Sea route bypasses H1B
By Techgirl

Have a coveted H1B Working Visa to go to America?  Congratulations, enjoy your working holiday.

Were rejected for an H1B Visa? Tell your company to fudge the paper work and try for a B1 Business Visa.  Once you are in USA,  you can work as if you are on an H1B Visa.  Many Indian techies do it,  and if you are caught feign innocence the way Bollywood heroines do in movies when she meets the male hero for the first time.

Can’t even get a B1 Visa to work in USA?  Fly down to a ship anchored close to California’s Silicon Valley.  This ship is close to Silicon Valley but just outside USA  territorial waters and so you will not need an American Visa.

CEO Max, before joining Blueseed, was Director of Business Strategy at the Peter-Thiel funded Seasteading Institute.  Some of the best minds and deepest pockets in America are backing this project to get around the American Working Visas.  The Obama administration has clamped down on the large scale misuse of working visas.

The Blueseed FAQ has the following answers

“
Q: How much will it cost to live aboard the Blueseed vessel?

A: We will have a wide assortment of living and office space packages for rent, with prices starting at $1,200/person/month for our basic accommodations. For comparison, the average monthly rent for a one-bedroom apartment in San Francisco is $1736 as of October 2011, and incubator spaces sell for $400-$650 per desk.

In addition, each resident will need to deposit a sufficient amount to allow for their transportation back to their home country in case of necessity. This amount will be returned when the resident permanently leaves Blueseed.

Q: What visas do I need?

A: As a foreign national, to legally earn a paycheck in the United States, you would need a valid U.S. work visa. To live and earn a paycheck aboard the Blueseed vessel, you will only need a passport.
“

If an American company can do it,  why should Indian companies not get a slice of the action.  I can visualize 20 year old SS Infy or  SS TCCS leaving Mumbai Port and making its way to anchor close to Silicon Valley.  Heck,  it will even have an Indian bawarchi cooking yummy Indian food. 

Techgoss note:  Techgirl is a senior Tech journalist who reports on the IT, KPO and KPO Sectors for a leading media house.  In her spare time, she dabbles in satire in her blog techgirltalk.blogspot.com.  Techgirl has been ejected from Twitter for satirizing an Indian Minister.  Her satire blog has links to her Times of India interview detailing her being kicked out of Twitter, and then being invited back.