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Comment by TotlolRon | Hacker News Reader

> I have been on 6 different visas, over 15 years, I have quite a bit of experience in the matter. > It's too complicated to explain in a paragraph. It depends on too many factors.

A similar number of visa types over similar number of years and I would go a step further and say that there is no formal solution to your problem. The US immigration system can't handle YC type rhythm and structures.

You'll have to assume you have two operations to run - your startup and your status. You'll have to get knowledgeable and creative in both. Also, as you will work under the assumption that your start-up may fail, you should also work under the assumption that your status will fail and you will have to go back to your home country. Succeeding in both operations is possible, but very hard. Me think the immigration operation is harder....

Good luck.

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I would like to focus on the first 89 days (if I make it to YC 2011 winter). I don't mind running a "status" operation during those initial three months.

I can also live with the possibility that I will have to run my company from The Netherlands for a while (months, years, forever) after that.

What I can't live with is the chance of accidentally messing with immigration law during those three months.

The big question then is: does Y combinator fall under the restrictions of the Visa Waiver Program?

I've heard people claim the whole Y-Combinator program can be seen as "seeking investment", but there's also a coding aspect to it.

My plan would be to work as a single founder, doing part of the work myself and hiring others outside the USA through Elance.

I should mention that the Visa Waiver Program seems to me the only possible option for those first three months, because there is only 1 month between being accepted into the program and moving to Silicon Valley. Other visa options seem to have total processing times in the order of months or worse and no guarantees.

So if it can't be legally done under that program, it can't be legally done period, as far as I understand.

Also, let's imagine this scenario: 1 - I get accepted into the program 2 - I book a ticket and fly to the USA 3 - I explain the immigration officer in detail what my plan is (I know, they might not even let me) 4 - The immigration officer is "convinced" and lets me into the country* 5 - a while (or even a decade) later it turns out to be illegal.

Does that make me liable even though the immigration official made a mistake in approving my visit? Can I even record the conversation for legal purposes? My guess is that immigrant/visitor rights are fairly minimal...

* = in my deal with Y-Combinator I would have to account for the possibility of being denied access; either by reversing the investment or by making do with virtual presence.

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