O-1 Visa for Startups and Founders

The O-1 visa is considered an ideal option for startup founders because of the flexible criteria and the path to permanent residency (Green Card). The O-1 visa provides a path for accomplished foreign nationals of extraordinary ability in the field of business to bring their talents to the United States. While Most venture-backed founders qualify for the O-1 visa. Our O-1 visa lawyers have extensive experience in building the strongest possible O-1 visa petition case for accomplished business professionals and entrepreneurs. The O-1 is initially granted to an individual for three years and is renewable indefinitely. There is also no annual cap on how many O-1s are granted every year, no salary requirements, and flexible requirements that align well with entrepreneurs.

Founders must meet at least three of the following eight criteria. Below is an example of how other founders have qualified for each criterion.

Awards: You raised venture capital

Critical Employment: You founded a venture-backed startup

Press: You get coverage in major media (Forbes, TechCrunch, etc.)

Judging: You’ve judged a startup competition

Memberships: You’ve gone through an accelerator program

High Remuneration: You have significant equity in a venture-backed company

Scholarly Articles: You’ve authored scholarly articles

Original Contributions: You invented something original (think something very original like developing the touchscreen).

O-1H-1B

Time to get approved

Petition can be filed at any time and will get processed within 2-3 months in standard processing and within 15 days in case of premium processing. Visa is typically effective upon approval of the application.

Petitions can be filed during a specific period beginning in April each year and even if the petition is approved, your visa will not be valid until October.

Duration of validity

Initial 3-year period with the ability to extend it without time limitations.

Initial validity of 3 years, with the ability to extend it up to a maximum of 6 years.

Annual Cap

No Cap

85,000 H-1B annual limit

Obtaining the Green Card

The criteria between O-1 and EB-1A tend to overlap. The majority of O-1 holders are eligible to obtain this category.

The applicant needs to meet the criteria required by EB-1A or EB2 NIW or undergo the lengthy PERM process.

Conclusions

The O-1 visa has proven to be a better option for many entrepreneurs than the more popular H-1B visa and most startup founders qualify for this category without even knowing it. The O-1 is also an option for self-employed individuals. However, the application process is complex, and the path for startups is not always straightforward. The startup founder needs to meet certain criteria and establish a “employer-employee” relationship with other individuals at the company.