In this episode of Immigration Law for Tech Startups, I’m joined by my amazing colleague, Nadia Zaidi, an associate attorney and a member of our business team at Founder Law. We discuss what sponsoring employers should do after the H-1B lottery, whether their H-1B candidate was selected—or not.
We layout the H-1B petition filing timeline and things you should consider when putting together an H-1B petition. If your candidate was selected, and you haven’t done so already, we recommend hiring an experienced immigration attorney right away. We also offer up a host of other options to those employers and their prospective employees who were not selected in the lottery, so don’t panic! We’ve got you covered! If you’re in this situation, we also recommend you consult an experienced immigration attorney to discuss these and potentially other options based on your situation and that of your current or prospective employee.
Reach out to us if we can help you navigate the H-1B filing process or find alternatives to the annual H-1B lottery. If you’re affiliated with a university and could offer a cap-exempt H-1B similar to Open Avenues Foundation’s Global Talent Fellowship program, we’d love to hear from you, too. If you’re an international founder whose startup was founded in the past three years, fill out this form if you’d like us to consider taking you on as a client to apply for a startup visa under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER).
Please share this episode with other companies, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. We can help companies and talent determine the best immigration options whether in the U.S. or abroad.
In this episode, you’ll hear about:
- The timeline for submitting a full H-1B application and the earliest start date for the H-1B candidate and things the H-1B candidate and employer should consider
- Decisions you need to make before starting the application process
- Why we recommend that H-1B candidates already in the U.S. remain here if they can
- Why we recommend going with premium processing
- General tips for filing a full H-1B petition
- What H-1B candidates and employers should expect for next year’s H-1B lottery process
- Options for employers and H-1B candidates who weren’t selected in the lottery
- The International Entrepreneur Rule, the closest thing the U.S. has to a startup visa.
- The shift next year to a wage-based H-1B selection process
- Cap-exempt H-1B through programs such as the one offered by Open Avenues Foundation
- EllisX, which can help startups and their founders get media coverage and speaking engagements that can help international founders qualify for an extraordinary ability visa or green card
Don’t miss my upcoming conversation with Danielle Goldman, executive director of Open Avenues Foundation, or any other conversation with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!
Resources:
Curious to Test IER with Founder Law form for international startup founders to evaluate whether you would serve as a good test case for a startup visa
Founder Law publications, blog posts, info, and courses
- All About H-1Bs
- Immigration Options Chart
- Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
- Didn’t Win in the H-1B Lottery? Now What?
- Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.
- What everyone at a startup needs to know about immigration
- Nonimmigrant (temporary) visa options: F-1, E-2, J-1, L-1, B-1
- Marriage-based immigrant visa (green card)
Immigration Law for Tech Startups