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Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

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Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#131

Post by outworlder »

philiphodgen wrote: post #14
chimeracoder wrote: post #4

Visas deter US-based startups from hiring foreign talent, but on the flip side, US taxation laws deter US-based talent from leaving the country. I would love the idea of working for a startup in Berlin, but to make financially comparable, I'd have to be paid about 30% more[0] just to offset the cost of paying double taxes (both to the US, and to Germany). I'm ignoring factors like COLA, other expenses, etc., but for…

If you are a U.S. citizen working in Berlin and paying German income tax, you will not be double-taxed on the income. The USA will give you credit for the tax paid in Germany. See Form 1116. Others have mentioned the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. See Form 2555. You will, however, pay two metric shit-tonnes in professional fees getting your U.S. tax returns prepared because the international tax rules are so ridicu…

When you are done backspacing, take a look at international tax rules in Brazil, specially regarding the taxes you must pay if you are an employee working for a foreign company.

Oh wait, you won't find any, because you are not allowed to. The way to do it is to create a company, even if it just you. Then you'll be able to receive international transfers from foreign companies, provided you have signed a contract.

And, after that, we can start talking about taxes. Considering that brazilian companies spend, on average, 2600 hours per year dealing with (domestic!) taxes, as opposed to 325h on average in the US, well...

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#132

Post by oijaf888 »

mbesto wrote: post #64
philiphodgen wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you are a U.S. citizen working in Berlin and paying German income tax, you will not be double-taxed on the income. The USA will give you credit for the tax paid in Germany. See Form 1116. Others have mentioned the Foreign Earned Income Exclusion. See Form 2555. You will, however, pay two metric shit-tonnes in professional fees getting your U.S. tax returns prepared because the international tax rules are so ridicu…

> You will, however, pay two metric shit-tonnes in professional fees getting your U.S. tax returns prepared because the international tax rules are so ridiculous. Really? All I did in my tax returns was say "I made this much outside of the US and paid this much in taxes". As long as the percentage is higher than you would have paid in the US, than you owe nothing. In the case that you don't...well then you might want…

Did you make sure to file the FBAR report on all your foreign bank accounts and other financial accounts such as any mandatory retirement accounts? I believe the basic part of filing taxes (such as that) is pretty easy, the hard part is when you have to disclose every account that you may be considered to have control over and in some cases pay taxes on it. I think I saw somewhere else that you may have to pay US income tax on the gains in your German retirement account, even though its similar to social security and you have no access to it.

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#133

Post by potatolicious »

gsnedders wrote: post #77
Aloisius wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure I would change EU(ropean) way of life for 50+ work weeks, one week of vacation and no payed sick or parental leave, super expensive education and no universal health care. No paid sick leave? One week of vacation? Super expensive education (for kindergarten???)? Where in the US are you talking about? While we don't tend to have laws mandating sick leave, nearly every company that you'd immigrate for give…

> I've never worked anywhere that didn't offer at least two weeks of vacation. Anecdotal, and also, in most of Europe one is legally obliged to have at least four weeks. I'm pretty sure I'd just burn-out quite quickly only having two weeks a year, myself.

I'm on 3 weeks a year in the US and it feels entirely insufficient - 3 weeks is fairly standard for a senior role in a "good" company, btw.

I work far away from where my family lives, meaning the only time I really get to see them is over Christmas. Simply going back to visit them eats up 2 weeks out of my 3 weeks.

So each year I effectively only have one actual week for actual time off. It sucks. I am seriously considering negotiating for 5+ weeks at my next job, but this is basically unheard of in the USA.

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#134

Post by ajju »

One day I will write about the tragi-comedy that was my route to being able to start and run a startup as an immigrant.

Meanwhile, I want to highlight two things:

(1) My wife, who has a graduate degree from one of the best schools in the U.S. and has been living in the U.S. for a decade, is currently stuck in Canada indefinitely because on her 3rd visa stamping they decided that she may be a security risk and they need to investigate her because she took an information security class in grad school 8 years ago.

I am not exaggerating when I say indefinitely. They will literally not provide an expected timeline by which she will get an answer. She has met at least 3 individuals who have been stuck in this kind of limbo for over a year.

The cherry on the cake: this is the 2nd time this is happening to her. The first time, after 2 months, they decided she was o.k.

If you are going to use basic keyword filtering on an applicant's resume to flag them, at the very least you should learn from the false positives!

(2) For all the bad press that the H1B program gets, at least 50% of the people I know who got an H1B after going to grad school in the U.S. have actively tried to start a startup. Most gave up on it because of the high risk of being kicked out in the U.S. since there is no startup visa.

Would you start a startup if every time you left the country you risked not being let back in indefinitely? Most of my rational friends think I am crazy for taking that kind of risk.

Think about it - even anti-H1B advocates who think these H1Bs are stealing their jobs should be happy to let these guys get a visa to start a company so that they are not "stealing jobs"!

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#135

Post by potatolicious »

tokenadult wrote: post #62
pucallpa wrote: post #27

Earlier quoted context omitted.

this ^^^ I worked in canada for a year and was offered to stay, my permanent residency would have been granted after 6 months and citizenship in 2 years. After 5 years in the US, I'm on this situation, even after obtained a Software Engineering master degree in the US from CMU, my application is being dragged.

I worked in canada for a year and was offered to stay After 5 years in the US If I am reading this correctly, you came to the United States even though you had an opportunity to stay in Canada. What was the appeal of coming to the United States?

Software engineering salaries in Canada are half what you get from a top-flight US company (e.g., Google, Facebook, etc).

Cost of living isn't that cheap either. Vancouver is an enormously expensive city to live in, and Toronto while cheaper also suffers from low software wages.

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#136

Post by thetrb »

peterjmag wrote: post #56

I successfully applied for a work visa here in Berlin, and I was blown away by how quick the process was, especially in contrast to the stories I hear about the same process in the US. From submitting all the paperwork to getting word that my application was approved, it took a grand total of 7 days . I was expecting to wait at least a few weeks, but it seems that the new Blue Card legislation has really streamlined…

The link you posted is some inofficial site. Here's the official information: http://www.bamf.de/EN/DasBAMF/Aufgaben/BlaueKarte/blauekarte...

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#137

Post by mahyarm »

levosmetalo wrote: post #92
mahyarm wrote: post #85

One negative is if I want to immigrate and get citizenship, I would have to give up my original citizenship. It's too bad that the EU's start up hub is in a country without dual citizenship.

If your own country allows dual citizenship, you are not legally prohibited to get your original citizenship again after taking German. Germany doesn't explicitly prohibit their citizens to take another country citizenship, it just doesn't want to grant its own if you don't renounce all your old citizenships. IANAL, but know many people who did just that.

Unless your from the UK or EU which just lets you get it again relatively easily or the consequences very minor, many countries make you go through the green card song and dance all over again. It's a pain in today's international world.

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#138

Post by nerfhammer »

wheels wrote: post #71
tptacek wrote: post #29

German labor law has some features that might interact in interesting ways with startups. Germany lacks employment-at-will; it appears that disputed terminations can easily become lawsuits there (but German law also seems to have orderly mechanisms for resolving these disputes, which boil down to mandatory severance). German law has what appears to be a strict policy on hours worked per week and per day, and on worki…

On the at-will thing, in addition to it being easier if the company has demonstrable financial problems as someone else mentioned, one thing that makes it less of an issue is that usually when you start at a company in Germany you're given a fixed-term contract. It's only after your third contract (i.e. usually after two years) that you're required to get a permanent contract. In most cases if there's a real clash it…

> The working hours thing, for better or worse, is broadly ignored in software companies.

However, Germans at least take the idea of vacation time seriously

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#139

Post by potatolicious »

kellysutton wrote: post #7

Having built the first version of LayerVault in Berlin, it was remarkable to see how many expats were building companies there. It's also much more affordable than your more traditional hubs. I can't recommend Berlin enough, especially for building an MVP.

How is the language situation? I'm bilingual English/Chinese, and I've always been put off by thoughts of working in non-UK Europe.

I've heard a wide range of stories - some claim speaking English exclusively doesn't pose any major obstacles. Others claim that knowing only English makes your life pretty rough.

Re: Startups Like Berlin Because Visa Rules Are Nothing Like the U.S.

#140

Post by thetrb »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #129
peterjmag wrote: post #56

I successfully applied for a work visa here in Berlin, and I was blown away by how quick the process was, especially in contrast to the stories I hear about the same process in the US. From submitting all the paperwork to getting word that my application was approved, it took a grand total of 7 days . I was expecting to wait at least a few weeks, but it seems that the new Blue Card legislation has really streamlined…

Can you apply for the Blue Card prior to finding employment? Or must you find an employer first to sponsor you?

I don't think so. Here are the FAQ about the blue card: http://www.bamf.de/EN/Infothek/FragenAntworten/BlaueKarteEU/...

Quote: "What preconditions need to be met in order for an EU Blue Card to be issued? 1. Applicants must provide proof of a completed university degree. If the university degree was not awarded in Germany, it must either be recognised or comparable to a German university degree. 2. Applicants must either provide proof of a concrete employment offer or present an employment contract that has been signed or that already exists. 3. This offer or contract must be based on a minimum gross annual salary."

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