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What the startup visa should really look like

eliasbizannes.com

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Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#21

Post by hpatel »

cletus wrote: post #20

I'm glad the author mentioned the disparity between work visas and immigration and visas for the "arts" (fashion models, actors, etc), which seem to be trivial to get. I don't understand that at all. I will say that the last thing a startup visa program needs is discretionary government oversight. That has disaster written all over it. My opinion is this: you should be able to come to the US and "pay your way". By th…

Even though it makes sense, I think the biggest problem with this solution is preventing people from taking up low paying cash jobs. The US doesn't have an effective way to enforce that yet.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#22

Post by isalmon »

thinkisgood wrote: post #14
eshvk wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I just read up on this. It works if you have that much capital at the start but what if you don't? What is the alternative for say people, who are fresh out of school and have a bunch of ideas and might in 3-4 years time create value and jobs worth that number or even twice it.

Anyone can say they have an idea that will create 1,000 jobs in 3-4 years. How do you pick the ones that actually will?

That's exactly my point. Give everybody a visa, but reward them with GC only when they build a successful business. If they can't - they go home when the visa expires.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#23

Post by SwaroopH »

EIR[1] has worked on a temporary solution to resolve this by re-interpreting the laws for L and O making it more startup friendly. This was further confirmed by Doug Rand (from whitehouse) at GAN[2] conference but no ETA on formalization.

[1]. http://www.uscis.gov/eir [2]. http://gan.co/

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#24

Post by refurb »

isalmon wrote: post #22
thinkisgood wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Anyone can say they have an idea that will create 1,000 jobs in 3-4 years. How do you pick the ones that actually will?

That's exactly my point. Give everybody a visa, but reward them with GC only when they build a successful business. If they can't - they go home when the visa expires.

But that's one of the big problems. USCIS has almost no ability to "send people home" when their visa expires. The fact is, if you enter the US (legally or not, it's pretty much impossible to make you leave).

That's why you see tourist visas denied for people who are coming from developed countries and are visiting relatives. The immigration official knows that one he lets you in, he has to count on the person's goodwill that they'll leave.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#25

Post by elias »

isalmon wrote: post #3
marquis wrote: post #2

What is so important to actually relocate to the U.S. rather than any other country, or stay where you are? (if you are lucky to be somewhere that's safe and respectful to your way of life). I travel to and partner with the U.S. as a core part of my work but it's never been something I considered to actually permanently move there - you can open a business and a bank account remotely, run your S corp* etc. Is it beca…

You can't own an S corp unless you're a US resident (citizen or GC holder).

Actually, the requirement is that you area tax resident. Similar but very different.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#26

Post by raganesh »

eshvk wrote: post #11
thinkisgood wrote: post #8

I'm all for opening up the US and allowing more immigrants in. With the author's solution, who determines what is and what is not a start up? If I start a restaurant, am I not a start up? What if I start a cleaning service, a landscaping company, etc?

I am confused: Is there a reason why those _shouldn't_ be startups? If there is a reasonably baseline of jobs, $J being created in a certain reasonably timeframe, $T, with a certain amount of equity, $D being generated. Why should the U.S. government have an issue with how cool or fancy your startup is?

PG's post from a couple of months ago, titled "Startup = Growth", might be relevant: http://paulgraham.com/growth.html

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#27

Post by eshvk »

refurb wrote: post #24
isalmon wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That's exactly my point. Give everybody a visa, but reward them with GC only when they build a successful business. If they can't - they go home when the visa expires.

But that's one of the big problems. USCIS has almost no ability to "send people home" when their visa expires. The fact is, if you enter the US (legally or not, it's pretty much impossible to make you leave). That's why you see tourist visas denied for people who are coming from developed countries and are visiting relatives. The immigration official knows that one he lets you in, he has to count on the person's good…

Can you explain a bit more on why it is hard to deport people? The way I understood it the way illegal immigrants live in the country is because they either use fake SSNs or no SSNs, no paper trails of any kind. I would imagine that it would be very hard to live like that unless you are truly desperate.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#28

Post by davidw »

cletus wrote: post #20

I'm glad the author mentioned the disparity between work visas and immigration and visas for the "arts" (fashion models, actors, etc), which seem to be trivial to get. I don't understand that at all. I will say that the last thing a startup visa program needs is discretionary government oversight. That has disaster written all over it. My opinion is this: you should be able to come to the US and "pay your way". By th…

As long as people are willing to pay to reside in the US, why not let them?

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#29

Post by emmapersky »

H-1B has no requirement that no US citizen can be found with the qualifications. This is a common misconception. In fact, H-1B is fairly trivial if you meet the criteria (degree or equivalent). This "no qualified US citizen" requirement is associated with EB-2 and EB-3 PERM applications, which is the first step to an employer sponsored green card process.

Also, It is not valid to start a business and pay yourself at least the prevailing wage in order to sponsor an H-1B. In fact, if you are in the ownership chain of a company you more or less can't have it apply for an H-1B on your behalf. There are other routes if you are making serious money though.

Re: What the startup visa should really look like

#30

Post by hasenj »

thinkisgood wrote: post #9
isalmon wrote: post #5

Here's my story. I had H-1b for more than 3 years. I know for sure that I was taking someone's job - there's no doubt about that. When I finally got my green card - I quit the next day to start my own company. Now I create jobs. So it took me 3 years until I could start creating jobs in the US. In my opinion US government should provide incentives for the foreigners to CREATE jobs, not TAKE them. Right now it's exact…

The US does offer a program like this, which the author referred to, and is the EB-5 program. It requires you to invest $1MM in the US and create 10 jobs ($500k and 10 jobs in economic development zones). You can go from a visa to a green card within 3-4 years after proving your investment and the creating of 10 jobs.

The problem here is the $1MM has to be your to begin with.

What if instead you can get people to invest that amount into your startup and then use that investment to create jobs?

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