Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule • Hacker News Board

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#181

Post by zabana » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:01 AM UTC

I'm surprised no other country has decided to go ahead and create an equally as open and safe environment for entrepreneurs to start companies. My understanding (which, I'll admit, is only based on my own observations) is that the vast majority of people outside the western sphere still regard the US through what's projected in hollywood movies and aren't really in touch with the reality of what life is in modern america (I'm a EU citizen myself but have quite a few US based/American friends).

Essentially, the way I see it is : The US still has an edge in technology and are able to attract top talent from overseas because they still benefit from cultural hegemony and their image worldwide. What happens when the dream evaporates is still a mystery to me. For example, how will the situation evolve once chinese / russian / indian universities catch up with institutions like stanford / MIT etc and enough investors from these countries decide to pour money into local startups ?

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#182

Post by nopinsight » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:02 AM UTC

A practical question:

How easy or challenging is it to stay in Toronto or Vancouver and run a US-registered startup there, if you need to collaborate with others in either SF Bay area or Boston/NYC? (In-person meetings might not need to be frequent; geting together once a month could be sufficient.)

I am an entrepreneur from Asia working to build a fundamental technology and was planning to set up a company and live in the Bay area. After studying diligently about various options, Canada could in fact be a better place to settle in with a proper startup visa and much fewer hoops to jump through, however the attraction of US tech ecosystem is powerful.

(Note: I earned a Masters degree with a thesis on AI/ML from a major US research university and have traveled to, attended conferences, and lived in the Bay area for several months per year over the last three years.)

The major reasons for SF Bay area dominance include:

1) access to top people, many if not most were/are foreign students, who attend UC Berkeley and Stanford,

2) ecosystems of global tech talents recruited by major tech powerhouses like Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.,

3) deep expertise and risk-taking attitude of Bay area VCs and angel investors, and

4) ease of access to vast US consumer and enterprise markets.

For 3) would major VCs or angel investors invest in a startup with offices about 1.5 to 2.5 hours away by plane? (The founders would need to travel to see them sometimes; but do they require in-person supervision/updates more than say once a month?)

For 4) I assume if the company is US-registered, it shouldn't have a problem in principle, is that true?

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#183

Post by cat199 » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:16 AM UTC

Warvick wrote: post #23

marcell wrote: post #15

From the article: "To qualify for the rule, entrepreneurs would have to meet high standards. A foreigner must demonstrate that he or she will contribute to economic growth or job creation and show that a reputable investor has put at least $250,000 into the company. Under this rule, they can stay in the U.S. for 30 months, with the possibility of a 30-month extension. They cannot apply for a green card during this pe…

I only wondered why US will not open up to the countries, that are known for being safe, with well educated and easy to integrate citizens. US is opening its borders to rich countries instead of opening to safe bets to grab some tech talent. There are numerous countries that fit this profile. The majority of Central/Eastern Europe, few Asian and South American countries, even with Africa having some. Instead, they ex…

If there are no walls, how else can we create leverage in preferential trade deals of geostrategic importance?

Sheesh! Next thing you know you'll be asking to price petroleum in something other than USD or something!

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#184

Post by ojbyrne » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:17 AM UTC

marcell wrote: post #15

From the article: "To qualify for the rule, entrepreneurs would have to meet high standards. A foreigner must demonstrate that he or she will contribute to economic growth or job creation and show that a reputable investor has put at least $250,000 into the company. Under this rule, they can stay in the U.S. for 30 months, with the possibility of a 30-month extension. They cannot apply for a green card during this pe…

I am going to guess that there is some way to transition to an immigrant visa like an O-1 or H-1B. There are many Canadians in the US on a non-immigrant visa (TN1) then switching to an immigrant visa later on. This was my path to a green card.

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#185

Post by bruceb » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:21 AM UTC

ceejayoz wrote: post #161

mhh__ wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

No, they really are shite: https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/trump-approval-ratings/... The only special election they should be disappointed about is georgia 6th. Many of the rest have been fairly encouraging, given that they have been competitive in red districts.

GA-06 hasn't had a Democratic rep in almost forty years. I'd be more disappointed about SC-05, where it was a close finish with little resources dedicated. If some of the GA-06 millions had been spent there, it might've been a win. I wouldn't be at all disappointed with the fact that both districts went Trump by 20 points, and were quite close less than a year later.

GA 6 was not won by 20 points by Trump. He won it by just over 1. https://fivethirtyeight.com/features/everything-you-need-to-...

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#186

Post by xxSparkleSxx » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:28 AM UTC

lazaroclapp wrote: post #77

xxSparkleSxx wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Damn. We might actually have to start investing equally in US children of all socioeconomic classes to ensure we have enough entrepreneurs and bright minds to compete in the global economy. EDIT: WOW, didn't think such an obvious comment would be so controversial (points are swinging up and down cyclically). Do ya'll think we are extremely efficient at turning potential into value from all of our current citizens? Do…

The U.S. should be doing their very best to have the strongest possible education system for all its citizens (and non-citizens living in the country long term). As should any reasonable country. But the fact remains that, unless you are counting with excellent execution in that regard from the U.S. and abysmal negligence from the rest of the world, you simply can't extract the same talent from a population of 400 mi…

Are we really extracting from a talent pool of 7 billion?

The problems we have in America are the same if not much worse in most of the world (except for Europe, I imagine). What % of children in China and India do not have access to decent education or opportunities? I think it's pretty high.

My thought process was inspired by the recent article on the estimated 5 million geniuses in India, most of which will go on to lead lives in poverty.

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#187

Post by rayiner » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:34 AM UTC

atomi wrote: post #97

muninn_ wrote: post #41

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I'm 100% in favor of increasing all immigration to the USA Why? What's wrong with the current level?

China is of comparable size to the US and has a population of nearly 1.4 billion people. We need the best here if we plan on staying a global superpower. It's incredible what is happening. It's like watching a slow moving train wreck and there is nothing we can do to stop it. :/

If I'm looking around the world, is China what I want the US to be more like? It seems like the happiest countries are much smaller places like Sweden and Denmark.

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#188

Post by sumedh » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:35 AM UTC

ktta wrote: post #144

ryanmarsh wrote: post #141

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes we want capital and brains to flow in but your comment isn't fair. The US has a history of settling refugees here. We also have a purposefully porous southern border and have normalized illegal immigrants.

The current government seems to vehemently oppose the idea of normalizing illegal immigrants.

Why is that a bad thing?

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#189

Post by rayiner » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:35 AM UTC

cakedoggie wrote: post #148

UncleMeat wrote: post #122

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The quotas are insane. It artificially hurts people from populous countries, making it basically impossible to immigrate to the US from india even if you are highly educated without H1B, which is itself a random system.

This is bad for those people, but not necessarily bad for the US. India and China really need to get a handle on their burgeoning population.

China has, through quite brutal means. It's population will decline over the next 50 years.

Re: Trump administration has plan to scrap ‘startup visa’ rule

#190

Post by nopinsight » Thu, Jun 22, 2017, 2:42 AM UTC

xxSparkleSxx wrote: post #186

lazaroclapp wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The U.S. should be doing their very best to have the strongest possible education system for all its citizens (and non-citizens living in the country long term). As should any reasonable country. But the fact remains that, unless you are counting with excellent execution in that regard from the U.S. and abysmal negligence from the rest of the world, you simply can't extract the same talent from a population of 400 mi…

Are we really extracting from a talent pool of 7 billion? The problems we have in America are the same if not much worse in most of the world (except for Europe, I imagine). What % of children in China and India do not have access to decent education or opportunities? I think it's pretty high. My thought process was inspired by the recent article on the estimated 5 million geniuses in India, most of which will go on…

Immigrants do not just bring their intellect. The imaginative capacity, courage, and tenacity required to move across countries and often continents are very helpful for developing new ventures and technologies.

The 5 million number is vastly exaggerated if you go for a real meaning of the word 'genius'. For example, Einstein's IQ is reportedly 160 and assuming normal distribution that is about 1 in 32,000. Even if everyone in India receives the same opportunities as Einstein did from their childhood, the number would be 1.34 billion/32,000 = 42,000.

Not to mention that IQ alone is far from adequate. Imagination, persistence, and courage are required for intellectual distinction. That's why there are so few accomplished geniuses in the world.