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Comment by timcederman | Hacker News Reader

Come for three months at a time on the visa waiver program. You'll be surprised at what you can get done in that time.

OP: That is not necessarily good advice; consult with a competent immigration attorney before you do this. Most startup-y work you would do while admitted via the VWP would likely be immigration fraud - in direct violation of the terms under which the alien was admitted in via the VWP. These immigration violations incur bans, and could potentially break your dreams/career, etc.

Depends on what work takes place. It's a great opportunity to network, and write your own code.

Seems to be just fine for YCombinator too.

By the way, why is the knee-jerk reaction always to talk to a "competent attorney" for stuff like visas? I'd like to think the HN community is a pretty capable group of folks. The US government provides more than enough information online to figure out what will work best for you depending on your activities and to do it on your own. I was able to get my wife a green card completely on my own without having to consult a "competent attorney". If you are sufficiently competent, hiring a professional will save you research time but not much else.

I suspect the YCombinator usage is iffy. YCombinator don't give advice on visas, but rather suggest you speak to YC alumni who've done it. While I'm sure there are many reasons why they take that approach, I wouldn't be surprised if the legality was a big reason.

Saying that many developers both for startups and for other industries like finance do go to the US and work 2-3 months without any issue. It's not clearly allowed, but nor is it clearly disallowed.

The reason people suggest speaking to an attorney is that if you screw it up, not only will you get deported but you can be banned from re-entry not only to that country but many other countries. There's nothing like "denied entry" being stamped on your passport to get you stopped at every border crossing you cross for the rest of your life.

You don't want to talk to an attorney in this case because then it will be obvious that you are actually trying to skirt the law, rather than being a tourist.

The trick is to act like an idiot. Wear a baseball hat. The people working at the border are idiots and they will empathize with people like them. If you act like the typical annoying know-it-all computer nerd they will deny you out of spite.

By the way, why is the knee-jerk reaction always to talk to a "competent attorney" for stuff like visas?

There are dozens of guest worker visas for the United States.

Just applying for any visa to the USA is sufficient cause for the State Department to deny you future visas for the rest of your life. That includes completely sincere and honest applications. They just consider the application for any visa to be evidence of your suitability for future entrance and they keep track of tiny details forever. It doesn't matter if your life circumstances have changed.

If you've seen Brazil, you've met America's immigration bureaucracy.

A good immigration lawyer can reduce the trouble. You should never even apply for a tourist visa to the USA without asking an immigration lawyer.

I hope you're joking. Sure it's bureaucratic, but it's also straightforward. Follow the rules and there are no issues. A lawyer for a tourist visa? Please.

Yeah you can get a lot done but it's a transient state, you're leaving on a date and can't come back for months. It's really not a good way to relocate a startup, not to mention the visa violations.

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