{"id":720,"date":"2012-08-25T13:48:21","date_gmt":"2012-08-25T19:48:21","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=720"},"modified":"2026-08-15T23:19:02","modified_gmt":"2026-08-16T05:19:02","slug":"self-employment-in-opt-and-h1b-status","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=720","title":{"rendered":"Self Employment in OPT and H1B Status"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have a question, and i hope you can help me with it. <\/strong><\/p>\n

I am on F1 student visa. i am doing my masters in accounting also planing to sit for the CPA.<\/strong><\/p>\n

I know that after graduation you are allowed to take OPT and work for up to 12 months. while your are on the OPT you are allowed to be self emloyee, during that period i want to open my own CPA firm or atleast bookkeeping office and be self employed. <\/strong><\/p>\n

My question is if i open my own accounting office can i soponser my self with an H1 VISA? <\/strong><\/p>\n

A student on OPT may start a business and be self-employed. The student must be able to prove that he or she has the proper business licenses and is actively engaged in a business related to the student\u2019s degree program. The rules are quite different for an H1B visa.\u00a0In order to obtain an H1B visa with your own firm, you must establish that you firm is separate from you and has a certain level of control over your actions.\u00a0The best way to do this is to have a minority interest in your firm, i.e., get a partner or two.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have a question, and i hope you can help me with it. I am on F1 student visa. i am doing my masters in accounting also planing to sit for the CPA. I know that after graduation you are allowed to take OPT and work for up to 12 months. while your are on … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[21,161],"tags":[173,293],"class_list":["post-720","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-h-1b-visa","category-opt","tag-h-1b-visa","tag-opt"],"yoast_head":"\nSelf Employment in OPT and H1B Status - US Immigration Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/blog.messersmithlaw.com\/?p=720\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Self Employment in OPT and H1B Status - US Immigration Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"I have a question, and i hope you can help me with it. 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