Yes, you would be breaking a law if you are a co-founder of a US company while on H1-B.
>The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer (subject to application for adjustment of status and/or change of visa), or leave the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1B_visa
Many people get this mixed up. Non-immigrant visas mean you can only do what your visa specifies that you can do.
A student visa is a non-immigrant studying visa. You can only study.
H1-B visa is a non-immigrant specialty work permit visa. i.e. you are working within your area of study, for a pre-approved company that has sponsored you your visa.
It's probably not the answer you want to hear, but I spent a lot of time researching it and speaking to multiple attorneys while I was trying to do the same thing. I eventually decided to return home, for a number of reasons.
That being said, I have friends that have done it and not gotten detected, but that's a fool's errand. You are risking the company if you do that.
>The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States under the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101(a)(15)(H). It allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer (subject to application for adjustment of status and/or change of visa), or leave the United States.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1B_visa
Many people get this mixed up. Non-immigrant visas mean you can only do what your visa specifies that you can do.
A student visa is a non-immigrant studying visa. You can only study.
H1-B visa is a non-immigrant specialty work permit visa. i.e. you are working within your area of study, for a pre-approved company that has sponsored you your visa.
It's probably not the answer you want to hear, but I spent a lot of time researching it and speaking to multiple attorneys while I was trying to do the same thing. I eventually decided to return home, for a number of reasons.
That being said, I have friends that have done it and not gotten detected, but that's a fool's errand. You are risking the company if you do that.