Article
11 min read
Essential Guide To Self-sponsored O-1 Visas For Founders
Immigration

Author
Jemima Owen-Jones
Published
October 03, 2024
Last Update
January 31, 2025

Key takeaways
- Expanding a business into the US can be a complex and resource-intensive process for foreign entrepreneurs, especially when navigating the visa and immigration process.
- The self-sponsored O-1A visa provides a viable option for entrepreneurs with extraordinary abilities. It allows them to establish a US entity and self-petition for the visa.
- Deel streamlines the O-1 visa process by providing expert guidance on US immigration, assisting with entity formation and application submissions, and achieving a 98% approval rate to help entrepreneurs enter the US market.
Expanding your business to the US presents exciting opportunities, but navigating the visa process can take time, effort, and money for entrepreneurs.
The self-sponsored O-1 visa offers a pathway for individuals with extraordinary abilities in business or science to establish their ventures in the US. However, demonstrating eligibility, forming a US entity, and managing complex documentation are all part of the process, which can consume valuable time and resources.
That’s where Deel comes in. With its proven expertise in US immigration, Deel simplifies the entire process. From setting up your US entity to crafting a compelling O-1 visa application, Deel ensures efficiency and ease at every step.
With a 98% approval rate, Deel helps make your ambition of entering the US market a reality.
How is an O-1A visa suitable for entrepreneurs and startups?
O-1 visas are temporary work visas for individuals with expertise and accolades in their field of work. They are divided into two distinct categories:
- O-1A Visa: for individuals with extraordinary abilities in business, science, education, or athletics
- O-1B Visa: for individuals with exceptional talent in the arts or extraordinary achievements in the motion picture or television industry
Dive deeper into O-1 visas with our on-demand webinar — Start your US business with the O-1 visa.
Entrepreneurs and startup founders may consider applying for the O-1A visa. Unlike most other US work visas requiring a US employer or agent to petition with USCIS, the O-1A visa allows for self-sponsorship if you establish a US entity and can demonstrate a legitimate employer-employee relationship.
Deel Immigration
10 key benefits of O-1A visa for entrepreneurs and startup founders
- Unlimited re-issues: Other US work visas like the L-1 or H-1B visa have a strict annual cap. However, the O-1 visa has no numerical limit, which makes it a more accessible option for qualified applicants with no lotteries, quotas, or restrictions.
- Field of work flexibility: The O-1A visa covers a wide range of fields, including science, business, and athletics. Provided the applicant meets the ‘extraordinary ability’ criteria, there are no restrictions on the specific industry or occupation.
- Flexible educational qualifications: Many entrepreneurs drop out of college to pursue their businesses, making it difficult to apply for an L-1 or H-1B visa. The O-1A doesn’t have strict education requirements.
- Focus on achievements: Funded startups, patents, or other significant achievements warrant issuance.
- Extended stay: The O-1A visa grants up to three years of residency, which the holder can renew in one-year increments. This flexibility allows entrepreneurs to extend their hustle in the US based on their continued work and results.
- Flexible employment: Many entrepreneurs freelance during the initial days to support themselves. The O-1 visa does not bind individuals to one company. You can work part-time for your startup and other US employers, too.
- Family inclusion: Spouses and children can join the visa holder under the O-3 visa category. It allows family members to reside in the US during the O-1A holder’s stay.
- No labor certification required: Unlike the EB-2 or EB-3 visas, O-1 applicants can skip the labor certification process.
- Lower processing time: It usually takes 4-6 months to complete the O-1 visa application process. However, by paying an additional $2,805, you can expedite your O-1 visa application review within 15 days.
- No minimum wage requirements: The O-1 visa lets you set your salary without adhering to minimum wage regulations.
How can startups and entrepreneurs qualify for O-1A visas?
A key selection criterion for the O-1A visa is to showcase ‘extraordinary ability’ in your chosen field of work. Since this could be subjective, here is possible evidence one can provide to prove excellence:
Prizes
Includes scholarships, awards, or presentations in conferences of national or international recognition.
Entrepreneurs can submit any awards or recognitions the startup has received as evidence. This can include pitch competitions, venture capital funding, support by incubators or accelerators via contests, international startup ecosystem support, and more.
Memberships
Includes associations via memberships with recognized professional organizations or institutions that require a certain level of excellence in the field to join.
Entrepreneurs can include memberships to industry-focused communities or accelerator programs like YCombinator or Techstars.
Media mentions
Includes features by commercial media outlets, magazines, or trade publications. They must highlight your position or contribution in your field of work.
Entrepreneurs can include mentions or interviews in leading business media publications or podcast appearances. Include those that highlight the startup’s journey or success.
Judging
A position of responsibility as a reviewer or judge for scholarly publications, competitions, dissertations, etc.
For entrepreneurs, this may include judging positions for hackathons, startup grant contests, evaluation positions for incubators/accelerators, pitching competitions, etc.
Patents
Includes licenses or patents in the field of work.
For startups and entrepreneurs, you can include patent filings, industry accreditation, compliance certificates, a list of key clients, or any other significant and original proof of innovation.
Employment
Professions that require subject matter expertise and leadership, such as professor, researcher, founder, department head, etc., in reputed companies or institutions.
Being a startup founder is a leadership position, making you eligible to use it as evidence.
Back it up by demonstrating how your startup has grown under your leadership. Include any past leadership positions for other employers. You may also include any numbers on jobs created by your startup. Collaborations with foreign or exceptional globally recognized talent add more weight to your O-1 visa application.
High salary
If the professional expertise commands high salaries, provide contracting fees or pay slips as evidence.
Entrepreneurs can showcase the startup’s revenue and high-profile contacts executed. Ensure any salaries shown adhere to local labor law and are at par with average industry standards.
Scientific literature publications
Includes published work across technical media publications, trade journals, or conference presentations. You can also include cited work or published collaborations.
Entrepreneurs can include any published technical papers on the technology, business model presentations, or partnership case studies.
Overall, your key evidence must cover contributions by your startup on the below key aspects to strengthen the application:
- Social impact causes supported via collaboration campaigns and results achieved
- Industry by developing innovative products or business models
- Economy via skill nurturing or foreign investments attracted
Entrepreneurs must adhere to at least 3 of the above-mentioned evidence of excellence.
Note: Having ‘revenue’ or being ‘venture funded’ helps strengthen your case for the O-1 visa acceptance. However, it isn’t a deal-breaker.
As you can observe, collecting evidence and presenting a convincing case of ‘extraordinary achievement’ is a critical task. However, this can distract and overwhelm entrepreneurs from their daily grind.
Hence, it’s better to explore immigration services like Deel. They take care of your end-to-end O-1 visa acceptance. Further, you can manage hired employees, payrolls, visa renewals, and compliances in a single platform.
Securing the O-1 visa had a profound impact, offering peace of mind. It freed up mental space and time, allowing me to focus more on my business.
— Quinn Litherland,
Founder & CEO at Authentic
Learn how Deel Immigration helps Canadian founder and CEO of Authentic, Quinn Litherland, launch their startup in New York City — read the case study.
5-step process to obtain O-1A visa for entrepreneurs and startups
Each step to obtain a self-sponsored O-1 visa for founders requires immense preparation, following procedures, and making submissions.
Step 1: Collect the required evidence
Prepare a case by collecting the necessary documents as evidence for your ‘extraordinary achievements’.
Step 2: Register your startup’s US entity
To create an employer-employee relationship for nomination purposes, you must register your startup as a legal entity in the US.
First, choose a legal structure for your startup’s US entity. Explore various entity arrangements, such as C-Corporations (C-Corp), LLC, or S-Corp.
C-Corp is the better option if you plan to raise from US investors. Under this arrangement, C-corp owns your patents. The company has a separate bank account from the founders and files separate taxes. This leads to better corporate governance for venture capital investments.
Then, proceed to register the company.
Setup your US legal entity in a fraction of the time and cost of immigrant lawyers or service providers with — Deel Entity Setup.
You also require an address and contact details for your startup’s ‘workplace’ in the US.
Once you set up the US entity, you must get active to help you strengthen your O-1A application evidence:
- Hire local talent: Hire another board member, co-founder, or employee with the authority to sign documents. They will help you make a job offer within the company. For this purpose, a green card holder or US citizen would make a better choice. Also, ensure your US entity can pay the employees and has relevant financial and payroll workflows set up
- Partner with US players: Find allied partnerships in your industry or field of work
- Acquire US customers: Find real US-based customers for your products or services
Deel’s hiring, payroll, and HR management tools help centralize and automate these efforts — learn more.
Step 3: Sign an employment contract with yourself
Design a contract between you and your US entity for an ‘Executive’ or equivalent leadership role. Mention the employment and payment terms, ensuring they adhere to the US labor laws and industry standards.
Step 4: Submit O-1A visa application
File Form I-129 (petition for the non-immigrant worker) on the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) website. This is mandatory for US employers to hire foreign employees temporarily across visa categories.
Processing time varies depending on the USCIS service center and your specific visa category—check case processing time. You can avoid processing delays by filing your Form I-129 45 days before your employment date.
Step 5: Complete the O-1A application process
The authorities may follow up to clarify any concerns regarding the submitted evidence.
After approval, the nearest US consulate invites you for an interview (when applying outside the US). Here, you get to confirm, justify, and clarify your application.
You must make a good impression on the consulate officer to ensure visa acceptance:
- Be honest about your information and keep answers to potential questions ready
- Keep all documents ready, like passports, proofs of various evidence mentioned in the application, payment receipts, etc
- Don’t avoid or stall when answering questions
After you complete a successful interview, USCIS grants you a self-sponsored O-1 visa for founders.
Check this webinar event by Deel explaining the O-1 visa process — Self-sponsored O-1 visas for founders
Take the first step to establish your business in the US with Deel Immigration
The self-sponsored O-1 visa for founders is a lucrative route to set foot in the US for your business. But the application process is quite demanding of your time.
For a successful application, determining confidence in eligibility is key to justifying any further investment. With Deel Immigration, you can get your O-1 visa in a fraction of the time and cost, and our approval rate is 98%.
Deel combines HR, payroll, compliance, and performance in a single platform. These are critical to further establish your startup in the US for hiring and workforce management. We provide a full package to founders with:
- Immigration support for family members, co-founders, and key hires with Deel’s immigration services
- Global hiring with Deel EOR and Deel Contractor of Record
- Automated payroll management with Deel payroll and Deel PEO
- Global team management with Deel HR and Deel Engage
- Adherence to US compliance with Deel’s Compliance Hub
I worked with [Deel Immigration] to get my O1 visa and an EB-2 green card for my company, HireSweets. I’ve been blown away by the experience, the level of availability, and the level of transparency [...] I feel all the difference in responsiveness and help compared with the previous lawyers I worked with. It is incomparable. I would 100% recommend.
—Robin Choy,
Founder of HireSweet
Obtaining your self-sponsored O-1 visa is a key success step for your startup’s journey within the US market. Book a 30-minute product demo with Deel Immigration to get started.

About the author
Jemima is a nomadic writer, journalist, and digital marketer with a decade of experience crafting compelling B2B content for a global audience. She is a strong advocate for equal opportunities and is dedicated to shaping the future of work. At Deel, she specializes in thought-leadership content covering global mobility, cross-border compliance, and workplace culture topics.