International Student Starting a Business in the US?

[Hsiang-Lin]

Hello to my PD family,

I have been thinking about starting a business of my own in the US. However, I am an international student. Are there any legal complications regarding this situation? While I would like to explore my creative potential, I want to first be aware of my boundaries in these circumstances. Thank you my US and international friends!

[Ann]

Do you have a social security number and green card?

[Hsiang-Lin]

I have a social security #, but I do not have a green card yet. I think that may be a next step in my progression. Worse comes to worst, I'll return to my home country, but if possible I would like to see if I can get a green card. Right now, I only work on campus so I'm searching for other methods of making income as long as they don't violate any US regulations.

[nvictor]

I'll be in the same situation as you Hsiang-Lin. I was going to post a thread; you did it for me.

What I want to know is about Internet. Steve said once, we should think differently with all those new technology stuff. I consider myself a computer geek.

What are the complications with starting a small internet software venture?

[Hsiang-Lin]

Hi nvictor,

Nice to see I'm not alone! That's great that you're a computer geek. I was once a comp. geek too, but I think I gradually deviated from that and thinking it was really too "geeky." But that was a long time ago, but I still kind of regret I didn't learn more geek stuff when I was young.

Well, right now I'm doing some research on what I can do within my limitations at my school. I can work 20 hours/week during the school year and ~40 hrs/week during the breaks. This is a source of income for me, but I wish to explore more creative sources of income instead of just employment. Although I find that Steve seems a little biased against employment. I think there are good lessons to be learned from employment as well, but maybe he has a more balanced or thought out view than I give him credit for. Anyway, I'll check back here later and see if I can't do a little research on my own and see how this works for our situation.

[nvictor]

Hsiang-Lin,

Which state are you in?
Can you help me understand all those jobs limitations?
What are the limitations when you start your own software venture online and recieve money through paypal??

[Unplottable]

I'm a international student too and from what I know, we cannot do any business in the US. We are only allowed to work part-time on campus or do an internship (required paperwork). I asked the local officers one time and they said online bussiness is counted as off-campus so it's prohibited for people with student visas. What's your visa type? I think you need to have bussiness type.

Tim

[nvictor]

Thanks Tim for your reply.

I understand now. I'm about to get a F1 Visa. What about something like the million dollar website idea?

Is it really impossible to get paid online? Even by writing some code?

[Hsiang-Lin]

Hey sorry guys for the late reply. I had some serious issues with family and it was just more important to take care of that first.

nvictor,

If you have a F-1 visa, you should be eligible to work on campus as long as you have a social security # (which I have) or other requirements (which I'm not aware of). I think each school has a similar policy as below:

1) CPT (curricular practical training) - Basically any work you find that is related to your major such as professor research or a company internship counts as this. You are normally offered enough hours here such that you can work during the summers and during the school year AS LONG AS the job is related to your major AND you are still enrolled in the school.

2) OPT (optional practical training) - Basically you have 1 year of this to work at your new job and get sponsorship for a H1-B visa wherein you can start from there to get your greencard. Or you can use the 1 year to find a job that will sponsor your H1-B visa, which naturally means that ideally you want to have a job already that will sponsor you the H1-B visa and this 1 year is just a safety option and won't be used.

3) On-campus employment - this is normally limited to ~20 hours/week during the school year or ~40 hours/week for breaks. It differs by school so check with your international student office.

Right now I'm focusing on on-campus employment and CPT. OPT will not be useful for me until after I graduate. I imagine it would be the same for you. Don't take all this as concrete information though.

Most importantly, check everything with your international student office.

I found all this information from their website and doing a bit of research online with the H1-B visa.

[Pat P.]

Hi guys,
Just a quick note for those of you thinking about getting a work visa.

First, your OPT will start from the date you get the document (a card) by mail. So it will expire in a year regardless if you find a job in a week or six months.

Second, once you start working, initiate the process of obtaining your H1-B visa quickly. Every October 1st, a fixed number of visa applications is made available to applicants for the current year. If you fail to apply on time, you will have to wait a whole year, which in many cases is financially impossible. I know this from experience (my wife had to wait for a month, and a week ago I learnt that a friend of mine will have to wait three months to get his visa). During that time you cannot get paid or perform any kind of work for the company, and in many cases you cannot get compensated for future or past work. I believe you cannot even put a foot in the building because of possible legal repercutions.

So, plan ahead and do not trust if the Human Resources officer tells you to relax and that there is time. My wife got burned on this one, and it created a mess.

Pat

[nvictor]

Thanks guys.

I'm really confused now. I'm taking a computer science degree. I won't have much time to take a "real" job. I was thinking of a business on Internet since I'll kinda speed up my studies, just as Steve did.

Hsiang-Lin you're right, I'll check their website.