Right now, many startups are building innovative solutions impacting both the Web3 and Crypto spaces, and we're hearing lots of questions about work visas for these industries. Working in Web3 or Crypto should not prevent you from getting a U.S. work visa if you are otherwise qualified for it - we'll get into the details here.
Background on Web3 and Crypto
A recent Electric Capital report found that Web3 development has hit an all time high. The Crypto market is also rapidly growing, and expected to be worth 2.2 billion U.S. dollars in 2026. As these fields grow, and new startups pop up, it is important that startup founders around the world have the ability to bring their businesses to the U.S.
Work Visas for Founders of Web3 and Crypto Startups
Regardless of your industry, getting a work visa can feel like a huge barrier to bringing your business to the U.S. On top of this, add being the founder of a company operating in a seemingly controversial industry like Web3 or Crypto.
At Legalpad, we’ve worked with dozens of Web3 and Crypto founders in 2022 alone. In some of these cases, the biggest barrier preventing these founders from getting a U.S. visa is not the U.S government, it's actually their own preconceived notions that U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) will deny their case because of the industry they work in.
Will USCIS scrutinize your case more because of the industry you work in? It is possible, but we haven’t seen this to be true for the Web3 and Crypto founders. Contrary what some startup founders believe, the industry you work in does not seem to make much of a difference to USCIS. What makes a difference? How well you meet the visa requirements, and how well your immigration team can present your qualifications to USCIS.
USCIS officers look at dozens of different visa applications each week, so they have a basic understanding of many industries. With Web3 and Crypto being emerging fields, USCIS officers may or may not have much familiarity with what your company is doing. However, a skilled immigration team will be able to translate your work into language that is easy to understand.
So which visa should you apply for? The most lucrative visa option for a startup founder might be the O-1. Most of the Web3 and Crypto founders we’ve worked with have ended up going with the O-1. This article describes some of the other common visa options for startup founders.
We've worked with many Web3 and Crypto founders, including:
- Kaito Cunningham, Co-Founder and CEO of Utopia Labs
- Alexander Wu, Co-Founder and CTO of Utopia Labs
- Sami James Start, Founder and CEO of Transak
Our success rate for Web3 and Crypto founder visas speaks for itself. Reach out to our team if you’d like to learn more about which visas you may qualify for.
