[rachellaw]

I have an O-1 visa, it's not impossible and it's a great visa to have since you can reuse the same documents for your initial application for subsequent renewal. The key is to get as many peer references you can get in your industry.

While getting letters from your advisers and investors is great, it's a common mistake to ONLY do people in your startup. You want to get recommendations from your previous employers and also academics who write about the industry you're in to justify your extraordinary ability. You don't want to put "founder" in your application (unless you're IPO'ed), you want to put "founder + professional skill".

The reason is that an O-1 is really meant for talent or skilled professionals. Being a founder is not necessarily a skill, it's just an indication that you've started a company. By applying as a founder, you miss the main purpose of the visa and that gets your application rejected.

edit: not a YC founder, just a founder.