[terryjsmith]

Having helped a company that went through our accelerator to get a start-up visa for the three founders, the deal isn't great, but it is a more direct path to citizenship. You do need to go through not just an accredited investor, but a "chosen" one. One of the main issues is that the list of investors from which you can take money is pretty small (mostly those who helped design the program) and there is no gatekeeper, so they are overwhelmed with applications from companies of all sorts and as a result largely don't respond at all . As with all things investment, you need to know someone who knows someone to help you secure and complete the application. Even then the process is long.

The idea itself is great, but the execution on the program since its inception has been weak. It needs more resources and better support for the firms and investors who can assist. All of that aside, I have seen the program work, but you can expect to put in the same amount of work as raising a small round and then some to make it happen.