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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.

#161

Post by _vn5r »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #156
thetrb wrote: post #140

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 ei…

Ouch. No degree disqualifies you? I guess some places don't take technical experience.

The french equivalent says that you can have the education or 5+ years experience

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

#162

Post by Symmetry »

kops wrote: post #158
HeyLaughingBoy wrote: post #144

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's exaggerating somewhat. Bear in mind that no one is forcing the employee to accept this. You can leave a job at any time, for any reason with absolutely no notice just as easily as the employer can get rid of you. If I'm hired to work 40 hours/week for $100k year with 3 weeks vacation, I am entitled to all of that. If the employer then decides that I should work 80 hours a week and he will cut my pay to $60k/year…

> Bear in mind that no one is forcing the employee to accept this. That doesn't quite absolve the employer e.g. if I am stuck in sahara desert and bump into a man starving for days. At this time if I offer him food in return for his soul, would you consider it a fair trade? Even though the poor guy has a choice to reject my offer?

So, trading away one's soul might be considered short sighted and there's a whole argument to be had with regards to the state preventing us from making short sighted decisions, so lets say that the desert rescuer was demanding the starving life savings or something.

It would certainly be a horrible person who would demand that much for saving a person's life. But if the only reason that this or other person was holding rescue patrols in the desert was that they were hoping to strike it rich exploiting lost souls, then as a society we either ought to allow this or use taxpayer money to fund our own rescue patrols.

And remember that as a laborer you're not in anything like this situation. There's a lot of charity out there and though this won't make your life pleasant it will make you far better off than starving in the Sahara. And there is more than one potential employer out there bidding for your labor. And you can see that the system works because very few jobs only pay the minimum wage. If we were somehow to get into a situation where there was only a single employer in the country than I'd say that at that point some sort of government intervention might be called for.

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

#163

Post by YZF »

sanskritabelt wrote: post #99
justinhj wrote: post #89

Earlier quoted context omitted.

At-will employment seemed like a terrible idea when I worked in the US, at least from the employees point of view. It's essentially enforced opt out of many protections you'd receive in other countries.

The only benefit to at-will employment for an employee is you're not tied into things like 'you must work here for 2 years / give 6 months notice', over/under of 15 years for those protections to start being weakened.

Typically these laws would be biased towards the employee. At-will employment pretends there's some sort of symmetry and/or market forces. Social labour laws are about protecting employees, not employers.

Forcing someone to work for two years at a certain place or give 6 months notice before they leave would be considered a violation of their human rights in most places. I'd be really surprised if Germany requires employees to give 6 months notice before leaving...

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

#164

Post by turar »

siddhant wrote: post #67
okeumeni wrote: post #32

This is controversial but it is my personal experience: As a non-white, living in Germany is hard; the level of bigotry and racism in my opinion makes the nuisance of the US visa system negligible. Most tech immigrants are non-whites so I think a debate over immigration should take into account the quality of life for the techies and their family. Sure the US still have a lot to do to improve its visa system, but the…

Where in Germany are you? I think this is the first time I've heard anyone say that there is racism in Germany.

Straight from the horse's mouth: "Merkel says German multicultural society has failed". http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-11559451

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

#165

Post by guido4000 »

arjunnarayan wrote: post #146
makmanalp wrote: post #114

Earlier quoted context omitted.

So what's the catch? What's worse about the Blue Card / why would you ever get the work permit?

I think the blue card is only for some restricted occupations (in tech, science, mathematics, etc.) and has a minimum salary requirement (of about 46k euros/year). Which shouldn't be a problem for the HN demographic.

For IT occupations the limit is even lower: € 36.192 per year.

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

#166

Post by parennoob »

lyricalpolymath wrote: post #119
parennoob wrote: post #5

As someone who is a non-US citizen going through the tortuous process of acquiring permanent residency in the US (estimated time: 8-10 years), I will advise any international people looking for their first job -- if you can get one in Berlin, Canada, or elsewhere, take it. The US immigration system is fraught with bureaucracy, and is structured such that employers have strong incentives to delay your application for…

What do you do while waiting for a permanent residency? do you have a visa sponsored by your employer or do you go out and back in every 3 months? (I'm a non-US looking to come to the US to launch a business)

Yep, your employer sponsors you using an H1-B. Not sure how this works out when you are the employer, but I think it depends upon level of investment or something.

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

#167

Post by toomuchtodo »

_vn5r wrote: post #161
toomuchtodo wrote: post #156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ouch. No degree disqualifies you? I guess some places don't take technical experience.

The french equivalent says that you can have the education or 5+ years experience

This is wonderful. Thank you.

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

#168

Post by toomuchtodo »

guido4000 wrote: post #165
arjunnarayan wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the blue card is only for some restricted occupations (in tech, science, mathematics, etc.) and has a minimum salary requirement (of about 46k euros/year). Which shouldn't be a problem for the HN demographic.

For IT occupations the limit is even lower: € 36.192 per year.

For workers under 29 years of age. 30 and above is something like € 52.000/year (at least for The Netherlands).

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

#169

Post by vellum »

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…

and (eventually) the estate tax

This depends on how much money you're leaving behind. The estate tax only kicks in above $5,250,000.

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

#170

Post by LetBinding »

brassybadger wrote: post #120
LetBinding wrote: post #74

What is the Big Data startup scene like in Berlin? I am about to graduate with a PhD in Machine Learning from a US university. I have talked to several Big Data startups in the valley but being a foreigner, the visa is a hurdle. But if this article is true, maybe I should look at the Berlin scene.

There are lots of startups in Berlin, and the tech scene is flourishing. However, I always feel that companies here are behind the state of the art. There might be exceptions, this is just my impression when I go to meetups, presentations, or talk to colleagues (they have worked for quite a few different companies here in Berlin). That being said, there are quite a few companies that are into the big data business. H…

That's nice to know. Do you work for a Berlin big data startup too?
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