Sophie Alcorn, lawyer, writer and founding father of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley, California, is an award-winning Licensed Specialist Lawyer in Immigration and Nationality Regulation by the State Bar Board of Authorized Specialization. Sophie is obsessed with transcending borders, increasing alternative, and connecting the world by training compassionate, visionary, and professional immigration legislation. Connect with Sophie on LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Expensive Sophie,
I’m at present within the U.S. working for my employer on an H-1B. I’ve been wanting to start out my very own firm, however I’ve been engaged on boosting my accomplishments for the O-1A as a result of I’ve learn in your previous columns over time that transferring an H-1B to a startup comes with a whole lot of downsides for startup founders, together with giving up management and fairness. How has that now modified?
— Future Founder
Hey Future!
The long run is now! I recognize your entrepreneurial spirit and your nice query! In October, the U.S. Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) printed a brand new proposed rule that eliminated the downsides of the H-1B specialty occupation visa for startup founders that you simply talked about.
“If more entrepreneurs are able to obtain H-1B status to develop their business enterprise,” the proposed rule states, “the United States could benefit from the creation of jobs, new industries, and new opportunities.”
After studying this column, I urge you and others to make your voice heard concerning the rule. The DHS is accepting public feedback on the rule by means of December 22, 2023. After the remark interval closes, the DHS will undergo the feedback, probably make modifications to the rule based mostly on the feedback, after which difficulty a ultimate rule and efficient date, which I’m anticipating might be in place in time for the subsequent H-1B lottery in March. You possibly can submit a remark on the high of the proposed rule by choosing the “SUBMIT A FORMAL COMMENT” hyperlink.
Feedback have to be made in English. Nonetheless, enterprise house owners and non-citizens are eligible to remark. You possibly can even file a remark anonymously!
Retain management and fairness
As you already know, an employer sponsor should file an H-1B petition on behalf of an worker as is the case with all work visas. There’s no self-sponsorship obtainable for work visas, and your H-1B is tied to the employer who sponsored you and the job and site specified within the petition.
The clarification within the DHS’ proposed rule gives extra flexibility to founders by already eliminating the necessity to cut back their majority stake of their startup and the liberty to develop their startup with out limitations on their potential to take action (with out the necessity for a future regulation on this level).
