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YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

blog.ycombinator.com

231–240 of 851 posts

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#231
post #160
post #102

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a scenario where more YC companies set up shop in Vancouver, and US investors follow to bet on the next Slack up here, then this will naturally change as a function of supply/demand.

Maybe, although taxes are a lot higher in Canada for anything beyond an average salary.

That's a common misconception. I paid more in US + California taxes than Canada + Ontario taxes at the same company, same salary, when I moved location.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#232
post #163
post #101

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I wouldn't say that the US is worse than China, I think your statement is just as dangerous (possibly more).

How so?

Not parent, but it seems irresponsible to call someone that is ignorant about the domestic policies of a country half the world away "dangerous." It's not dangerous until national policy is based on that ignorance, which is several as of yet uncrossed bridges farther than even a majority of Americans being ignorant of Chinese domestic policy.

That said, parent is just as wrong to call the original comment "dangerous" as well.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#233
post #15

What is the visa situation right now? What exactly has changed?

You know H1B visas? You know how there's an expedited program for them which basically every tech company tries to use? Well, not anymore there isn't. First link off Google News: https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2017/mar/06/us-h1b-visa-... And, there may be more changes coming in the future, so, yay political risk?

(I'm on H1b)

The lack of an expedited program does not really call for this kind of a move. If you are a new applicant (ie never held h1 before), you have to wait till Oct 1 to start anywy, so the USCIS taking 3 months to process your application does not affect your ability to work. If you are transferring to another company, you can switch after you receive your receipt, which is usually under a couple of weeks (at least the times I've tried).

Do YC founders usually come in on a H1b visa? I don't understand how that would work well, given that there is a lottery every year. Also, I wish you had adopted a less snarky tone.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#234
post #12

May be this is a dumb question, I will ask it anyway, Tijuana Mexico is about 500 miles from Bay Area, where as Vancouver Canada is 1000 miles. Que Canada?

How are you comparing Tijuana to Vancouver? I have lived in Tijuana. It's one of the worst cities in Mexico. Guadalajara or Mexico City would make much more sense, but even they can't compare to Vancouver. I openly say that the bridge that connects the Tijuana airport directly to the United States is the best thing that ever happened to the city.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#235
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you say that? I did not downvote you. And would be interested real and objective criteria for assessing which country is "worse" ethically or "worse" by some criteria you select.

China forces its citizens to have abortions if they have more than 2 children, and they censor the internet, so you can't access social media, like Facebook for instance. So, I would say they are ethically worse than the U.S.

In terms of Human rights, it would be better to be in the US.

But things change. US is becoming more fascist which is potentially leading to an exodus of intelligent minds - who are perhaps going to be migrating to one of their main competitors, China.

The one good thing about China is that they are open to changes in their policies (but can't change the party).

It will be interesting to see how this plays out with all the immigration talk. I really hope Brexit and stuff like this don't actually happen. To me it feels like the reversal of the Fall of the Berlin wall.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#236

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's the intent of my comment, I can't believe I'm being downvoted for a rational question presented in a neutral manner.

> trying to separate fact from hysteria Painting the people who oppose the policy as "hysterical" isn't neutral and I bet that's what people are reacting to.

What if the opposition is literally hysterical though?

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#237
It's oddly ominous reading about America's rise on the back of textile patents taken from England and Europe, then poaching of German physics talent and scientific talent from across the world. Germany was, by far, the pre-eminent power in theoretical physics at the turn of the 20th century, with Einstein, Heisenberg, Planck & Born about to be at the peak of their powers. Then the country decided to turn on intellectuals, immigrants, and minorities and turned its scientific prowess to war rather than peace.

There's an old saying out there that history is merely a set of cycles. I suppose we'll see if that is true in the upcoming years.

*one note I would add is that with recent policy uncertainty (i.e healthcare) the advantages of hiring around the world have come into starker relief. That's even more dangerous. Sure, the United States may become less competitive in the war for talent because of walls and tighter borders -- but it'll become less competitive, period, for companies relying on high-skill workers who by definition will be close to or at the peak of their physical and/or mental health.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#238
post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Perhaps, if funding to research is cut in the US via Trump policies (or even remains small as is currently the case) and China jumps on this opportunity to snatch the world's best talent, the question for brilliant young students will be China, a fascist regime where you are funded, or the US, a slightly less fascist regime where you are not funded and face hate crime, discrimination, and constant threats to your abi…

So why do so many Chinese students chose to come to the US for college? Do they not know that China is better? To call the US a slightly less fascist regime than China is wrong. Go read up on human rights violations in China some time. Other areas of concern include the lack of legal recognition of human rights and the lack of an independent judiciary, rule of law, and due process. Further issues raised in regard to…

There are more than a billion Chinese, and only a tiny number of them came to US for college. From such a large population pool, you can find people with all kinds of options. Even if all of those who came to US are aligned with western ideology, it really doesn't mean much.

On top of that, from what I see most of the Chinese that came to US nowadays are becoming more patriotic, and more tolerant about Chinese government before they came.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#239

Wow. We often wonder how the Bay Area would be unseated as startup capital of the world. Maybe it'll be the US's immigration problem.

It's almost always the government that makes or breaks a country.

I agree, but only with the 'breaks' part.

Re: YC will hold interviews in Vancouver for founders who can’t get US visas

#240
post #226

Great intent. I'd like to know the reasoning behind choosing Canada as an alternative interview location because from experience, it easier to get a US visitor visa than that of Canada. Nigerians cannot even transit the Canadian airport without a visa which takes upward of 8 weeks to get AFTER approval vs days for the US. Requirements for Canada are more onerous. 2 suggestions. 1. A country of interview per continent…

Which makes me wonder what are the most open countries? Ie. Requiring the least visas.. Is there a country requiring no visa?

Bir Tawil probably doesn't require a Visa. You might find the fiber optic infrastructure a bit lacking though.

( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bir_Tawil )

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