Apostille and Certified Translation for Indian Founders Going to the USA

A AI founder from Bengaluru, MTech IIT Bombay 2014, Y Combinator W22 batch, raised a USD 12 million Series A in January 2026 with a US lead investor and a quiet US fund as co-investor. The board pushed to move the holding company to Delaware and his role to San Francisco. The visa strategy his US counsel built was a two-step: O-1A extraordinary ability for the founder move (twelve to fourteen weeks at USCIS premium processing), then EB-1A self-petition immediately after entry. The O-1A petition needed apostilled originals of his IIT Bombay MTech transcript and degree, his class-twelve CBSE certificate, his birth certificate from the Bangalore Mahanagara Palike (then BBMP), his marriage certificate from the Bengaluru Sub-Registrar, his wife's UPES Dehradun BTech degree, the children's birth certificates and a PCC from the Bengaluru Passport Seva Kendra Lalbagh. The Karnataka HRD step ran through the State Educational Research and Training Department in Malleswaram. MEA apostille at Patiala House Delhi. Set delivered to his Latham and Watkins immigration attorney in Menlo Park in four weeks. The press portfolio, peer recommendation letters and US-side O-1A petition itself were the work of the US firm. The documentation in India was the work that had to be right before any of the US work could finish.

That layered visa strategy is now standard for Indian founders moving to the US. The L-1A intracompany transfer fits founders whose Indian and US entities share common ownership. The O-1 extraordinary ability visa fits founders with publications, awards, press, board memberships and high distinction in their field. The EB-1A green card covers outstanding researchers, executives or founders with extraordinary achievements. The EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) green card route fits research-intensive founders whose work serves the US national interest. The regular H-1B specialty occupation visa still works for founder candidates with a sponsoring US employer, though it is rare for first-time founders. This page is for the Indian founder who has settled on a US route and needs the documentation in India work in 2026.

Which US visa category fits the founder

The Indian founder's US move starts with a visa-category decision. Each category shapes the documentation file differently, so the choice has to be made before the apostille work begins.

L-1A intra-company transfer fits founders whose Indian entity and US entity share common ownership. The candidate has to have worked as an executive or specialised-knowledge employee at the Indian entity for at least one of the last three years. The L-1A is a one-year visa initially, extendable to seven years, and the EB-1C green card stream is well-trodden for L-1A holders.

O-1A extraordinary ability fits founders with publications, awards, press coverage, board memberships, judging roles and similar distinction in their field. The O-1A is initial three years, extendable in one-year increments. Senior Indian tech founders with strong press portfolios and Y Combinator or Sequoia backing use this route routinely.

EB-1A self-petition green card covers founders with extraordinary ability proven across three or more of the ten USCIS criteria. This is the highest-bar green-card category and the fastest because there is no PERM labour certification step and no India backlog.

EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) fits research-intensive founders whose work serves the US national interest. Strong research record (papers, citations, patents), endorsement letters from senior US researchers, and a national-interest argument frame the petition.

H-1B specialty occupation visa still works for founder candidates with a sponsoring US employer. Rare for first-time founders because it requires an employer-employee relationship that conflicts with founder-as-owner ownership, but used in some structured cases.

What each visa category needs from the in India file

L-1A. The Indian entity's Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar of Companies, MOA, AOA, board resolution authorising the US entity, GST registration, PAN, audited financial statements signed by an Indian Chartered Accountant covering the last three years, and the documents showing the qualifying relationship between the Indian entity and the US entity (typically common parent ownership). The founder's degree and marksheets. Experience letters confirming the executive or specialised-knowledge role for at least one of the last three years.

O-1A. Evidence of extraordinary ability: publications, citation indices, press coverage in named outlets, awards, professional memberships at named industry bodies, board roles, advisory positions, judging others' work. The founder's degree and marksheets where they support the extraordinary-ability claim. The Indian commercial documents where they show the founder's role and reach.

EB-1A. The same evidence base as O-1A at a higher bar. Three or more of the ten USCIS criteria for extraordinary ability supported by apostilled documents.

EB-2 NIW. A research record (peer-reviewed papers, citations, patent filings, conference talks), endorsement letters from senior researchers in the field, and a national-interest argument showing the founder's work benefits the US.

H-1B. The founder's degree and marksheets, the experience letters, the offer letter from the US sponsoring entity, and a labour condition application that the US employer files.

For all of these, the founder's marriage certificate and children's birth certificates need MEA apostille if the spouse and children will follow on dependant visas (H-4, L-2, O-3, or as derivative beneficiaries of the green card category).

The two parallel tracks the file runs on

A US founder file usually runs two parallel tracks in India.

The personal track has the founder's degree certificate and marksheets, the university transcript with subjects and credit hours, the marriage certificate, the children's birth certificates, the Police Clearance Certificate from the Regional Passport Office, and the passport with at least twenty-four months of validity.

The commercial track has the Indian entity's full corporate set. Certificate of Incorporation from the Registrar of Companies (Ministry of Corporate Affairs portal), MOA, AOA, board resolution authorising the US entity, GST registration certificate, PAN, audited financial statements for the last three years signed by an Indian Chartered Accountant, and the documents showing the qualifying relationship between the Indian and US entities (for L-1A specifically).

For research-intensive founders, add the publication list with peer-reviewed articles, patent filings from the Indian Patent Office or USPTO, conference papers, citation indices and any awards.

The authentication in India and timeline

The United States has been a Hague apostille country for Indian documents since 1981. MEA apostille is the standard authentication.

Personal-track stamps. State HRD attestation on educational documents at the relevant state directorate (Karnataka SHED Multistoreyed Building Bengaluru, Maharashtra Mantralaya Mumbai, Tamil Nadu DTE Guindy, Telangana SHED Tarnaka, AP SHED Mangalagiri, Delhi DoE Old Secretariat, UP SED Lucknow). SDM or Home Department attestation on personal documents (marriage certificate, birth certificates). MEA apostille at the Patiala House Delhi counter. Three to seven working days at state, three to five at MEA.

Commercial-track stamps. Chamber of Commerce attestation through the relevant body (FICCI, PHDCCI, ASSOCHAM, CII, or the state-level Indian Industry Chamber where the entity is registered) for commercial documents. MEA attestation at the Patiala House Delhi counter on top of the Chamber of Commerce stamp. Three to seven working days at the Chamber, three to five at MEA.

PCC from the Regional Passport Office where the visa category requires it. Seven to fourteen working days at the RPO, then three to five working days for MEA apostille.

Certified translation is rarely needed for US founder files because Indian documents are typically in English. The exception is a marriage certificate or birth certificate in a regional Indian language.

Tracked return courier: three to seven working days inside India, seven to fourteen working days to a US-based attorney or to a US address.

If everything is in order, the parallel route runs in two to four weeks.

What we run from Noida on a US founder file

When you first send us scans on WhatsApp at +91 9220161774, we read the founder file for the US visa category you are targeting. We tell you which documents need Chamber of Commerce attestation first, where SDM or HRD applies, and how the process times against the I-129 or I-140 petition filing window with USCIS. We share the realistic timeline and cost end to end before you pay anything.

When the originals reach our Noida office at C-25, C Block, Sector 8, we run the work. Chamber of Commerce attestation on commercial documents, SDM or Home Department attestation on personal documents, HRD on educational documents, MEA apostille at Patiala House Delhi, certified translation if any document is in a regional Indian language (rare), PCC apostille after the RPO issues the PCC, and tracked return courier to your US-based immigration attorney or directly to your US address. Named SiZA staff carry the documents between offices in Delhi NCR.

We do not file the L-1A, O-1, EB-1A, EB-2 NIW or H-1B petition. Your US immigration attorney does that with USCIS. We do not form the US entity (your US counsel does that, typically a Delaware C-Corp formation). We do not write the visa petition or the support letters. We do not arrange US consular interview appointments at Mumbai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata or Delhi. We do not handle anything inside the US after you arrive.

For a free scan-review of your US founder file, send a WhatsApp message to +91 9220161774 with photos of your degree, your Indian company papers (Certificate of Incorporation, MOA, AOA, board resolution, audited financials) and a short note on which US visa category you are targeting.

Two pages on this site worth reading next: USA country documentation guide, apostille services, embassy attestation services.