Learn how startup founders prove extraordinary ability for O-1 visas when intellectual property belongs to the company, not personally.
You built the technology. The company owns it. Now you need an O-1 visa. Immigration asks: what's YOUR contribution? Every startup founder faces this. You sign assignment agreements. Your inventions belong to the company. Your code belongs to the company. Your designs belong to the company. Legally necessary. Visa-wise? Complicated.
USCIS wants evidence of original contributions of major significance. But the original contributions sit in your company's patent portfolio. The major significance shows up in your company's product. This feels like a catch-22. It's not. You can prove your personal contributions without owning the IP. You just need to document authorship differently.
Navigate IP ownership complexities in your O-1 case with Beyond Border's founder-focused immigration strategy.
USCIS doesn't care who owns the IP legally. They care who created it. The company holding the patent doesn't diminish your role as inventor. The company owning the code doesn't erase your authorship. The company controlling the design doesn't negate your creative input.
You need to prove you were the brain behind the innovation. The technical leader. The visionary who solved the hard problem. Evidence of participation in a critical or leading role for organizations or establishments with distinguished reputations includes founder or co-founder of, or contributor of intellectual property to, a startup business.
Think about it. Professors don't own patents their universities file. Researchers don't own intellectual property their employers create. Yet they win O-1 cases constantly. Why? Because they document their personal contribution to the work. You do the same. Show your role. Prove your input. Document your authorship. Legal ownership lives separately from creative contribution. USCIS evaluates the latter.
Founder contribution O-1 evidence starts with clear authorship documentation.
Patent applications list inventors. Make sure you're named. That's primary evidence of your technical contribution even though company owns the patent. Copyright registrations for software include author information. Document your authorship. Even if company holds rights.
Technical specifications should credit contributors. Did you write the spec? Document that. Architecture documents reveal decision-makers. Did you design the system? Prove it. Code commits show individual contributions. GitHub history. Version control logs. These prove who wrote what.
Design files indicate creators. Who made the mockups? Created the prototypes? Built the initial versions? Internal memos demonstrate idea origination. Emails proposing the approach. Slack discussions working through problems. Meeting notes capturing your insights.
Provisional patents filed before company formation? Especially valuable. Shows you brought the IP to the company. Board presentations reveal strategic direction. Slides explaining your technical vision. Roadmap presentations showing your planning.
Corporate IP extraordinary ability cases need expert testimony about your specific contributions. Good expert letters explicitly attribute innovations to you. Not to "the team." Not to "the company." To you personally. "While the patent lists the company as assignee, technical experts in this field recognize that this innovation originated from the beneficiary's novel approach to solving X problem."
Expert letters should cite specific contributions. "The beneficiary developed the core algorithm that enabled this breakthrough." Name you. Credit you. Be specific. Industry peers can testify about your known role. "Within our professional community, it's widely understood that this technical approach was the beneficiary's creation."
Technical reviewers who evaluated your work know who did what. Conference program committees. Journal peer reviewers. Standards body participants. Letters from co-inventors strengthen cases. Team members can explain your role. "As co-inventor, I can attest that the beneficiary conceived the fundamental concept and drove the technical development."
Investors who funded based on your expertise provide powerful validation. "Our investment decision centered on the beneficiary's technical vision and unique approach to solving this market problem." Advisory board members observe your leadership. They can document your role driving innovation. Your technical contributions. Your strategic decisions.
Your team knows who built what. Use that knowledge. Organizational charts showing your role. Founder. CTO. Technical lead. These titles connect you to technical output. Performance reviews from your role capture contributions. "Led development of our core technology platform." "Architected the solution that became our flagship product."
Team member testimonials clarify contribution. Engineers who worked under you. Designers who executed your vision. Product managers who implemented your technical strategy. LinkedIn recommendations from team members strengthen cases. Public statements about your role. Your technical contributions. Your leadership in development.
Support letters from employees discussing specific projects help tremendously. "I joined the company because of the beneficiary's innovative approach to solving X problem. During my three years working directly under their technical leadership, I witnessed firsthand how they conceived and developed the core technology."
Departure statements when people leave matter. Exit interview comments. LinkedIn announcements. "Grateful for the opportunity to work with an extraordinary technical leader who taught me innovative approaches to Y."
Technical documentation with your name matters. Design documents you authored. Specifications you wrote. Architecture diagrams you created.
Build a comprehensive team-based attribution case with guidance from Beyond Border.
