Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by adrianmacneil 3930 days ago
A little word of caution. You haven't mentioned your visa situation, but given that you said you can stay for 6 months I'm going to assume you are on a B2 visa.

When you arrive in the US, be ready to explain why you are NOT planning on moving here or finding a job. You aren't coming to SF to look for work, you're coming as a TOURIST and are going to see some sights, and then head home. Also, the longer you say you are going to stay in the US, the harder they will grill you. I would even suggest booking a refundable/changeable return flight a few weeks after you land, and say you are only going to stay for a few weeks. You can always "change your mind" after you get here, because they will almost always stamp you for 6 months in your passport regardless of how long you say you want to stay.

Remember: it's against the tourist visa rules to even THINK about working here or look for a job. So do not mention anything about looking for work, or wanting to live in SF, or even that one day you would like to live here. As far as they should know you love your home country and can't wait to get back there. It also helps if you own property or have dependent family in your home country (this gives you a reason preventing you from illegally immigrating). Failing this, get a letter from an employer saying that you have been granted x weeks vacation and will be expected back at work on a particular date.

If you haven't applied for the visa yet, then get your story straight, and everything above applies x10 for the visa interview.

Take it from someone who learned all this the hard way :)

Now, with that out of the way I would love to meet up when you get here. If you're interested, my email address is in my profile.

2 comments

Sorry, but this is terrible advice. You should not be counseling someone to lie when they enter into the US. You literally could get them banned from entering the US for many years, or even permanently, if their lie is caught by the agents. And these agents are trained to catch liars, so if the OP uses your advice and gets caught up in his lies, he could be turned away without any hesitation.
I'm not suggesting anyone outright lie. I am simply saying that your reason for entering the US must not be to look for work, and that it helps to bring along evidence supporting the fact that it would be impossible for you to stay here anyway.

This is fairly well known in startup circles, in fact YC themselves have an internal guide for how to speak to US immigration. The important thing is to know the terms of your visa, and not say anything which could jeopardize that.

I also don't think OP's case is completely hopeless. There are plenty of companies which will sponsor you on a J1 visa, which will usually buy you enough time to apply for an H1B or O1. If he wants to come visit SF and meet/network with people here, then he definitely should do so.

Might actually be better for him, judging by all the immigration horror stories. America is great, but not for most foreigners...
I sent you an email. Cheers!