Ask HN: Any entrepreneurs on HN who launched themselves from a F1 or H1B VISA?
I have mostly been a lurker around here for a long time learning from the valuable experience of a number of people here. I have read numerous startup stories but after a short discussion with my friends during lunch, I thought of one thing: Why don't I read stories from student-turned or employee-turned (H1B sponsored) entrepreneurs?<p>I am curious to know whether an international student (generally on an F-1 VISA) or someone on a H1B VISA (employed by some company after graduation) can do a startup.<p>Any information on the following would be awesome:<p>Question 1: Can someone on a F-1 or a H1B VISA start a startup and still own it? If not, what can be done?<p>Myth 1: I heard that unless you are a citizen, you cannot own a company.<p>Question 2: Can someone on an F-1 or a H1B VISA raise seed capital from VCs?<p>Myth 2: I heard that VC's don't really bother with people on these VISAs.<p>Question 3: Can we apply for a patent on an idea that we came up with while still being a student or employed by a company.<p>Myth 3: I heard that the company or the university will take ownership of the patent if you apply for one while still working for them even though you did not use any of their resources.<p>If you are an international (student)/(employee on a H1B visa) and you recently had a startup experience could you kindly write down your story and some thoughts on the above questions? This would help not just me but a number of other people who are facing a similar situation.<p>I did my homework and came across the following link. While it is an awesome post, the author's experience is a little dated. Not really sure if anything has changed since then<p>http://www.k9ventures.com/2009/09/my-story-and-support-for-the-founders-visa/