Six minutes after, he regretted what he
had just said. He tried to return in 1912, but failed and regretted his hasty
decision the rest of his life.

Why do I mention this? Because whenever I feel like I'm in a difficult
situation (not all that much different from yours), I promise myself not to
pull a Teddy Roosevelt and do something hasty that I'll regret forever.
Neither should you.

FWIW, time is _not_ slipping away. In spite of what you may think here at hn,
_30 is not old_.

My suggestion: keep your job and stay on your path to a green card, but find a
way to do it and your startup at the same time. You have to get creative. Put
in a few hours on your startup before work, not after. Get rid of you TV set.
Block out huge blocks of time on weekends. Use your PTO for your startup. Work
from home a few days a week and squeeze in extra startup work with the
time/energy you save. You get the idea.

You're already creative enough to build a startup. Now use that creativity to
free up more time and energy to work on it. Forget about the competition and
time slipping away; just do the best you can. And don't pull a Teddy
Roosevelt.

~~~
Tichy
But what is the Teddy Roosevelt decision, staying in the job or quitting?
Saying "I have to be in America"?

I am 37 now and I think time IS slipping away. (Note: I am not the OP)

~~~
troutwine
Statistically speaking, you've lived about half of your life. A little under,
depending on country. I suppose you are a glass half empty sort of fellow?

Really though, it's not so bad. We all face utter oblivion; the question is
"When?" and not "If?" Live peacefully and with confidence. Be content that you
do not live in Swaziland. Thirty-seven years is a long time to yet exist.

~~~
Tichy
The thing is, I haven't done anything all that great yet (by my own
standards). If I just keep going on as I did before (ie staying in boring
jobs), how am I to expect that in my second half, something exciting will
magically happen? Some opportunities are already gone forever, ie nobody will
cast me as a singer in a boy group anymore (just saying). I keep hoping that
one day there will be a market for rock stars who only started playing their
instruments in their 60ies...

I don't think the glass is half empty. Despite all the problems, I think the
world is an amazing place with countless interesting things to do. I am just
not in favor of the "play it safe and keep your day job" advice, because time
definitely is finite (though I am rooting for the singularity guys). I am not
in a position to really advise against it, though - what if somebody quits
their job and ends up broke and miserable? Everybody has to decide for
themselves, I guess.

I think "fear is the greatest enemy" is true, though - what exactly is the day
job buying you? Also think in opportunity costs - what could you do in the
time you weren't working for the man?

~~~
revorad
Usually I would agree about quitting the job and just going for it. Like you
said, time is finite. But, one does have to consider the details of one's
situation.

 _what exactly is the day job buying you?_

In the OP's case, US citizenship, which means a lifetime of opportunity to
build businesses in a free country which he/she likes living in. Two years of
steady income, while still working on your business on the side, sounds like a
good bargain.

Of course, your situation must be different, so you would have to decide
accordingly.

~~~
Tichy
True, 2 years seems like an acceptable price in that case. I don't have the
citizenship issue, so I am not losing anything besides money. Since
citizenship (presumably) can't be bought by money, the stakes for leaving the
job seem to be a lot higher for the OP.

------
maxdemarzi
H1-B Transfer to your startup?
[http://www.askthevc.com/blog/archives/2008/04/does-
having-a-...](http://www.askthevc.com/blog/archives/2008/04/does-having-
a-h.php)

See one of the comments:

"I have a lot of experience with this, having done it several times myself.
Proving the company is 'real' to the USCIS can be tricky, because they don't
consider companies with cash but no revenue to be viable. Luckily it never
usually gets to that stage of analysis for a simple H1B (although green cards
are a whole different matter). Just make sure you have an office
address,letterhead, phone numbers, a bank account and good lawyers. The USCIS
will often pick up on little details that show the business is being run out
of someones backyard.

The hardest part is in the early stages, prior to transferring the H1B visa,
because technically the visa holder can have no involvement in the company
i.e. cannot attend meetings or talk about the opportunity without violating
their status.

One approach I used successfully was to get my accountant to create an LLC.
The LLC held my shares in the new startup. My immigration attorney then
applied for a part-time concurrent H1B to work for that LLC as a board member
a couple of hours a week, in parallel with myexisting H1B visa, allowing me to
be involved from day one (you can start work the moment the visa is filed).
When the startup was funded, they then filed a H1B transfer for me. "

~~~
abstractbill
This can be done, but it's not a long-term solution and honestly I wouldn't
recommend it.

H1B visas are granted for three years, and you can renew _once_. That gives
you a total of six years after which you have to go home - no matter how well
your startup is doing at that point. I've never heard of anyone doing the
above _and_ managing to keep their Green Card application going. I'm not sure
it's actually possible.

In contrast a Green Card can be renewed indefinitely, so it's a rather
valuable thing to wait for. Totally worth it in my opinion.

~~~
georgecmu
> H1B visas are granted for three years, and you can renew once.

Not exactly. They can be renewed past the second term indefinitely, as long as
an immigration application (I-140/I-485) has been filed with USCIS and is
under review -- can be a long process.

~~~
abstractbill
Right, yes that's true, but if you submit an immigration application while
you're at a large company, and then do your own startup and transfer the H1B,
I'm pretty sure you will have to give up on the immigration application. I've
heard of people starting companies and transferring H1Bs, but never of anyone
who has done that and managed to keep an immigration application going.

~~~
georgecmu
I think that most people file I-140/I-485 concurrently and apply for
employment authorization at the same time. At that point they are not tied to
their company exclusively, and theoretically they could even leave, if they
are confident that the company would not maliciously retract their
application. The risk there, of course, is that as soon as EAD is used to
justify employment, H-1B is no longer valid, and if the initial application is
denied, the applicant is automatically out of status.

------
gridspy
Don't worry too much about a large company seeing what you are doing and
moving into your space faster than you. Large companies go through several
stages of copying ideas

1) What a dumb idea, that will never work

2) That company seems profitable, but we will beat them

3) We better copy that idea, but it is not our core business / it will
cannabilise our profits

4) Okay, lets get some of our non-motivated, non skilled, unimportant
engineers to look at this niche in our typical boring locked down plodding way

5) Budget cuts!

So yeah, don't be too worried about large companies.

~~~
Unseelie
I'm not trying to be negative, but when your company is one person, a five man
startup with a similar idea -is- a huge company, especially if they don't have
to work ten hour days. Things are relative, and the megacorp isn't the only
competition. Or even most of it.

~~~
gridspy
Completely true. However it is extremely rare for multiple startups to go for
_exactly_ the same niche.

Also, most customers you approach will never have heard of either of you -
unless you are in a tiny market your competition has very little effect on you
(other than encouraging you to work harder)

------
rgrieselhuber
First, as edw519 mentioned, 30 is still quite young. A friend of mine moved
from Japan to the US at 38, taking less than half his former salary, and is
still waiting for his green card at 43. He doesn't like his job that much but
it keeps him here and the lifestyle is much better for him.

I myself am 35 with a wife and two kids. I've been bootstrapping solo for the
last two and a half years. Traction takes time (like 2-5 years). You can't
just put something online and expect it to grow. You have to physically talk
to your potential customers, even if it means doing so repeatedly for very
small deals.

You're actually quite lucky to be employed while working on your side project.
Keep your job (or find another one if it won't screw up your green card
process) and figure out a way to keep building on the side (make sure you're
covered from an IP perspective). If you really want to make it happen, you're
going to need a lot of energy and patience.

Also, don't worry about competition. It's the least of your concerns.

------
marcamillion
The real answer is, it depends. I totally understand what you are feeling.

I went through a similar situation. Was in the US for about 7 years, did both
my degrees there and OPT both times. Was about to let a company I had a good
relationship with apply for my H1-B, but decided to move home.

Now that I am back home, I can't explain to you the weight that has been
lifted from my shoulders - to be a citizen again. It's not something that can
be explained to someone who has not gone through the immigration process for a
few years. But it is the most liberating feeling ever.

The beauty about the space we are involved in, is that we can start a startup
from anywhere.

You don't have to live in the US. The truth is, I never saw myself moving back
home either, but after I got married (she isn't an American) and had my first
child - we decided it was best to raise him at home (where there is more
help).

However, once my startup reaches a point where I can expand, I plan on opening
an office or some sort of presence in the US - which essentially allows you to
get a green card - once you are creating enough jobs, and invest enough in the
US.

So don't feel like going degree -> H1-B -> green card is the only way.

All in all, I don't know your particular situation, but going home might not
be ALL that bad. Especially if you can work on your startup and be earning USD
living in a country with much lower cost of living.

Just my $0.02.

------
thaumaturgy
Advice is what I look for when I feel like I should know the answer to
something, and I don't.

You have a perfectly viable third option, and it's one that I nearly took
while trying to juggle a business and a regular job at the same time. I
certainly would have taken it if I felt that it was necessary to keep the
regular job.

That option is, get help. You have a steady, reliable job now, and you might
not enjoy it, but you might also be surprised at how much more enjoyable it
can be if you have a successful business on the side that's _taking care of
itself_. Also, I'm beginning to think that "getting help" is one of the most
challenging steps an entrepreneur eventually has to take; why not handle it
right away?

Take a day or two off from your regular job, if you can. A long weekend would
be good. Decompress a little -- but don't procrastinate! -- and then sit down
and draft an idea of what you want your business to do, and when you want it
to do it. It doesn't need to be fancy; it doesn't need to be a business plan.
Just: "in X months my business should be doing Y" kind of stuff.

Then, once you've got a clear idea of what you want to accomplish, start
looking for people that can help you do it. The economy is your friend right
now -- you should be able to find some part-time or contract help for pretty
cheap. You'll get to learn how to manage them really effectively, since you
won't be able to look over their shoulders 40 hours a week.

Two years from now, you can have your green card, _and_ you can be way ahead
of schedule in your business, just because you got help sooner rather than
later.

~~~
prawn
And try to avoid creating situations in this setup where you are a bottleneck
that is constantly holding up whoever you've delegated to (speaking from loads
of experience). And when that happens (e.g., content needs to be written to
launch), sometimes you just need to relax control and delegate.

Worst case, it's easier to tweak or rewrite something that's been already
written than start from scratch.

------
sound
Let me advise you something different, its valid & legal and it works
perfectly fine... i know many have done this before by applying for Canadian
permanent residency (same as USA green card) so that they at least have
stability and dont have to worry about going back to home country. Canadian PR
is easy and fast and you can work from Vancouver (close to silicon valley on
Canadian side) and in the mean time keep working on your job & project... just
in case if you want to work full-time on your startup then you can go to
Canada and work from there, also once you've PR from Canada, you can go to US
on visitors visa as many time as you want, this is good if you want to meet
VCs and other project members. Also you can get Canadian citizenship within 3
to 5yrs after PR.

Do I sound like sales guy for Canadian immigration :-) anyway find an
immigration lawyer who has knowledge of both countries (USA & Canada), again
trust me this will be immensely helpful for planning your future and
stability.

edit: by the way, once you get PR for Canada, you may migrate there and easily
find a job that is not stressful, you can work for 40hrs and rest of the time
you can work for your startup.

------
BinaryPie
Keep on the path for your green card. 2 years is not such a big deal in the
grand scheme of things.

~~~
huherto
And try to enjoy life in the mean time. Life is not about the destination, the
trip is also important. You can do things on your free time, but you can also
find ways to enjoy your job more.

------
ojbyrne
I'm 49 years old, and further away from my green card. You're in a good spot,
don't take it so seriously.

------
revorad
I'm sort of in a similar situation, but in the UK. The visa/work permit
situation is a lot easier here though. So, soon after I started working on my
startup I quit my job and got a new visa which allows me to do any kind of
work (including self-employment). I also like it here and would like to stay
until I get permanent residence. I saved up enough from my job to keep me
going for a while, hopefully until my business takes off.

I'm finding working alone on my startup quite hard. And all that emotional
rollercoaster stuff I heard about also seems to be true. I'm doing it fulltime
and still feel like I'm moving painfully slow. So I can totally understand
your frustration and fear.

I think I agree largely with what edw519 says. Keep the job and keep working
on your startup but try and slowly build up the momentum.

Is there a chance for you to get another less demanding job? It sounds like
you must have a decent paying job, so presumably you can save a bit of money
from that which could help.

Finally, given your situation, the classic route of consulting might be a good
option.

------
whatnext
I really appreciate the advice, kind words, encouragement, and wisdom you guys
have offered here, edw519, thaumaturgy, gridspy, patio11, adityakothadiya,
rgrieselhuber and others.

Patience is a virtue and I've been practising it for a few years now. My green
card petition has been pending for _5_ years and it still seems far away.
Given the immigration climate and the general xenophobia, I dread waiting
another few years (2 is my optimistic guess _if_ immigration reform goes
through, else...). I sometimes put myself on the other side of the fence and
wonder that if things don't pan out, will I regret not taking the leap? It's
hard sometimes, you know.

I don't want to take any hasty decisions and screw everything up. But as
adityakothadiya pointed out, I do want to know that I've exhausted all
possible options and have no other resort.

I need to get more efficient and as thaumaturgy pointed out, get help. I am
planning on bringing in some help over the summer. I'm also considering taking
a leave of absence from the job if possible.

Entrepreneurship is difficult (euphemism) in and of itself. Add first time
founder, solo founder, part-time work, and green card bull and in those
moments of weakness, I despair. And as Unseelie pointed out, when you're one
person doing something, even a five person unfunded team can seem scary.

That being said, overall, I'm optimistic and will continue to do what I'm
doing. I'm still living some form of my dream and it is exciting to watch this
baby grow.

No one wants to live with regrets but often you don't know in advance what you
will or will not end up regretting. I'm figuring it out.

If I don't do a good job at building my startup, or finding product/market fit
and so on, I can live with it not going anywhere. But if I end up realizing (a
little too late) that dedicating myself to it would have made a difference,
that's a bitter pill to swallow.

------
tron_carter
This is a great example of why the U.S. needs startup visas (without $1
million requirement) to keep and encourage entrepreneurship in the U.S. and
generate jobs + tax revenue.

It's a tough call what to do within the limits of our current environment and
I wish you the best of luck in your current situation.

~~~
ido
Or just do what New Zealand and Australia do, and allow people in required
professions (programmers being one of them) a visa and a 2-years fast track to
citizenship.

~~~
scorpioxy
You mean immigration as a federal skilled worker, right?

I thought they were making this process tougher because of the current
economic climate.

------
joshu
When was your last vacation? Perhaps you just need a break.

~~~
whatnext
Jan 09. A while ago.

~~~
joshu
You're burned out. Take a break.

------
nostrademons
Marry an American, get citizenship, then go found your startup. And never,
ever think you're too old.

Your situation sounds a lot like my dad's. He came here after college,
finished his Ph.D in the U.S, then got screwed over in every industrial
position he took. The immigration situation sucks in this country. You need a
company to sponsor you, but the company realizes that you have zero leverage
as a foreigner, and treats you accordingly. He was paid less than native-born
citizens, missed out on all the scientific conferences given abroad because he
couldn't leave the country easily for visa reasons, and found that promotions
and accolades went to his American colleagues that knew how to work the
system, rather than the people who did the best technical work.

He ended up getting his citizenship when he married my mother, a few years
past 30. But in a sense it was too late for him by then: he was so bitter
about the way he was treated in industry that it poisoned all his future
ventures. It did mean that my sister and I grew up as native-born U.S.
citizens, though, with all the cultural capital that comes with that.

My advice for now: forget about the startup. Instead, concentrate on learning
as much about American culture as possible. Go out with coworkers after work.
Start cultivating your own social life - invite friends to go do stuff with
you. Date some American girls. Listen to pop music. Someone said throw away
the TV set - I'd actually disagree with that, I think you should watch _more_
TV, but don't just veg out. Instead, listen carefully to what shows the people
around you are into, and then watch them so you have something to talk about
with them.

This'll all be useful if you ever found a startup in the future, but more to
the point, it's essential if you really plan on staying here permanently. My
dad never fully assimilated into American culture, which meant that my sister
and I had to pick up a lot of it as kids, sometimes very painfully. And then
it caused conflict with my father, who remained very Chinese (and distrustful
of Americans) until he died. If you stay here, you'll need to interact with
Americans wherever you go, you'll need to rely upon them to build a business,
and your kids will become American. Better to join them than fight them.

It's very easy for non-foreigners to forget just how much of an advantage
cultural capital gives them. There's this huge iceberg of cultural skills that
white middle-class Americans take for-granted, that are just unknown to
foreigners, poor people, minorities, or children of foreigners. You hear these
stories about immigrant entrepreneurs who hit it big in America - but if you
talk to any of them, you usually find that they mastered the culture _first_ ,
and then founded their companies. It's not a matter of "the smartest engineer
wins"; it's a matter of "the smartest engineer who acts and talks like me and
that I can feel comfortable doing business with wins".

~~~
craigbellot
The only thing worse than a company that knows you have no leverage is a wife
that knows you have no leverage.

~~~
psranga
Huh? I think you and the upmodders do not realize that once the spouse gets
the marriage-based green card, it doesn't get revoked in a divorce. AFAIK and
IANAL.

Unless there is some other point to this comment that is going WAY above my
head.

~~~
solutionyogi
Well, your knowledge is surely lacking. To prevent immigration fraud, the rule
is that when you marry a citizen, you get a temporary green card which is
valid for 2 years. You must go back to USCIS after 2 years to get a permanent
green card. Also, it's quite possible that USCIS will ask for proof that your
marriage was legit (wedding pictures/honeymoon pictures/joint bank accounts).
If you get divorced before 2 years, it becomes kind of tricky to get permanent
green card. [Read <http://www.shusterman.com/greencardsthroughmarriage.html>,
scroll to 'REMOVING CONDITIONAL RESIDENCE' section]

Also, if you get divorce after getting green card and if USCIS finds out that
you married citizen only to get green card, they can revoke it.

~~~
psranga
Yes, I knew about the "probationary period" etc.

But the unqualified "no leverage" of the OP seemed to imply at least to me
that they thought that the green card would be taken away in a divorce
irrespective of number of years of marriage (it doesn't after two years unless
you got into a fraudulent marriage).

And I do not think the GP suggested getting a sham marriage. Yes, if you
really enter into a sham marriage then the "wife" will have lots of leverage
over you.

------
bootload
_"... tl;dr: Working on startup venture. No green card. Stuck in this
situation for 2+ yrs. Slow progress and sometimes feel dream slipping away.
Suggestions? ..."_

Patience.

------
abstractbill
I spent three years waiting for a Green Card while working at a boring job in
a big company. It is very frustrating.

My only piece of advice would be to look for ways to hack the Green Card
process. While it looks completely unhackable on the surface, there were a
couple of times dring my application where we managed to find influential
contacts who sped things up by as much as six months. If the immigration
lawyer your company is using isn't doing everything possible to make your
application go quickly, find a lawyer of your own to review the paperwork and
see if anything more can be done.

Good luck!

------
fapi1974
I've gone through and read all the comments below, and am pretty overwhelmed
by the hopes, the energy, and the tenacity of so many of you. I am a 35 year
old first time entrepreneur, but I'm a citizen, so I can relate to some of the
pressure - but only a tiny bit. But that's not what I wanted to comment on - I
wanted to comment on the fact that I am blown away by those of you making a go
of this...you make this country great even when it makes it hard for you. We
are lucky to have you.

------
fookyong
Don't try to work on your project after a full day of work. You're physically
and mentally tired, you won't produce quality work and you'll begin to dread
working on your side project.

Here is some simple advice that has worked for me very well in the past, in
exactly your situation (and I've gone on to run those side projects
successfully and even exit from one via acquisition).

__Work on your side projects in the morning__

This involves some lifestyle changes, i.e. waking up early. The process, once
mature, involves 3 steps:

1) On the commute home after work, think of 1 concrete thing you want to
achieve the next morning on your side project. Relax and watch TV etc whilst
going over in your head what you're going to do in terms of execution.

2) Go to sleep early (say 11pm) and wake up at 6am.

3) Do the stuff you thought about. Your mind will be fresh, you'll be looking
_forward_ to working, and if you can charge through 1 to-do list item per day,
that's good, consistent progress.

Keeping a strict routine of this you can maintain a very quick pace of product
iteration. Much faster than you'd think, for just a couple of hours a day.
It's all about filling those hours with concrete tasks and being in the right
mindset to Get Things Done.

Hope that helps.

------
keeptrying
Focus on what you can and want to do. Not on what you can't change. In your
situation this would be: 1\. Get a better day job which is higher paying or
which makes you feel better about your life in some way. Eg: let's you live
near the beach or in NYC et . 2\. Start proving in some fashion (eg: letters
of intent from customers) that you have a great product. You think that the
green card is the problem but if your a first time entrepreneur I can bet even
if you had a gc the state of your company is not at the point you could go it
alone right now. Be honest about this. 3\. Save up some money. Your going to
need this when you start on your own. 4\. Date more American women. :) ...
Even if you never find your wife thus way, it'll increase the quality of
life... Well at least for sometime. :) 5\. Average age of receiving a gc is
31. At least that's what I've seen. So hang in there.

Yes I ve been in your shoes. I got my gc but then realised that my
idea/implementation was fundamentally flawed. Now I'm doing all of the above
so I can quit in another 6 months.

Use this time to really vet your idea. 3\. Seriously network with others

------
phreanix
Might I ask what is taking up most of your time getting your concept to fruit?

Is it the programming? Marketing?

It's been said here so much it might as well be on a stone tablet: 30 isn't
too old, but I totally understand that such a milestone can put irrational
pressures on someone. Trust me, I know.

As for your other dilemma, your fear that others might catch on to your idea
and beat you to the punch.

No one can guarantee a surefire hit. Lord knows there's been a ton of those
that ended up being total duds. Consider this though, an idea that's sat on is
an idea that's wasted. Don't let the threat of competition scare you off. If
you've got a great idea, it will remain great even if others are doing it, and
if yours is better, people will come to you.

I've sat on a few ideas of my own for lack of time and technical help, only
see other people start their own version of it or another. I think mine's
still better, but seeing others attempt it gave me a bit more confidence in
the viability of the idea, and a kick in the butt that I gotta get moving.
Don't be afraid to find the right people to work with, sometimes it's a trial
and error thing, but don't quit.

------
John212
Focus as much time as you can on the start up over the next two years and try
to get it profitable but most importantly keep the job.

If you hold on for two years, you will end up with a solid start up, a green
card and in addition to your salary you'll have another revenue stream.

That's a very nice way to enter your thirties.

Hang in there!

------
immigrant
I am in the same boat - at least a year away from my green card, working for
BigCo, moonlighting, even turning 30 soon!

I've researched a couple of options to expedite green card processing and
these may be applicable to your case - email johnbray8 at google's email
service to chat.

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GBond
Start looking into full-time positions in Canada as a backup for when your US
visa expires. I know others who are in the same predicament as you who were
able to find positions within their own big corp employer. Canada is favorable
as US allows for partnerships with Canadians. There is also a cultural fit and
comfort factor from customers & future employees. You are not alone. Even
motivated U.S. corps have to jump through many hoops to get their H1s passed.
It is not always the employer who is at fault. For example, there is a waiting
period for public companies to start processing H1s after a large layoff. Add
to this the bureaucratic nature of big corp + big gov't in general.

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alecco
There's some really good advice on this thread. FWIW, here's my take.

You are _living two lives at the same time_. It's possible to do it, but you
have to sacrifice and avoid traps. You have to acknowledge you will be
vulnerable due to tiredness. Your main pitfall is falling into depression,
despair and alienation. Here are some very simple techniques I use. It is
vital to achieve a good mindset and excellent health.

 _Master your time_ and in particular your sleep. Every day _sleep at least 8
hours_. Don't moonlight if possible. Wake up very early in the morning, 5 or
6am maximum. Go for a walk or a run, then have a very quick healthy and
filling breakfast (avoid boxed cereals!) If you have time, work some on your
project. Get to work before anybody else, get sort everything you can in the
morning as everybody else is drowsy and slow. Exploit that. Master the "wally
reflector", perhaps preemptively.

For lunch time, have something very light like a sandwich or salad. Push
meetings to the afternoon, if possible. Focus well on people talking to you,
don't multitask on meetings. Avoid the water-cooler gang, don't waste your
time even at the office, remember you are worn out more than your co-workers.
If you need to _clear your mind, go to a quiet place and rest_. Do the same at
lunch, if possible.

After work, avoid the pub and go straight to your project and put as many good
hours as you can. If you work at home, get rid of any possible distraction, in
particular _avoid time sinks like TV, social sites, and chat/im_. Hold dinner
until you are done.

Drink water all the time, perhaps a glass every hour. Avoid any other soft
drinks. Eat healthier, get enough nutrients in particular good proteins (milk,
egg whites, soy) to help you recover. Also don't neglect good oils (sunflower,
algae/fish.) A healthy lifestyle will help you save money, too.

Stay away as much as possible from coffee because it will give you insomnia
and stomach problems while in the long run you end up with a dependency and
without the buzz. Avoid alcohol (and soft drugs), its effects will cascade
into the week because you are vulnerable. Avoid heavy and unhealthy foods, it
will give you indigestion and get you drowsy. Stop eating sugars, candy,
chocolate, and soft drinks.

When you are feeling bad at work, visualize your goals. Repeat to yourself
often, perhaps in a mirror: "this is just a stepping stone and I'm moving
forward to my dream life." Or something along the lines better fitting your
situation.

Keep completely to yourself either Saturday or Sunday, zero work. Have a good
time.

Now the hardcore tricks. In just 2 weeks you can clean up from the typical
western sugar addiction. Hang in there with your cravings. Only when you are
completely in control, you can have a little bit of _sugar as last-resource
remedy_ to help you get by when you reach very low points of the week. Drink
lots of water with it to even out the effects from 15m to 45m. Don't eat or
drink anything else. Sugar is a strong stimulant and an occasional shot can
help keep discipline, but it works only if you don't have resistance to it.
(There are several studies on this subject.)

Another trick is to schedule properly the work that wears you out. Put it all
together and finish it as soon as possible, then resume your normal schedule.

And the best trick is to go to bed early on Sunday night, perhaps get your
doctor to prescribe your some light sleep inducing pills. Some people swear by
herbal remedies, too. When you start the week with the right foot it tends to
have a good inertia.

And the top trick, _write a log_! Even if you write a single line it will help
you keep focus and will help you become aware of progress. Write it even on
bad days, highlight what went wrong. It takes just a minute.

Even though this is a hard life, if you manage to do it right it will be among
the best times of your life. Things will change sooner than you expect.

------
mikecane
This will either inspire you or further depress you:

Things Other People Accomplished When They Were Your Age
<http://www.museumofconceptualart.com/accomplished/>

Thirty is not old. Keep working. It doesn't matter if someone else swoops in
and "steals" it. You'll have other and better ideas.

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seldo
I was in a similar situation, except I had an American co-founder to create
the company and do the paperwork to transfer my H-1B. It took much, much
longer than we hoped, but you can get there in the end.

So that would be my advice -- don't wait for the H-1B; find an American co-
founder who can bring you on-board.

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msort
Focus on improving your engineering skills; Switch to a much more interesting
day job; Make your life more interesting; Developing your product in moonlight
(Reference: read book Ignore Everyone).

Or just choose to give up the green card for something which matters more to
you.

------
csmeder
Check out [http://www.amazon.com/Copy-This-Hyperactive-Dyslexic-
Compani...](http://www.amazon.com/Copy-This-Hyperactive-Dyslexic-
Companies/dp/0761137777) and don't be afraid to ask for help. You don't have
to be a one man shop.

------
ig1
A number of YC companies were founded by non-americans who ended up staying in
the US, it might be worth approaching them to see how they did it. Possibly
some hack involving an H1B for the company or maybe even an E2 for a VC
financed company.

------
johngalt
"I learned the lesson that working with a useless co-founder is worse than
going it alone."

Find one that's not useless. All the problems you've mentioned can be solved
by having another set of hands around to help.

