Sophie Alcorn, lawyerauthor and founder of Alcorn Immigration Law in Silicon Valley, California, is a Certified Specialist Attorney in Immigration and Nationality Law awarded by the Board of Legal Specialization of the State Bar. Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunities, and connecting the world by practicing compassionate, visionary, and expert immigration law. Connect with Sofia in LinkedIn and Twitter.
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Dear Sophie,
We are an overseas startup with 1 million users and 30,000 paying customers. We raised some seed capital overseas, but now potential investors in our Series A round want us to have a parent company in Delaware. They also said they want all founders to get green cards. What is the fastest way to get green cards if we are from India or China?
— Indian Innovator
Hello, innovator!
Congratulations on all your successes! These are notable achievements, which you and your co-founders can use to your advantage when applying for visas and green cards to come live and work in the United States.
Before we delve into your question, remember that as startup founders, waiting for a green card is often too slow a way to get to the US. Find a way to get to the US sooner, like through of one O-1A or an H-1B with the lottery (Many H-1B Lottery Updates Coming Soon — join my free education webinar this week.)
It is very important to make sure you get what you need from your investors to remain successful, including support with visas and green cards, such as education, resources, and signing letters of recommendation. That’s what Kristen Ostro and Nicole Fuller of Strut Consulting, a venture capital consulting firm, emphasized during our talk to my podcast. Many founders value working with VCs in the US who understand their space, are experts in the particular industry, and have the connections and client networks to introduce people who will be active participants in the founders’ success, rather than of simply providing the capital. .
Many venture capitalists also provide support services, including recommending immigration attorneys who can help with visas and green cards. If your startup’s potential investors don’t, I recommend that you and your co-founders work with an immigration attorney, who can strategize each of you based on your accomplishments and timeline and guide you through the immigration process.