Can I start my own company on F1 Visa?

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Admin]

I am a F1 student at Umass Boston majoring in computer science. My question is that am I eligible to start my own software development company being a F1 student ?

This was posted on https://www.facebook.com/desiopt1 on march 14th 2013

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

F1 you cannot but you can do this on OPT.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

Nope u need a greencard to star your own company
even to work for your own company u will need a visa sponsored

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

F1 you can only be as a partner or member but the owner of the company should be a green card holder or a citizen. but keep in mind you cannot work for the company.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

I remember my school international office telling during orientation that u r authorised to start ur own company on opt provided u take all the licences et al required for the business...

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

Are F1/OPT/H1B need to be on W2 which means they should be employee of a company? Is there any reliable URL that says F1/OPT/H1B can open a company?

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

OPT and H1B need to be working under W2 as an employee. Couple of my friends are on H1B and are running a company even an OPT can do so.But F1 student without work permit (OPT) cannot open a company. we can find a lot of info..online pertaining to this.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

can start business on OPT but it should be in same

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

I'm an immigration lawyer. F-1 starting a business is prohibited. OPT can do it - but tread carefully, because OPT is only going to be good for so long, and typically not a good idea to start a business when the lifespan of your visa is so limited. H-1B's need to be employees, W-2 employees. In the past people have reported varying success with self-petitioned H-1B's - sometimes yes, sometimes no. It got much harder with the Jan 2010 Neufeld memo which made the employer-employee relationship requirement much more strict - especially in response to high levels of fraud in the IT industry - so I've only heard anecdotal evidence of self-petitioned H-1B's in recent years. But it is theoretically possible - just needs to be structured right. I have the USCIS memo; feel free to email me [email protected]. I'll try to post it on my website http://www.hmalegal.com if it's helpful.

[DesiOPT-FaceBook-Fan]

You may start a business while in F-1 student status, but only while in OPT. It seems that your major does related to the business that you would like to start, so that would not be a problem. The USCIS memo regarding self-petitioning and regarding the employer-employee relationship is available here: http://www.uscis.gov/USCIS/Laws/Memo...Memo010810.pdf