Immigrant Founder Legal Strategy
Founding a U.S. company on a visa raises questions most startup lawyers do not ask and most immigration lawyers do not answer: can you work for your own company on your current status, can the company sponsor you, and how will the next financing round change the answer? We advise founders on both sides of that line at the same time.
Where we add value
Can you work for your company today?
Holding shares is not the same as performing services. A founder on F-1 OPT, H-1B or a dependent visa needs to know what is permitted before the first line of code is written for the company—not after an investor asks.
Which visa or petition fits the founder
O-1 through the founder's own company, L-1 for a new U.S. office of an existing business abroad, H-1B with a properly structured employer relationship, or a self-petitioned NIW or EB-1A for founders with a strong record. We lay out the realistic options and sequence them.
Ownership, control and the petition
Immigration rules care about who controls the founder's employment. Board composition, voting agreements and the cap table can make or break an O-1 or H-1B filed by the founder's company; we design them together.
Coordinated with corporate, tax and securities advice
Entity choice, 83(b) elections, equity grants and financing terms interact with immigration planning. We work alongside your tax adviser and, where a matter needs it, state-specific corporate counsel.
How we work with founders
Map
Understand the founders, their status, the business and the timeline to funding.
Sequence
Decide what happens first—entity, petition, financing—so that each step supports the next.
Coordinate
Align the corporate documents with the immigration filing and the specialists involved.
Founder questions
Practical answers to frequently asked questions. Individual circumstances can affect the best course of action.