Understand Law

Delaware:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Delaware

H1B vs Founder:
1. This issue comes up frequently. An H-1B visa holder can be a founder and can own any portion (including all) of a corporation's shares. What is prohibited, however, is working for the business.
2.  he individual can form a business in the U.S. but cannot work for it. Note that USCIS gives H-1B cases particularly careful scrutiny.
3.  Let’s assume that the new business is formed as a corporation. Being a shareholder certainly is a passive activity. Being a director (board member) typically should be a passive activity, too, because directors’ role is one of oversight and approval (elect officers, approve major transactions, etc.), rather than running the business.
4.  if you are a non-resident alien who must keep his or her activities for a business passive: It’s OK to be a shareholder and a director, but don’t become an officer, employee or independent contractor of the business or do any additional work for it.
5.  This means that the H1B visa holder cannot work for the company, cannot be involved in the day to day operation of the company, receive stock in return for work, etc.  The H1B visa holder, however, may receive dividends from the company.
6.  foreign nationals, including those resident in H-1B status, are not restricted in any way from holding equity in US companies. However, H-1B holders can only legally work for their sponsoring employer(s).
7.  This is quite a common problem. Most people in this situation use a B visitor visa to participate in programs like YC or 500 Startups. This is fine, as long as you limit your activities to those allowed by the B visa. Permissible activities include negotiating contracts, pitching to investors, securing funding, forming your business entity, signing clients or vendors, working on your business plan, attending talks, lectures, or conferences, doing market research, etc. If you limit yourself to working on the business side of your project and attending events at the accelerator, most likely your activities will be covered under the B visa.
8.  Your idea that if you get selected at YC, get a friend - whose name can be on the company and you own all of the class A stock. the structure of the company is immaterial to the Gov and have a VC on the Board.
9.  Yes, you would be breaking a law if you are a co-founder of a US company while on H1-B.
10. Legally, you can be a co-founder of a company while you are on H1-B. But, you can not participate in business activities and you can not take salary.
11.  You are not allowed to do any sort of work for your company including programming, business development, marketing etc. You can only be an inactive partner in the company.
But practically speaking, you could get away with it while two of you develop the software from your apartment. USCIS is not going to monitor what you have been doing on your computer at home.
It would be difficult when your business grows and have employees & customers. Make sure that you are able to transfer H1-B to your company by then.
I guess founders of few YC and TechStars companies come to US on Visa Waiver Program or Visitor visa for few months and work on their startup.
12. As a founder, you shall be able to find work around the law.
14. In small private companies, the directors and the shareholders are normally the same people, and thus there is no real division of power. In large public companies, the board tends to exercise more of a supervisory role, and individual responsibility and management tends to be delegated downward to individual professional executives (such as a finance director or a marketing director) who deal with particular areas of the company's affairs
15.


Question:
1. Is Founder a job?
2. Can H1B be a founder?
3.

References:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/greggfairbrothers/2013/05/06/who-is-a-founder/
http://www.k9ventures.com/blog/2009/09/24/my-story-and-support-for-the-founders-visa/
https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2619088