[HN Gopher] How I secured an 'Extraordinary Ability' visa as a f...
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How I secured an 'Extraordinary Ability' visa as a founder
Author : ahussain
Score : 151 points
Date : 2024-01-26 15:45 UTC (7 hours ago)
(HTM) web link (blog.awais.io)
(TXT) w3m dump (blog.awais.io)
| otoburb wrote:
| Appreciate sharing this specific immigration journey so far. The
| biggest positive factor seems to be that the poster was already
| in the US on an L-1B which also counted towards one out of four
| of the O-1 eligibility criteria (specialized knowledge).
| kulor wrote:
| Thank you for sharing. It's useful to know that an O-1 is a
| theoretically viable route.
|
| Some serious creativity in using fundraising under the category
| of "Nationally or internationally recognized awards"
| j7ake wrote:
| Does O-1 bypass the country by birth quota for green cards? Or is
| this just a visa not permanent residency?
| otoburb wrote:
| The O-1 is a nonimmigrant visa[1], but my understanding is that
| it's also one of the few nonimmigrant visas that USCIS allows
| for dual-intent consideration.
|
| Eventually, you have to go through additional steps to convert
| to an immigrant visa (e.g. be sponsored by your (own) company,
| or marrying an American, etc.).
|
| [1] https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-
| states/temporary...
| CobrastanJorji wrote:
| Right. The O-1, the "extraordinary ability" visa, is easily
| confused with the EB-1, sometimes called the "Einstein visa."
| The latter is for those seeking permanent residency, and the
| former is not. The EB-1 became notorious a few years back in
| some circles when it was pointed out that the first lady had
| gotten one for modeling, but like this article points out,
| the criteria to get one is not as insurmountable as it might
| seem from the official examples, which will suggest things
| like Olympic medals, Pulitzer prizes, etc. Being on magazine
| covers and making a lot of money makes for a pretty solid
| case to acquire one.
| x86x87 wrote:
| EB-1 is not a visa. It's a category for permanent residence
| application.
|
| It's not an Einstein "visa" by any means.
| https://www.uscis.gov/green-card/green-card-
| eligibility/gree...
|
| You can have extraordinary abilities or you can be a
| manager at bigcorp. Yes, being a manager will most times
| qualify you for an EB-1 bracket.
| CobrastanJorji wrote:
| What makes it not a visa? It's permission to enter the
| U.S., that's what a visa is, isn't it? Also, I that's
| it's pretty common to call it that:
| https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EB-1_visa
|
| But yes, the majority of recipients get them because
| they're managers at big companies.
| BeetleB wrote:
| > It's permission to enter the U.S., that's what a visa
| is, isn't it?
|
| I don't think so.
|
| You can't get EB-1 status unless you are already on some
| visa (H-1, O-1, etc). Once you start the green card
| process, at some point, you'll get paperwork letting you
| travel even though the green card has not yet been
| approved. Prior to that, you cannot unless your existing
| visa (H-1, etc) is still valid.
|
| EB-1/2/3 are categories under which you apply for a green
| card - they are not visas.
| neuralengine wrote:
| That's false. You can apply for EB visas from outside the
| US. After the approval of the I-140 (application for
| employment-based visa), instead of "adjustment" of your
| visa status in the US, you perform immigrant visa
| processing at your local consulate to get your green
| card.
|
| You can still travel after filing the I-140 but not after
| filing the I-485 (adjustment) without advance parole.
| returningfory2 wrote:
| Not sure why this comment is being downvoted. It's
| exactly right: you can apply for EB visas (or any other
| permanent resident classification you're eligible for)
| without any prior connection to the US and get an
| "immigrant visa" in your passport to travel to the US.
| x86x87 wrote:
| There is no such thing as EB visas.
|
| While your greencard is processed you can indefinitely
| renew your current visa (eg HB1 you get it for 3 years
| and can renew only once, with application pending you can
| keep renewing it).
|
| Also, Green Card has different stages with their own
| limitations PERM -> I140 -> I485 -> green card.
| returningfory2 wrote:
| The US Department of State has a webpage literally called
| "Employment-Based Immigrant Visas":
| https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/us-
| visas/immigrat...
|
| It's not common for people with no prior connection to
| the US get one of these, but it is 100% possible. You can
| look up statistics on the number of employment green card
| visas issued here:
| https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/legal/visa-
| law0/v... In the PDF you need to search for E1, E2, etc.
| CobrastanJorji wrote:
| Okay, let's try this another way. 8 US Code SS 1153,
| "Allocation of immigrant visas," has the section for EB
| (employment-based) immigrants. (b) (1) begins: "Visas
| shall first be made available...to qualified immigrants
| who are aliens described in any of the following
| subparagraphs (A) through (C): (A) Aliens with
| extraordinary ability, (B) Outstanding professors and
| researchers, (C) Certain multinational executives and
| managers".
|
| Is this section of the U.S. code talking about EB-1s when
| it says "Visas shall be made available," and, if not,
| what is it talking about?
| paxys wrote:
| EB-1 does NOT grant permission to enter the U.S. You can
| have an approved I-140 in the EB-1 category but it is
| useless unless you also file an I-485/DS-260 and get a
| green card.
| x86x87 wrote:
| so, by this criteria, a US passport is a visa? i mean it
| does give you the permission to enter the US?
| js2 wrote:
| USCIS calls it a visa in the first sentence:
|
| https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-
| states/permanent...
|
| _You may be eligible for an employment-based, first-
| preference visa if you are a noncitizen of extraordinary
| ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or
| are a certain multinational executive or manager._
| paxys wrote:
| It wouldn't be the first government website with
| confusing wording. They call it visa, but practically
| "EB-1 visa" = green card. There's no intermediate stage
| between the two. There's no sticker on your passport that
| says EB-1. You can't use your EB-1 status to enter the
| country or work or anything else.
|
| EB-1 simply means that you jump to the front of the line
| to get a green card.
| x86x87 wrote:
| even more. there is no difference in the process (as far
| as how the process works, not time spent waiting) between
| EB1, EB2, EB3.
|
| Also, calling it a visa is misleading. The Green Card
| gives you the right to reside here permanently and you
| don't need any visa once you have it. So it's not a visa,
| and even if it was a visa it would be the Green Card that
| would be called out, not the bucket through which you get
| it.
| x86x87 wrote:
| I don't want to fight in the semantics dome, but they do
| not.
|
| > You may be eligible for an employment-based, first-
| preference visa if you are a noncitizen of extraordinary
| ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or
| are a certain multinational executive or manager.
|
| the employment-based, first-preference visa they are
| talking about is the green card. they were also lazy and
| did not update the wording
| renewiltord wrote:
| Equivalent is Green Card EB-1. But there's no automatic path.
| ahussain wrote:
| Most lawyers I've spoken to disagree with this. The O-1 and
| EB-1 have similar criteria as written, but the EB-1 is
| adjudicated to a much higher standard than the O-1.
| the_svd_doctor wrote:
| And EB-1 has quotas. So even if you qualify it may take
| many many years for Indians/Chinese folks.
| x86x87 wrote:
| I could argue EB-1 is easier. Become a manager at FANG ->
| apply for EB1.
| oarla wrote:
| It's not that simple. You need to have been a manager
| outside of the US for 1 year, apply and get approved for
| L1C visa, enter the country on that and then once in the
| US apply under EB1C. All the time maintaining legal
| status.
| x86x87 wrote:
| It's trivial compared to waiting 15 years for your EB-2
| to be processed.
| renewiltord wrote:
| They locked down on this in the last few years, but I had
| friends come in through the EB-1. One didn't even get
| picked in the H-1B lottery and so had to work in India and
| that gave him the foreign manager experience. This is
| ~2018.
|
| But I agree, I didn't mean it has the same true
| requirements, just that it is the "corresponding" category.
| So yes, not "equivalent", "corresponding".
| the_svd_doctor wrote:
| Makes no difference. It's a temporary status, not permanent
| residency.
|
| It potentially helps you slightly for EB-1 (permanent residency
| for "extraordinary people") since it has similar requirements,
| and EB-1 has slightly better quotas than EB-2 (because fewer
| folks qualify ; EB-2 is for skilled workers like your typical
| tech employee).
|
| If you're from India it's still a very long way out.
| beaeglebeached wrote:
| I have a dumb question but how often do tourist visa overstayers
| get deported while running their own business under an
| incorporated ITIN? There's not even an I-9 check for non-employee
| income. There's got to be millions of people doing something like
| this or as 'independent contractors' considering how trivial it
| is and the obvious completely broken immigration system that
| demands these kinds of hacks.
| wil421 wrote:
| Why would you go through the trouble? Most people I worked with
| in restaurants would just find someone's name/ssn to use, put
| they had 10 children, and never ever file taxes.
|
| I think there was a shady underground way to match illegal
| immigrants with SSNs. Or they just networked heavily in their
| communities.
| 101008 wrote:
| I can imagine this being true but at the same time it's so
| weird. I tried to open an account with Chase and Bank of
| America and they ask me for SSN, and I can't get one because
| I am from outside the US (I just want to get one to have my
| freelance money in an actual bank and not Paypal/Payoneer/an
| app).
|
| There are companies that provide a LLC with a SSN for just a
| fix payment of $400, but I am sure it comes with a lot of
| taxes issues that I don't want to care for now.
|
| So, how can the financial system rely on SSN if they can be
| sold for inmigrants?
| ceejayoz wrote:
| They won't use a Chase account. They'll get paid cash or a
| physical check they can take to a check cashing place.
| 101008 wrote:
| Yes but my question was not about how they open a Chase
| account, but why Chase requires a SSN if SSN are sold in
| a black market (according to the previous comment)
| smeej wrote:
| Chase requires more than just the SSN. Chase requires you
| to prove your identity matches the person whose SSN you
| submit. They require it _as part of a larger picture,_
| not in isolation.
|
| (Employers are supposed to verify ID too, but they're not
| scrutinized as heavily as a major bank like Chase.)
| tossedacct wrote:
| Chase uses the SSN to look for a bad banking history.
| beaeglebeached wrote:
| Why wouldn't they? They'd probably just use the business
| tin as the taxable account owner and then their real
| foreign passport as the UBO for KYC. If they can't do
| that it would surely break the wheels of industry as
| foreign owned US businesses need US bank accounts.
|
| IIRC banks need a ITIN or SSN + passport or ID of the UBO
| ceejayoz wrote:
| Documented immigrants will get a ITIN and/or EIN.
|
| Undocumented immigrants are far more likely to go the...
| undocumented route.
| petronio wrote:
| Undocumented immigrants can get an ITIN, and many do. A
| lot of the time the ITIN will be used where it's allowed
| (opening bank accounts) and a counterfeit social security
| card where it's not (applying for employment).
| gamepsys wrote:
| > There are companies that provide a LLC with a SSN for
| just a fix payment of $400
|
| This has to be a TIN (Tax Identification Number) not a SSN
| (Social Security Number). As far as I know SSNs are only
| issued to people.
| qingcharles wrote:
| Legal immigrants get an SSN. I have an SSN it is just
| suspended or something. If I try to use it online it causes
| 500 errors everywhere as whatever status is attached to it
| isn't handled by any financial site.
| Aspos wrote:
| BofA happily opens accounts for those with no SSN as long
| as they show up with somebody who has. And a person with a
| driver's license and SSN must confirm that the customer
| resides with them.
| alwayslikethis wrote:
| Many 'illegal immigrants' also entered legally with a visa
| that allows them to get a real SSN, like most J1 exchange
| scholars or students. These cards usually show a line saying
| not for work except for permission, but there is probably an
| underground network for faking a normal one.
| qingcharles wrote:
| As an illegal, the biggest problem is.. how would I get ID
| with matching photo that I can use to sign up for web sites?
| A huge amount of web sites now want to ID verify with
| government ID and selfie. I have to get other people to do
| this for me.
| romafirst3 wrote:
| California does not require proof of legal status to get a
| driving license. I think the license is just eligible in
| California afterwards. I had one for a while while I was
| waiting for my visa to be processed.
| romafirst3 wrote:
| https://www.dmv.ca.gov/portal/driver-licenses-
| identification....
| gumby wrote:
| It's short-sighted nonsense that undocumented immigrants
| can't get SSNs. They should be issued SSNs and pay taxes as
| usual. They are working, and the IRS should be collecting
| taxes, nothing more, nothing less. If they aren't paying
| taxes, someone else has to make up the difference.
|
| Likewise I want them to get licenses if they can pass the
| driving laws test, and should be able to get insurance. I
| don't want to be hit (or hit and run) by an uninsured driver.
|
| They and their kids should be getting the same vaccines
| someone with a legal right to live here does, under the same
| terms. This is basic public health that helps everybody.
|
| This is 100% orthogonal to whether ICE should be pursuing and
| deporting this or that person. They current system makes the
| rest of us less safe -- and that's not even getting into the
| massive impingement on the human rights of law abiding folks
| due to the misincented immigration (and other) laws and their
| enforcement).
| petronio wrote:
| Undocumented immigrants can get an ITIN, and many do use
| them to pay taxes. The IRS really doesn't care where you
| got your money from, so long as they get their cut.
|
| Where undocumented immigrants won't be able to file their
| taxes is if they used a counterfeit SSN to be employed, but
| even in those cases they pay anyways through standard
| withholding. Most Americans don't know you can adjust
| withholding, nevermind undocumented immigrants.
| paxys wrote:
| There may be "millions of people" doing this, but they are
| running street carts and house cleaning services, not tech
| companies.
| qingcharles wrote:
| You are wrong. Only from personal experience.
|
| I have an informal waiver from ICE right now, and I'm running
| a tech business, but I'm deportable and would ordinarily be
| in immigration jail except I'm in a sanctuary state.
| paxys wrote:
| Unless you know of millions of other people in the same
| situation as you I'm not sure what your anecdote proves?
| bitxbitxbitcoin wrote:
| A single example (what you are calling an anecdote) is
| all that's needed to disprove your blanket statement - he
| provided it.
| notpushkin wrote:
| I don't think it was a blanket statement. He's claiming
| that the millions of people GP is talking about are doing
| low-skill work - suggesting that there might be tech
| workers, too, but that there are less than millions of
| them.
| rmbyrro wrote:
| Why would you live illegally in the US if you run a tech
| business?
|
| I mean, you can sell tech services to the US market living
| anywhere legally!..
| throwaway1507 wrote:
| Please, tell me how to do this. My (SW dev) business so
| far relies heavily on personal relationships built over
| long periods of time. I wasn't able to find any other
| way. I don't have much disposable income for online
| marketing professionals and ads (I had but it all went to
| waste).
| rmbyrro wrote:
| LinkedIn is great. You'd be surprised how many welcoming
| people you'll find if you communicate like a real person.
| But be prepared and don't take personally when someone
| ignores you or give a bad response. Just move on.
|
| Do extensive research first and make sure there is a real
| potential that what you offer can be valuable to them.
| And communicate that. Smaller businesses are much easier
| to sell to. Startups are even easier, but you have to be
| sharp, deliver very quickly, and be prepared for a more
| dynamic environment.
|
| I've sold SWE services as a solopreneur to customers in
| the US, UK, even Hong Kong. All through direct messages
| on LinkedIn.
| throwaway1507 wrote:
| Did you have any issues regarding your timezone? I had
| some good leads there (and some success too, but always
| with local people) but the timezone thing killed it every
| time.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| Is the immigration system broken?
|
| Or are there just billions of Indian and Asian people?
| j7ake wrote:
| There are 750 million Europeans , and maybe 4.5 billion
| Asians (6 times more in Asia than Europe).
|
| But the wait and difficulty is much more than 6 times if
| you're Asian versus if you're European.
| tristor wrote:
| Do you think that might have to do with relative demand,
| because most Asians would prefer to emigrate elsewhere, and
| most Europeans would not? If you combine with that the
| relative population differences, it creates a striking
| demand curve.
| paxys wrote:
| Now run the same numbers but looking at just visa
| applications instead of the entire population of these
| regions.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| immigration should be on a country by country basis, not on
| a population basis.
|
| so if your country has tons of people (for whatever
| reason), that's kind of your country's fault and not the
| immigration systems fault.
|
| while there are benefits to a culture of having 12 kids
| theres also negatives.
|
| Europeans seem to have moderate family sizes for some
| reason.
|
| why is that?
| scottydog51834 wrote:
| Slightly off-topic, but I am curious how difficult it is in
| general to receive an entrepreneurial visa to the US? I chatted
| with a potential co-founder, here now for a masters, who would
| seek out this visa if we were to start a company together.
| Agingcoder wrote:
| Unless I've misunderstood something, a phd holder who has
| published papers and worked in tech/banking/etc with a high
| salary can get that kind of visa ?
| neuralengine wrote:
| Either conditions are typically sufficient, not necessarily
| both. Still, O-1s still have significant limitations.
|
| You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for
| example. That means no additional freelancing.
| nsajko wrote:
| > You can only work for the employer who sponsored you, for
| example.
|
| Nice, just like in the good old days with serfs and feudal
| lords.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| only in America. in their home country, they're allowed to
| work freely.
| coherentpony wrote:
| > Nice, just like in the good old days with serfs and
| feudal lords.
|
| I can't tell if you're being sarcastic or not.
|
| Serfs were largely agricultural workers bound under the
| feudal system to work on their lord's estate. Foreign
| workers aren't serfs. They're not bound to a particular
| estate, nor do they typically execute agricultural work.
| They have the right to collectively bargain their salary,
| working conditions, and benefits. They are free to resign
| their position and leave the country.
|
| The O-1 visa is a temporary worker visa. The expectation is
| that folks on a temporary work visa work temporarily. That
| is, there is no intent to immigrate.
|
| You are also not bound to a particular employer. You're
| only bound to that employer on that visa instance. You can,
| if you like, apply for another O-1 visa sponsored by a
| different employer.
|
| There are, in some cases, restrictions on work even for
| folks that have the right to work and live in the US. For
| example, if company A contracts out work to company B, it
| is often not permitted for company A to offer workers at
| company B full-time positions at company A because of the
| existence of the contract. If someone freelances for
| company A they often can't also hold full-time positions at
| a competitor to company A. Is this feudalism? Of course
| not.
|
| TL;DR: Freedom to work does not imply or mean, "I can do
| whatever work I want for whoever I want." There are rules,
| regulations and laws present for a reason. We can debate
| whether or not those reasons exist in good faith, but
| equating "I can only work for one specific employer on a
| temporary work visa" to serfdom is awfully disingenuous, in
| my opinion.
| wildzzz wrote:
| This applies to many different visas. The point is to
| ensure you are actually employed and not just here to
| subsist off of social services or working for illegal
| enterprises (i.e. organized crime). You can change jobs but
| the new employer must agree to sponsor you. Visas are not
| permanent residencies or citizenship. If you just want to
| tour the country or take university classes, get a tourist
| or student visa. If you did all the work to prove your
| "extraordinary abilities", you should be putting them to
| use. And yes, perhaps freelance work should be eligible for
| employment status but I feel that can be accomplished
| through some creative structuring of a tiny contracting
| firm.
|
| I can easily compare an O-1 visa to being accepted to a
| prestigious university. You proved you are smart and
| talented enough to be there but if you don't actually put
| in the work (get good grades/stay employed), you get kicked
| out so that someone else just as smart and talented can
| take your place.
| beaeglebeached wrote:
| Why not just start a business, be 'firable' using the
| article's strategy, then hire yourself out as a contract
| company thus be able to work for anyone while technically
| only working for your own sponsor company.
| ahussain wrote:
| The high salary is benchmarked against other people doing the
| same job, in the same geographic area. So you would have to by
| at a high-tier tech/banking job.
| dannyw wrote:
| O1 isn't that hard with a good immigration lawyer. It's about
| checking boxes, not extraordinary talent.
| jonny_eh wrote:
| They just need the guts to do it.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| if you're not hacking the immigration system, are you really an
| engineer??
| neuralengine wrote:
| It is a system with a feedback time of months-years. At these
| time horizons, you can't do rapid iterations, and you have to
| be extremely risk-averse. The system is also indeterministic
| so not conducive to hacking.
| wslh wrote:
| A friend of mine is an actor, not famous at all but was given
| this visa. Not and engineer at all but has some type of
| hacker mind: really stubborn and being resourceful in some
| scenarios.
| nikshepsvn wrote:
| If you don't mind sharing, how much funding did you raise? I
| can't find any information online
| codeisawesome wrote:
| Thank you for sharing this openly, the content is personally
| useful for me.
| drtournier wrote:
| Glad you made it OP, congrats! As an immigrant in the US I went
| through the "Extraordinary Ability" path and the process was a
| journey of pain and anxiety. Many roundabouts with a lawyer that
| promised me expertise in the process and it ended up with a NOID
| (Notice of Intention to Deny - something like that) from USCIS.
| My wife and I had to study the USCIS manual page by page and re-
| wrote almost all documentation from the lawyer. It wasn't easy
| but we made it.
| apapapa wrote:
| How long did the process take?
|
| I became a citizen without an attorney and from start to finish
| it was about 5 years... Different process used though (got
| married).
|
| Got a pile of paper about 2 inch high from all the forms I had
| to fill, mail that I sent and received, etc... Painful process.
| drtournier wrote:
| Our case took around 14 months for the EB-1 from the first
| call to lawyer to the green card in our mailbox.
| j7ake wrote:
| Does this timeline depend on country of birth?
| swalberg wrote:
| Yes, you'll want to google for the "Visa Bulletin" to see
| the current dates for different countries. India and
| China are currently backlogged.
| neuralengine wrote:
| Indians applying for EB-2 have a waiting time of 200
| years based of the total number of available visas per
| year and pending cases.
| apapapa wrote:
| How long including citizenship, if that was the goal?
| ahussain wrote:
| OP here: Sorry that you had a bad experience, but glad that you
| made it through in the end! I would love to talk more about
| your experience if you're up for it. My email is in my bio.
| bearjaws wrote:
| Unfortunately immigration law is full of quack attorneys who
| abuse immigrants.
|
| If you feel you were unfairly treated or scammed, you should
| report your lawyer to their local Bar organization.
|
| Most will take it very seriously - especially in immigration, a
| repeat offender will often lose their license.
| swalberg wrote:
| At the same time, the political climate and even the person
| you get reviewing your application could make a difference. I
| was denied the first time I applied for PERM after the
| officer combed through the supporting paperwork to find
| problems. Was it my lawyer's fault? Did my employer make a
| mistake in the job search? Was it because it happened in the
| Trump years? Who knows.
| neuralengine wrote:
| My application for EB2-NIW was recently denied for totally
| inappropriate reasons. The process has a randomness
| component to it, what you can do is to maximize your chance
| of success but it's still a chance.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| There should be a series on hacking the American immigration
| system to work around all of its draconian rules.
| throwaway1507 wrote:
| You should try immigrating to one of the EU countries... I
| tried helping a senior programmer friend. No amount of
| experience, proof or whatever else could change the
| government's stance - they don't have an employer so they
| surely must be looking to exploit the social system - bye.
| hasty_pudding wrote:
| it's good in a way, allowing immigrants to leave their
| country of origin... deprives a country of its talent.
|
| instead of making their own country great another country is
| benefiting from their talent.
|
| and it's a self reinforcing system.
| Solvency wrote:
| When I worked at a digital agency in 2007-2012 they hired MANY
| Brazilian art directors all who obtained O-1 visas. Literally
| just designers/creatives with portfolios online. I remember
| thinking how great they must be. Flash forward to 2024 I can't
| think of a single person in my network with one.
|
| Did the criteria change? Is it easier in certain fields? Easier
| from certain origin countries?
| angarg12 wrote:
| > May 2022 - Left my SWE job at Wave and incorporated my own
| startup called Path (a Delaware C corp) I was permitted to remain
| in the USA, since I was not employed by Path yet. My
| understanding is that it is permissible to do exploratory work on
| a new startup as long as you are not employed by that startup,
| and your previous visa has not expired. It was during this time
| that my cofounder and I raised money for Path. Note: If I had
| left the USA during this time, I would not have been permitted to
| re-enter on my old L1-B visa.
|
| This sounds iffy. I'm in the US on a L1-B visa as well, and my
| company went through rounds of layoffs, which concerned me. All
| information I've read, including the immigration team from my
| company (Big Tech), points out that if I lost my job, I would
| have had a short time to leave the country with no chance to find
| other jobs.
|
| Unless I'm reading too much into it, it sounds like OP spent some
| time in the US in an illegal status, until that gap was bridged
| with the new visa.
| paxys wrote:
| You are allowed to remain in the country for up to 60 days
| after your employment ends. The author doesn't mention how long
| they stayed, but it is possible that the "exploratory work" was
| done within that period.
| jacknews wrote:
| I mean well done to the OP for getting their visa, but the whole
| thing reads like they gamed the system, which is clearly intended
| for people at the top of their fields, talented researchers,
| innovators, etc. And the 'outstanding ability' in this case is
| being put towards an 'immigration software' startup, ie helping
| others game, uh, navigate, the system, so the whole thing seems
| quite ironic.
| hn_throwaway_99 wrote:
| Congrats OP! I'm trying to choose my words carefully, because I
| don't want to give the wrong impression:
|
| 1. I think it's great that OP got the visa, and it's clear (at
| least to me) that we should be attracting entrepreneurial types
| like OP to start businesses in the US. I also understand that our
| immigration system is hopelessly broken, and oftentimes the best
| one can hope to do is "hack" the system. So I commend you for not
| just hacking the system, but posting this to Hacker News!
|
| 2. It seems pretty apparent that while OP may be able to "check
| some of these boxes", he, at least to me, doesn't meet the
| "Extraordinary Ability" intent of this visa. I worry that with
| more spotlight on these types of applications that various
| political movements would try to tighten the loopholes for this
| visa.
|
| To expand on number 2, raising 98K from family, friends and seed
| investors really does not strike me as a "nationally or
| internationally recognized award". Again, clearly it is by the
| letter of the law (at least the rules of the USCIS), but that
| surprised me as a layperson. The section on "Being employed in a
| 'critical capacity' at an organization with a distinguished
| reputation" seemed even more dubious. Path, OP's startup that is
| nothing more than a pitch deck and 100k in funding, is "an
| organization with a distinguished reputation"???
|
| Again, to be 100% clear, I don't fault OP at all for going this
| route, and on the contrary, I commend him for "playing the game"
| correctly. I just worry about the downstream consequences of
| "pulling back the curtain" and showing how the game works to a
| larger audience.
| TMWNN wrote:
| >I also understand that our immigration system is hopelessly
| broken, and oftentimes the best one can hope to do is "hack"
| the system.
|
| Just because something is difficult/time-consuming !=
| "hopelessly broken". (No, kids, the _Reason_ magazine "What
| Part of Legal Immigration Don't You Understand?" flowchart is
| not _ipso facto_ proof of this, either.)
|
| There is no obligation for the US, or any country, to turn
| something as important as determining whether someone is
| eligible to enter the country into a one-click online process.
| One might say that the country would benefit by making the
| process easier, and that may or may not be correct, but that is
| _not_ the same argument.
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