Why Silicon Valley Immigrant Entrepreneurs Are Returning Home

First, that it's hard to take seriously the idea that inept immigration policies are creating a real threat to the US, because it's still so far ahead of the curve on entrepreneurship.

Secondly, that it's not a human tragedy that people are being forced by circumstances to leave the US, because those people are likely to start companies in their home countries. It would be a good thing for the world if there was more entrepeneurship everywhere, not just where there is the least friction to practicing it.

Restrictions on a work visa holder:

1) Your spouse cannot work at all unless she qualifies and obtains a specialized H1 herself/himself 2) If you get fired on a Friday, you're technically out of status from a legal point from Saturday and must leave immediately regardless of spouse,rent leases, homes, cars, pets, kids, kids' schools, personal property etc. 3) You and your spouse and kids cannot have any supplemental active income. This rules out selling photographs on stock photo sites, phone apps, etc. You can basically do nothing productive that earns money outside your job. 4) If you move to a different job or even change roles, you have to reapply for the Green Card process from the scratch. Expect multiyear delays just to get back to where you were. 5) If you or your spouse wants to visit your home country or travel outside the country, expect to get stuck there for months for no good reasons. It has become so bad that immigration lawyers are advising not to travel internationally except for emergencies. You're basically stuck in the country.

See one example:

Consulate Location - MUMBAI Interview Date - 26 AUGUST 2010 Docs asked? - None Docs submitted? None Docs submitted Date - N/A Email Receipt Date - NOV 23, 2010 Passport Submission Date - same day as that of interview Passport Stamped/Received Date - RECEIVED WITHOUT STAMPING AFTER 15 DAYS

RECEIVED 2ND EMAIL ON DEC 15, 2010 TO SUBMIT PASSPORT

AGAIN RECEIVED MY PASSPORT WITHOUT STAMPING

Waiting Since (in calendar days) - 170 DAYS

Petition Details:

Employer Type - AMERICAN , NON PROFIT ORGANIZATION Employer Size - more than 5,000 Assignment Type - DIRECT I-797 Approval Date - 01-JULY 2010

6) Processing of applications takes forever. You can be stuck without a driving license(no renewal) in some states while your extension is pending. Imagine having to go to work with no driving license. Paying an extra $1225 in no-delay fees can speed up the process in a few cases.

Edit:

7) Taxes: You get to pay all the taxes including Social Security and Medicare(employers also have to match this) and state unemployment taxes(one won't see a cent of this because one is supposed to leave as soon as they're unemployed).

There was a recent bill that increased the fee of some type of work visa applications by $2000 to fund... wait for it... the Mexican border security!

Indeed, why would anyone leave their home for new laws, different language, different foods, different social customs.

The very same reason both my great grandfathers left Ireland to come to America, opportunity, and a better way of life!

Our family are all US born citizens. I am a registered republican, highly educated, and have founded 2 successful companies in Silicon Valley, and now a third in Vienna, Austria. Our family left the United States 9 years ago. We will not return until the US is once again a land of opportunity.

I am a proud American. I am proud of my country,and it's citizens. I am not proud of the kleptocracy that the State and Federal governments have become. I saw the financial industry collapse and "great recession" as inevitable back in 2002 when we left.

Yes the immigration system in Austria is highly dysfunctional and just as self defeating to entrepreneurs as in America.

Attractions:

Austria has a highly effective social welfare system, social health insurance system, career training, apprenticeships, and no cost higher educational system. As a direct result, Viennese society is one of the safest on the face of the earth. Kindergarten children take the subway and streetcars to school by themselves.

The European Union actively funds "open source development", and requires much of its research to be made open source. Software patents in Europe, which exist, are unenforceable. The US government sells its research to the highest bidder, depriving its citizens of its use. Europe believes in returning its research to its citizens use.

Austria, Germany Switzerland, and France are growing rapidly, and have record low unemployment rates. Austria is currently at 4.6 percent.

Vienna has been the top Mercer world city for 2 years in a row. A very trusting society, papers are placed in plastic satchels, with a coin box attached. The subway and train systems have no entry / exit barriers or gates. A simple ticket stamping machine sits on a post. In a highly trusting society, there is no need for steel newspaper boxes or oppressive barriers.

Austrian's are protected by law from overwork, and as a result, are very healthy, utilizing far less heathcare services than the typical American.

Austria, Germany, and France are the best countries for an American to emigrate to.

Vivek Wadhwa fails to realize that immigrant founders actually deprive Americans of key jobs. Founders jobs. Immigrants are the only people desperate enough to accept the immoral yet legal terms offered by many Vulture Capitalists. A legal form of slavery. Nothing else explains the high percentage of immigrant founders adequately. I was witness to several immigrants having lost control of their own companies just as they became profitable.

The US must actively recruit each and every foreign born entrepreneur, engineer and scientist they can find, in order to grow the economy to at least 7 percent a year, or it will be bankrupt before 2025.

By throwing wide the doors to foreign immigration, the Vulture Capitalists would be unable to exploit foreign immigrants. The playing field for both immigrant and US citizen would be equal. The US would, within a few years, drastically reverse its trade deficit to a significant surplus. Just as Austria, Germany, and France currently enjoy.

I don't see that happening, and so the US government will be deprived of vital tax revenue from the next great technological advance. US corporations have parked 2 trillion dollars of profits overseas, to avoid paying US taxes.

I highly recommend US citizens act with haste to emigrate to a new home in either Europe or Asia before the Hobsian society arrives in force, resulting in an exodus tidal wave of Americans.