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

blog.ycombinator.com

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

#271

Post by nostrademons »

pizzetta wrote: post #247
EternalData wrote: post #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 intellect…

I don' think the situation is as dire as people think. Europe exported many technical people during the war years and one would be hard pressed to say they are backwards because they lost talent. Japan as well is not very friendly to labor migrants and they are at the forefront of science in technology despite their small population size relative to other geographies.

It did, however, dramatically help the U.S. We got the atom bomb, moon landings, computer, and many other inventions out of European immigrants who fled the Nazis. The U.S. had a strong science program before the war, but its superpower status afterwards was just as much because we got all the brightest minds in Europe as because we bombed everyone else into rubble.

I could see Australia, New Zealand, or Canada similarly benefitting if the U.S. turns towards xenophobia & warmongering.

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

#272

Post by kbenson »

cderwin wrote: post #216
kbenson wrote: post #193

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So, is the problem that they are forcing abortions, or that they have a social policy about childbearing? If it's about the abortions, apparently there's two types of action taken[1]. If it's in an urban area, they apparently either charge a fee or don't assign a household register to the child (not sure what that means), but if it's rural they do apparently force abortions. If you're okay with the social policy, it…

Why would you think that any particularly intrusive forced medical practive is ethical? Is such a policy really all that much more acceptable than mandating abortions?

That all depends on your view of individual rights vs the what's best for society. We make decisions all the time on things that restrict individual freedom because it's best for society overall. Which of these you think is okay and which you don't generally come down to where you draw the line. Here's a short list of things that in the U.S. we have dictated that everyone needs to deal with, except for specific exceptional circumstances ("exceptional" being somewhat relative depending on the item).

- Paying taxes

- Child schooling

- Vaccination

- Health care

A population growth policy that targets birth is not so entirely different from those, as fundamentally different as it may feel, depending on your background. Giving people the option of either birth control or an abortion if they get pregnant would be one way to handle that. Have a fundamental disagreement with abortion? Use birth control. Have a problem with birth control too? Take it up with the state, just like in those items above.

I'm not advocating for this, I'm just pointing out it's not fundamentally different than other things we already do.

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

#273

Post by [deleted] »

dang wrote: post #182
throwawaysed wrote: post #45

I like how HN will change any clickbait titles you post but regularly does clickbait titles of its own. This entire article could, and should, be a single sentence title. "YCombinator holding Canada interviews for founders without US Visa".

Assume good faith! We changed the title to representative language from the article.

[deleted]

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

#274

Post by komali2 »

joshuaheard wrote: post #133
sqeaky wrote: 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.

If we were on a colony on mars where food, oxygen, and water were metered to the centiliter, I doubt you would bat an eye at enforced birth control and accidental-pregnancy control policy.

It's an extreme example, but I want to underline that enforcing birth policy is not automatically immoral. China has a lot of people, of course they enforce birth policy.

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

#275

Post by gregmac »

dusing wrote: post #165
OoTheNigerian wrote: post #116

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…

I also know several US citizens that have been denied entry into Canada because of a DUI in the United States. AFAIK It's not a hard fast rule, and you won't find out until you get there. Canada doesn't exactly have an open border.

As a Canadian, I was surprised someone would be denied entry for a DUI. Since I looked this up I'll summarize:

Essentially Canada can prevent people who have committed what would be indictable crimes under Canadian law from entering. DUI is particularly strange because it can be either an indictable (serious) or summary (less serious) offence, and in Canada this depends on the circumstances and the way it's prosecuted. Coupled with the varying laws in different states regarding DUI/DWI/OUI/etc, and presumably to prevent the border guard having to act as a Canadian criminal court (to judge how it would be handled here) they just always treat it as if it was an indictable offence.

So even if you're not driving and not intending to drive, the fact it's a potentially indictable criminal offence is what prevents entry -- nothing at all to do with it being a DUI.

There appears to be a couple possible ways to be admitted despite a criminal record[1], by getting either a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) or being granted Criminal Rehabilitation. I'm not sure what's involved with either, or how likely it is to be approved, but they apparently issue around 10,000 TRPs a year.

http://www.ezbordercrossing.com/the-inspection-experience/pr...

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

#276

Post by Pxtl »

Kluny wrote: post #36
branchless wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Alright, now if I work like a dog and make a successful company (chances of this are in the low single digit %), after I hand back the YC cut I can get me a small family home in Vancouver that a regular factory worker could afford 30 years back!

If you're complaining about the price of Vancouver real estate, it hardly makes sense in this context where San Francisco is the alternative.

http://globalnews.ca/news/2477598/vancouver-ranked-3rd-least...

Vancouver is, apparently, worse than SF.

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

#277

Post by elastic_church »

EternalData wrote: post #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 intellect…

Well you see, the lack of sanctions against US exports and the lack of the US relying on exports pretty much undermines the oddly ominous parallels.

The US could benefit in the coming years by being more inclusionary again. It spans an entire continent and has a diversified portfolio of industries to sustain itself. It is unquestioned by its allies officially in wars that are remote and primarily benefit the industries within the US. It really could use an inclusionary policy to enhance its population wealth machine making selective immigration there to once again be a greater object of envy.

You see where the parallels to Weimar and German fascism fail? There isn't enough to extrapolate outcomes just because you see the trendiness of dietary restrictions in the US and notice that the fascist german leader had one too SO OMINOUS.

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

#279

Post by drpgq »

JamilD wrote: post #231
drpgq wrote: post #160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm skeptical, because both Ontario and the feds have raised the higher tax brackets in the last few years, plus the dollar is around 74 cents to the US dollar now.

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

#280

Post by corn_dog »

am_i_down wrote: post #126
sqeaky wrote: 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.

What is a criteria in which China is "better" ethically or "better" by some criteria you select? I can think of none.

I think is at least instructive to compare the number of Chinese citizens immigrating or wanting to immigrate to the US to the number of US citizens who would like to move to China.
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