How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed to work in the US?

Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by mynegation on Friday August 27, 2010 @12:16PM (#1639224)

For Canadians, there's also TN-1 visa, which is a simplified way to get a work permit for a year. It has limitations compared to H1-B in terms of occupations, but it is much simpler to get. You need to have a letter from the company stating that they intend to employ you.

Now, how that relates to startups and whether your own corporation can sponsor you - I honestly do not know.

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Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by jbarham on Friday August 27, 2010 @12:23PM (#1639263)

Sure, TN is easy to get (I've had it) but there are two major restrictions:

1. You cannot apply for a green card on TN visa 2. It has to be renewed annually, and you have to demonstrate continued strong ties to Canada (bank accounts, family, etc.), so US immigration would no doubt get suspicious if you kept renewing

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Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by kareemm on Friday August 27, 2010 @01:20PM (#1639431)

> You cannot apply for a green card on TN visa

Actually, you can:

http://www.naftatnlawyer.com/applying-for-green-card-tn-st/

> It has to be renewed annually

There's a 3 year TN now:

http://www.naftatnlawyer.com/nafta-tn-blog/2008/10/16/three-...

If you're Canadian, I suggest subscribing to the Grasmick.com newsletter and poking around the site. Lots of good info there.

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Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by dotBen on Friday August 27, 2010 @08:32PM (#1640795)

If you're Canadian, I suggest subscribing to the Grasmick.com newsletter

Not sure if the newsletter is up to date but I noticed that the most recent items on Grasmick.com's News section dates back to 2001!

The world of immigration into the US has really changed quite a bit since 2001, post-9/11 especially. For a start the INS doesn't even exist anymore and was replaced with the DHS.

So if the rest of his information is from this era and pre-DHS then it's pretty much worthless.

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Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by kareemm on Thursday September 09, 2010 @01:11PM (#1676044)

The newsletter is indeed up to date. For example, it's where I learned about the new 3 year TN back when it was approved in Oct 08.

For some silly reason he's basically abandoned the website and what used to be incredibly helpful forums.

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Re:How did non US citizen founders funded by YC get allowed ... by jbarham on Friday August 27, 2010 @01:39PM (#1639484)

Thanks for the info. Things have obviously changed since I had my TN in 2006.

However, looking at the green card application process on the TN it doesn't look like it's any easier than it is on an H1B.

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