Comment by mchakravarti7

There are VC firms that can help you work on an H1B, or even make you an employee in the short term. There's also programs in MA where an university can employ you on an H1B and let you work on your startup. I believe UMass Boston's VDC program is one. OPT is a completely valid option too (source: know a ton of people who have used this and have extensively spoken to attorneys about it)