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Sophie Alcorn , lawyer , author and founder ofAlcorn Immigration Lawin Silicon Valley , California , is an award - winning Certified Specialist Attorney in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar Board of Legal Specialization . Sophie is passionate about top borders , expanding chance , and connecting the world by practicing compassionate , visionary , and expert immigration law . colligate with SophieonLinkedInandTwitter .

TechCrunch+ member take in entree to hebdomadary “ Ask Sophie ” columns;use promo computer code ALCORN to purchase a one- or two - yr subscription for 50 % off .

Dear Sophie ,

I ’m currently in the U.S. working for my employer on an H-1B. I ’ve been wanting to start my own companionship , but I ’ve been work on supercharge my accomplishments for the O-1A because I ’ve show in your past columns over the year that transferring an H-1B to a startup fare with a fortune of downside for startup founders , including chip in up ascendence and fairness . How has that now changed ?

— Future father

Hey Future !

The future is now ! I appreciate your entrepreneurial flavour and your great interrogative ! In October , the U.S. Department of Homeland Security ( DHS ) published a newproposed rulethat remove the downside of theH-1Bspecialty occupancy visa for startup founder that you note .

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“ If more entrepreneurs are able to receive H-1B status to develop their business enterprise , ” the proposed rule states , “ the United States could benefit from the creation of problem , fresh industriousness , and fresh opportunity . ”

Comments must be made in English . However , business owners and non - citizen are eligible to point out . you could even file a comment anonymously !

Retain control and equity

The clarification in the DHS ’ purpose rule put up more tractability to founders by already eliminating the indigence to reduce their majority wager in their startup and the freedom to uprise their inauguration without limitations on their power to do so ( without the need for a next regulation on this point ) .

However , the great matter now is that the proposed rule confirms that even without regulatory change , founders who defend more than one-half of the fairness in their inauguration can still restrict for an H-1B or transfer their H-1B to their inauguration without relinquish control of their inauguration to a carbon monoxide gas - founding father or dining table .

Now , to prove an employer - employee relationship exists with their inauguration , founders just necessitate to submit the take Labor Condition app approval from the U.S. Department of Labor and an employment agreement or an offer letter from their inauguration !

Pursue the H-1B and O-1A in parallel

Despite all theimprovementsto the one-year H-1B cap - subject operation that would result if the nominate rule is settle , get down a jacket - subject H-1B visa remain a challenge . The lottery is apply only once a yr . Moreover , the act of H-1B registrants increases every year while the bit of uncommitted H-1Bs has rest the same at 85,000 since 2005 , the last prison term Congress change the annual point of accumulation . Sad fact : The number of H-1B visas available in fiscal year 2001 , 2002 , and 2003 was 195,000 , more than double the issue available now .

As long as the H-1B enrollment fee persist low ( it currently costs only $ 10 ) , I recommend having your startup register you in the H-1B drawing in March while you go along strengthening your qualifications for theO-1Aextraordinary power visa . If you do get pick out in the H-1B lottery in March , you may benefit from a new stateside visa rehabilitation pilot program , which the U.S. Department of State plans to get by the end of this year . This will permit H-1B holders to renew their H-1B visa and get it place in their pass within the United States . appease tuned ! I will convey you the latest when the State Department go forth more detail on the airplane pilot program .

Because the O-1A standard are nearly identical to theEB-1Aextraordinary ability green card criteria , go after the EB-1A , which is typically the firm employment - base green card to get , is within reach !

Weigh in as a startup founder!

A downside of the proposed regulation is that startup founder would get an initial stay on the H-1B of only 18 calendar month , and the first prolongation of the H-1B would also be full for only another 18 calendar month . After that , a beginner ’s H-1B could be renewed for three days . Currently , the H-1B visa is valid for an initial three - year period and can be regenerate for another three age disregardless of whether the H-1B visa holder is a startup laminitis or not .

In your comment to the DHS on the pop the question rule , make certain the DHS knows that the short initial stay and renewal for startup founders needlessly charge startups with the lend cost and meter commitment of filing an additional H-1B renewal when alternatively , those startup could be focusing on their business .

You ’ve get this !

— Sophie

Have a enquiry for Sophie?Ask it here . We reserve the right to edit your submission for uncloudedness and/or quad .

TheSophie Alcorn Podcastfollows source story of the centre . If you ’d like to be a invitee , she ’s accepting diligence !