YC founder with $8M raise and 12 hackathon judging stints denied O-1 visa
anshulkundaje · x · 2026-11-08
Tony Chang, founder of InstaBox, shares that his US O-1 visa was denied, leaving him roughly six months before he must leave the country. His credentials include getting into Y Combinator and raising $8M for InstaBox, serving as a hackathon judge 12 times, publishing a research paper, and collecting seven recommendation letters from infra experts and staff-level engineers — still not enough.
He's using his own bot to find immigration lawyers recommended by YC, and says worst case he'll leave and find another way back, but will keep building InstaBox regardless. The case highlights visa uncertainty facing AI founders in the US.
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