Immigration 101: Founder Visas with Manifest Law and Founder Social Club
Founders occupy a unique position in the immigration system. The work you do — building companies, raising capital, creating jobs, driving innovation — maps directly onto the criteria that matter most across several U.S. visa categories. But knowing which path fits your situation, and how to translate your track record into a compelling petition, is a different skill entirely.
In this session, Ilias Anwar and Colton Kaplan are sitting down with Manifest Law to give founders a clear, practical map of the U.S. immigration paths that can support a real startup trajectory — the O-1, E-2, H-1B, and green card strategies, and how each one tends to work depending on your background, timeline, and company stage.
We'll cover:
How common founder visas like the O-1 and H-1B work, and who each one tends to fit
Green card strategies for founders, including EB-1A and EB-2 NIW
What kinds of founder evidence carry the most weight with USCIS — fundraising, press, leadership, and business impact
How your background, timeline, and company stage affect which path makes sense
Common mistakes founders make when navigating immigration
How to think about timing and next steps
If you're building something ambitious and want immigration to feel like a plan instead of a constant question mark, this session will give you a clear and practical framework.
We'll save time for live Q&A — bring your questions!
Manifest Law is an award-winning immigration firm of 100+ attorneys. Powered by Manifest OS, they simplify and accelerate visa and green card processes. Founders trust them for O-1s, H-1Bs, E-2s, L-1s, and green cards because the outcomes speak for themselves: high approval rates and faster timelines.
Get a free consultation and $250 off your visa here: https://gomanifestlaw.com/Immigration-101-Quiz
Ilias Anwar is a New York based entrepreneur, content creator, and event producer behind 2.5 billion content views and 500+ events produced, with a community of 200K+ followers and 50K+ newsletter subscribers across the creator, founder, and investor space known as "Anwar Events." Recognized as one of OTSNY's Top 100 Must-Watch Entrepreneurs and author of Cheat Codes, he is now partnering with rednote to help them go to market in the U.S. through his new company Anwar Enterprises.
Anwar Enterprises is a New York based events marketing agency for tech and consumer companies, founded by Ilias Anwar to help brands break into the founder, investor, and creator communities through curated in-person experiences. We design and produce full event programs for our partners, from intimate VC dinners and pitch competitions to large scale tech week activations, campus creator workshops, and launch parties, handling everything from audience curation and venue sourcing to programming, partnerships, and post-event reporting. With over 100 events produced for clients like rednote, SeedLegals, Red Bull, Udio, and Cliqk, and a built-in community of 60,000+ engaged founders, investors, and creators across NYC and major university campuses, we give tech and consumer brands a faster path to the audiences that move markets.
Follow him on Website | Linkedin | Instagram
Colton Kapan
Colton Kaplan is the founder of Founder Social Club, a community built to eliminate loneliness in entrepreneurship by connecting founders with mentors, investors, and peers across San Francisco, NYC, Austin, and beyond. He has hosted 80+ events, grown the community to 32K+ members, and recently launched Door 3 SF to help founders build out their teams. He is also the host of the Founder Social Club Podcast (formerly Change with Colton), where he sits down with founders to share real stories, lessons learned, and tactical insights from the journey of building companies.
Follow him on Website | LinkedIn | Instagram
MacBook Giveaway: One (1) MacBook Neo will be awarded to a randomly selected attendee who self-identifies as an immigrant founder. No purchase necessary. Open to event attendees age 18+ who are legal US residents. Must be physically present, checked in, and remain at the event until the winner is announced. Winner selected by random drawing. Sponsored by Manifest Law and Anwar Enterprises. Void where prohibited.