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The Founder Visa (again)

blog.samaltman.com

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Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#191

Post by namenotrequired »

ahomescu1 wrote: post #128
teacup50 wrote: post #121

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's right there in the article. He's requesting that the government grant to YC: 1) An allotment of visas. 2) Control over the allocation of those visas ... possibly to be extended to other venture capital firms (nobody else, of course, and certainly nobody self-funding a company with capital equivalent to that which YC provides). He's happy for YC to be the only beta tester for now, though.

How does this give special privileges to the recipients of those visas?

No, they're saying it gives special privilege to YC.

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#192

Post by thatthatis »

midas007 wrote: post #187
cwilson wrote: post #150

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Incredibly arrogant? Really? Sorry, but you're definitely mis-reading that one and you've clearly never met Sam.

Yeah, I was "0.0 Wtf?" Seems very undeserved and comes off as mean.

I was trying to be constructive, but I can definitely see how it could come off as mean

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#193

Post by lhc- »

kamaal wrote: post #146
ryandrake wrote: post #71

A little tongue-in-cheek, but to co-opt some general immigration/visa catch phrases: 1. Why do we need to bring in immigrants to found companies? Do we have a shortage of Americans already here who also want to start companies? 2. Or, is Start-up Founder one of those jobs, like picking cabbage, that Americans "just won't do"? 3. Or, is it that American founders are demanding too much compensation?

I haven't ever visited US. So I can't give a answer from your perspective. >>1. Why do we need to bring in immigrants to found companies? Do we have a shortage of Americans already here who also want to start companies? This is the equivalent of asking why large companies acquire start ups and don't in house innovate their way out to compete in the market. The answer is, the existing inertia is difficult to change in…

Just to play devil's advocate, I'm not sure your answer to number 2 is relevant. Sure, the US probably has the best ecosystem for starting a country, but why would that lead to the idea that the US should let anyone who wants come here to use it? Norway has a great health care system, but that doesn't mean that they should allow anyone to emigrate there who is looking for good medical coverage.

Also, for number 1, I dont think thats a fair comparison. If anything, the recent startup culture in the US has proved that theres an enormous ability here for citizens to start their own companies and fight against large, slow moving corporations. Additionally, there is no shortage of US citizens trying to start companies, who are well aware of the advantages. It seems like your plea is more from the idea of "its not fair that the US is the best place for this, so they should allow everyone to try it", which just is not how US immigration policy works.

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#194

Post by midas007 »

thatthatis wrote: post #192
midas007 wrote: post #187

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, I was "0.0 Wtf?" Seems very undeserved and comes off as mean.

I was trying to be constructive, but I can definitely see how it could come off as mean

Cool. What we write here has an impact on someone on the other end. 'sama is mostly human too, despite magically colored collared polos.

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#195

Post by rdl »

ntoshev wrote: post #170
rdl wrote: post #109

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I suspect davemcclure/500 Startups would be totally on board with this; they're almost MORE international focused than YC is.

Almost more international == just a little less international

I meant almost in the sense of "possibly", as in YC is international in the range of 0.2-0.4 and 500 is in the range 0.25 - 0.45 or something. And that YC still has a greater number/quality of international startups, even if 500 has a greater percentage, partially because YC has been around longer and has had a few big successes (Team Ireland at Stripe is worth more than all of 500 combined, and possibly more than TechStars, although Digital Ocean might test that).

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#196

Post by klipt »

boomzilla wrote: post #132
kenneth wrote: post #87

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The EB visas are basically identical to the O visas, except for two differences: 1) the requirements are slightly more stringent, and 2) they are considered immigrant visas, as opposed to non-immigrant. ie., they are green cards. That said, I agree with you that the O1 was not a perfect fit for my situation, though I did end up receiving it, while being denied the EB-1. But I would challenge you to name another visa…

Don't go for EB-1, go for EB-2. It's a lot easier in terms of the documented requirements. Also, unless you are from China/India/Philippines there is no difference in wait time between the two.

> Also, unless you are from China/India/Philippines there is no difference in wait time between the two.

Not really, EB2 generally requires a labor certification which takes about an additional year to process. You're right this is better than the multi-year wait Indians and Chinese face though.

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#197

Post by stickydink »

levosmetalo wrote: post #177
stickydink wrote: post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Are you sure about that? I got my H1B in 2012, it was almost completely painless. I was straight out of university, we applied in October '11, and I received my visa in January. It's fairly straightforward to move to a new employer on a H1B, it just has to be the same level of job. You can start working for your new employer on the date you file, and it takes 4-8 weeks to complete. I'm now close to an EB2 GC which, w…

Yes, the exact thing you described here as an easy ride is what I would call brokeness. You say you'll get your GC in 18 months, I wish you good luck on that, but that's completely arbitrary time frame. You can't know in advance how long does it take to get permanent residence. Almost everywhere in Europe you have a clearly defined timeframe. Then, your wife can't work there, not sure even if you have tax deductions…

(Sorry, I just checked this for a response).

I completely agree about the spousal issue, I mentioned it above. I do think it's ridiculous.

But the rest; I'm not sure if you've been through the system yourself, or you have Googled a lot of it. If you search for information relating to GC application lengths, it varies wildly, and the details are sketchy.

Fact is, you can readily find the current "priority dates" from UCSIS. It's updated every month and broken down by your preference category, country, and visa type. You can make a pretty accurate assumption from seeing how the quickly the dates move along, combined with the advice of your immigration lawyer, as to how long it will be until your application

You can track the DOL applications in (almost) real time. Right now I can see exactly which cases the DOL processed yesterday; the company, the state, the job position, and when the case was opened. There are several aggregation sites, this[1] being my personal favorite. Again, you can make a reasonable estimate of time from this.

The "you will be deported if you lose your job" argument, is one you find all over the internet. I've read people reporting that it is even "you must leave within 24 hours". It simply isn't true. You must apply for a change of status as quickly as possible (this isn't too difficult), to switch to a different visa (B1 or B2, and the appropriate visa for your spouse). These will allow you to stay in the country for several months.

Then, you have until your I-94 date (on a H-1B this is normally the date your visa expires) to find another employer who will sponsor you for a H-1B transfer. This transfer is exactly the same as a transfer from a current employer; you can begin work immediately, and the cap does not apply.

It's these sorts of tales that make me thankful that I have a very good, honest immigration professional. If I lost my job, then just Googled what I should do next, I would have a heart attack.

[1] http://dolstats.com/

Re: The Founder Visa (again)

#198

Post by simonk »

danielharan wrote: post #46
simonk wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What visa's did we get rid of in Canada?

FP says the "entrepreneur visa", IIRC it required putting up your own money: http://business.financialpost.com/2013/01/24/startup-visa-pr...

Yeah, but did you read what people were doing with it. You can hire someone to buy a corner store/franchise and "run" it for a year and then just sell it to someone else coming it. I bet it brought very few jobs to the country.
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