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Comment by patio11 | Hacker News Reader

Mariano, unless you have left out important information such as "Although I grew up in Argentina I am a U.S. citizen by virtue of being born in the United States", you lack legal permission to work in the United States unless you get a visa which permits it prior to arriving in the US. I'll just give it to you straight: it is not likely that you will be able to do this in anything like the timeline you are currently planning.

Without legal permission to work in the U.S., you will find it extraordinarily difficult to find reputable employment.

I would counsel against illegal employment -- when I was young and stupid I worked on a cash basis for a man who "didn't want none of that OSHA paperwork nonsense", and I was forced to quit the job after he threw a 20 lb. pipe at my head. (Cleaning oil pipeline components with a toothbrush is, by the way, every bit as fun as it sounds.)

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Thank you for your response. I forgot to mention this important issue. I'm an Italian citizen too, this could help me or it's the same as being an Argentine citizen?. All legal, there's no question about it.

So this means that if in the future I apply for Ycombinator and the application is accepted, I won't be able to participate because of the visa issues.

If you're an Italian citizen, you might consider going to live/work in Italy instead of the US. By right of citizen, you already would be legally allowed to work in that country. Also, the Italian citizenship may entitle you to work anywhere else in the EU you wish to go. While not the same as the US, you'd get nearly all the other benefits you had hoped for.

Italy is part of the EU, so Italian citizens are entitled to work most places in Europe. If you want to improve your English, I recommend working in England or Ireland instead of the US.

[Edit: removed stuff about the Schengen area]

Just a tiny error: Schengen AFAIK has nothing to do with entitlement to work.

Or Germany, for that matter. No joke.

Good luck in Ireland. You may have noticed we're in a bit of a recession here (note heavy sarcasm)... I'd wager that you'd have a difficult time finding a job in Ireland. Course both Google and Amazon have offices here so don't let me discourage you. Just be warned.

Jobs aside, I've loved the last two years I've spent here in Ireland. The people are lovely, as is the country itself. Still on the expensive side, but we're having price corrections along with the recession. :-)

Yes to this. If you want to improve your english, head to the UK. As kaizyn says, you should (as an EU citizen) have the right to work there.

As an Italian citizen, you'll be able to enter the US under the WVP. You won't be authorized to work though. Taking part in YC under the WVP is possible.

On a side note, is it possible to do YC as an OPT.

Edit: I couldn't reply so Ill explain here. OPT is Optional Practical Training, it is what F1 visa holders(full time students) can do. We are able to stay for 29 months after graduation, to work in the field we studied for in order to get practical training.

What's an OPT?

Yes, unless this guidance has changed: http://www.ice.gov/doclib/sevis/pdf/opt_policy_guidance_pdf....

EDIT: Section 7.2.1 specifically.

Taking part in YC under the WVP is possible.

Careful there. It's almost certainly not. Unless you're just a "brain" doing meetings only, you'd almost certainly be doing something that could be considered "work" and it doesn't matter if you're not being paid.

Regarging the ability of foreigners to participate in YC, this is addressed in the FAQs here: http://ycombinator.com/faq.html

From my understanding you could do it, because foreigners are allowed to own or start U.S. corporations. I'm not sure how much work on the project you would have to do at home versus here, though.

I'd also like to add, that if you're caught working illegally, you'll never get into the US again. So if you ever plan on living in the country, you're better off not ruining your chances.

Also should be worth mentioning that Argentina is not part of the visa waiver program. That means that if you want to come to the US for 1-3 months, you'll have to apply for a visa, and immigration authorities will almost certainly want proof that you will have enough money to live as a tourist in the USA for that period of time. So you need to make sure to have the money in advance and be able to prove it. It would be unfortunate if you spent money on a plane ticket to the US only to get turned down and forced to return immediately.

Have you considered applying for a "study abroad" program in the US? If you get accepted, then you will be able to work limited hours on-campus (and potentially off-campus as part of your studies).

Also, inmigration authorities could get this thread and negate/cancel your visa for ever.

You're right, all my life I followed the legal path and I have the intention to keep on it :).

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