Comment by jamonjamon | Hacker News Reader

Comment by jamonjamon | Hacker News Reader

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Hi Peter — thanks for doing this!

I'm from the UK, working on a startup with a friend in the US (who is a UK citizen also, but immigrated to the US via their spouse).

Based on my research I'm considering applying for a B1 visa as a low friction way to have easy access to the states for months at a time, to collaborate on the startup in person. I have a few questions:

- Based on this information, is that a path you would recommend? We haven't incorporated yet, but will likely incorporate in the UK first, however any input is welcome.

- Thinking medium-long term, do you know if it's looked down upon by border agents to continually re-enter on a B1 visa? (e.g. multiple 2-3 month trips a year)

- While doing this, I'd may continue to do some work for a UK company to keep my personal cashflow rolling. That would be as a UK based employee, with UK based payroll etc. Would you imagine that to impact a successful B1 application?

Finally, is this a type of application you'd consider taking on? Thanks again!

While the B-1 would allow you to engage in certain business activities, such as setting up the business, meeting with potential investors and clients, etc., it wouldn't allow you to do "productive" work in the U.S. And yes, frequent travel to the U.S. as a B-1 visitor can raise questions with CBP about what you are doing (whether you are you working without authorization in the U.S.) and where you are living (whether you are residing in the U.S.) and cause significant problems. And yes, we handle these types of matters all the time. At a minimum, we could give you a lay of the land.

I have a similar situation. So can you elaborate, please?

> whether you are you working without authorization in the U.S.

What is the proper definition of "working"?

If I do stuff for my own business and my business has a revenue, what's wrong with that from a CBP perspective?

Every time I cross the board I'm getting strong recommendations to get E2 or L1-A but they both have some limitations which I don't know how to overcome (I need to travel regularly back and forth and my country does not have mulity entry E2 visas)

Essentially, the definition is providing a service/benefit to an entity or person in the U.S. while in the U.S. and receiving something of value in return. So, broadly speaking, this appears to encompass what you describe. What exactly are you doing when you are in the U.S.?

To be more precise I'm a founder and CEO of the entity in the USA, and I'm do all the business only as an entity.

What do I do:

Usually, I have rounds of meetings with companies who are looking for the software development team in East European countries. Each deal takes 3-4 months to make and basically thats why I need to travel back and forth (there are might be some problems with a client in the USA or with engineers abroad)

Sales, what you just described, is a pretty clear cut case of exchanging value.

Yeap, And that's what business visa is for - exchanging some information.

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