Hello All,
This is my first post. My situation is very interesting and I am looking for some guidance!
I am an Indian citizen and have completed my MS from a top tier US university 2 months back. I get OPT for 1 year only (as my MS degree does not fall under STEM classfication). Instead of working for a firm, I have decided to open a start-up in the same field as my MS degree. Since under OPT (EAD Card), I am free to open my own company, its not a problem. However, questions will come regarding my H1B and later on regarding my GC.
After doing extensive research on internet, it seems my company can file for my H1B, iff company has some revenue and customers and can generate cash to pay my minimum required wage. I gather basically, USCIS wants to make sure that my company is not a fraud operation instituted to just file for my H1B, rather its a going concern and a viable business. Can someone please confirm this ?
So, my exit strategy is: If my company is not able to generate sufficient revenue within next 10 months, I will close the company and take a job. If my company is doing ok, I will file for my H1B using my company.
What i would really like to know from forum members is the implication on my GC lateron. Can my company file for my GC or not? One of the lawyers i spoke to on phone said it cannot file for my GC, which left me confused. But, i am inclined not to trust him as initially he said my own company can't even file for my H1B, but when i confronted him with the evidence i had gathered from internet, he said my company can file for my H1B, and what he meant was that my company can't file for my GC.
Any help and pointers are very appreciated. I am losing a lot of money by not taking a job and going on start-up path, I just want to make sure that later on it will all work out from the immigration point of view.
Kindly also provide guidance if any other visa class will be more suitable for me instead of going in the H1B + GC way.
Thanks a lot,
Rajiv
This is my first post. My situation is very interesting and I am looking for some guidance!
I am an Indian citizen and have completed my MS from a top tier US university 2 months back. I get OPT for 1 year only (as my MS degree does not fall under STEM classfication). Instead of working for a firm, I have decided to open a start-up in the same field as my MS degree. Since under OPT (EAD Card), I am free to open my own company, its not a problem. However, questions will come regarding my H1B and later on regarding my GC.
After doing extensive research on internet, it seems my company can file for my H1B, iff company has some revenue and customers and can generate cash to pay my minimum required wage. I gather basically, USCIS wants to make sure that my company is not a fraud operation instituted to just file for my H1B, rather its a going concern and a viable business. Can someone please confirm this ?
So, my exit strategy is: If my company is not able to generate sufficient revenue within next 10 months, I will close the company and take a job. If my company is doing ok, I will file for my H1B using my company.
What i would really like to know from forum members is the implication on my GC lateron. Can my company file for my GC or not? One of the lawyers i spoke to on phone said it cannot file for my GC, which left me confused. But, i am inclined not to trust him as initially he said my own company can't even file for my H1B, but when i confronted him with the evidence i had gathered from internet, he said my company can file for my H1B, and what he meant was that my company can't file for my GC.
Any help and pointers are very appreciated. I am losing a lot of money by not taking a job and going on start-up path, I just want to make sure that later on it will all work out from the immigration point of view.
Kindly also provide guidance if any other visa class will be more suitable for me instead of going in the H1B + GC way.
Thanks a lot,
Rajiv