Need for immigration overhaul.
The flaws of the H-1B visa system can be seen in the case of Eren Bali and Oktay Cağlar, the Turkish-origin founders of Udemy, an online education platform.
After trying and failing to get Udemy off the ground in Turkey, Bali and Cağlar headed to the United States in 2009. Both knew that in the U.S., specifically Silicon Valley, they could gain the support and traction that Udemy needed. Yet Udemy was not enough to gain them entry into the country: The United States does not have a visa specifically for entrepreneurs eager to launch businesses, reported TechCrunch.
Instead, Bali and Cağlar applied for jobs with tech firms that sponsored them for H-1B visas. Both worked at SpeedDate, an online dating platform, during the day, while working on Udemy after hours. Yet it was when Bali and Cağlar were ready to leave SpeedDate, having raised funds to formally make a go of Udemy in 2010, that they got stuck. Leaving SpeedDate meant giving up their respective H-1B visa status. Bali and Cağlar applied for an H-1B through Udemy. Bali’s was accepted; Cağlar’s was rejected. Bali could stay in the U.S. Cağlar had no choice but to return to Turkey until a new H-1B was approved, reported TechCrunch.
Still Bali and Cağlar made it work. To date, Udemy has raised $173 million and employs around 250 people. Its platform is used worldwide and poised for further growth.
Immigrants have played an important role in boosting America’s economy. They have founded iconic companies such as Proctor & Gamble, Kraft, AT&T and, more recently, eBay, Facebook, Google and SpaceX. More than one-third of 2015’s Fortune 500 companies are connected to an immigrant entrepreneur. Twenty-five percent of the U.S.-based startups valued at a billion dollars or more, popularly referred to as “unicorns,” have an immigrant behind them. Together, these companies are worth $70.9 billion.
“It is time to re-evaluate the U.S. immigration system — to create more opportunities for entrepreneurs abroad to come to America for the specific purpose of starting a business. Specifically, Congress needs to pass a permanent visa for immigrant entrepreneurs,” noted TechCrunch.
On August 26, President Obama made good on a long-awaited promise: The White House announced plans for a new International Entrepreneur Rule that would allow some immigrant entrepreneurs to work legally in the United States for up to five years. Originally promised in his executive actions on immigration from November 2014, the proposed rule marks an important step forward in maximizing the economic potential of immigrant entrepreneurs in the United States.
However, the rule has limitations — chiefly, it could be changed or revoked under a new White House administration in 2017. It falls to Congress to build permanent channels — visas — for immigrant entrepreneurs after failing to do so for years, noted the report.
6 Comments
enough with the “immigrants have founded” BS. we’re not talking aout immigrants, here. we’re talking about guest workers. and for the record:
.
Vinod Dham:- Father of the Pentium – came to the US LONG before there was such a thing as an h1b. he was part of a team. lie revealed.
Elon musk:- Founder of Tesla – Canadian born in south Africa. became a US citizen LONG before the h1b. lie revealed.
.
Jerry Yang – Co-founder, Yahoo! – Yang was born in Taipei, Taiwan on November 6, 1968, and moved to San Jose, California at the age of ten with his mother and younger brother. lie revealed.
.
Vinod Khosla – Co-founders, Sun Microsystems – graduated from a US university in 1980. LONG before the h1b. lie revealed.
.
Andrew Grove – Co-founder, Intel – refugee who arrived in America in 1957. LONG before the h1b. lie revealed.
Sergey Brin -Co-founder, Google – .Brin immigrated to the United States with his family from the Soviet Union at the age of 6. lie revealed.
.
there are almost one MILLION active h1bs in the US right now. you can’t find ONE example?
“we’re not talking aout immigrants, here. we’re talking about guest workers.”
H-1B is one of the few visa categories recognized as dual intent, meaning an H-1B holder can have legal immigration intent to apply for and obtain the U.S. Green Card, while still being a holder of the H-1B visa. So no we are not just talking about guest workers here. I am not even going to go in to your silly little rant about how H1B visa holders haven’t done anything, when the CEOs of top tech companies in the US were once H-1B visa beneficiaries.
BS. look it up, and h1bs contribute nothing. they steal, wog.
BS. look it up, and h1bs contribute nothing. they steal, wog.
BS. look it up, and h1bs contribute nothing. they steal, wog.
Agree with you. I can pick and choose an example of anything and on its own it looks good. Want to hear some of the “Good Nazi” stories out there? Should we bring back Nazis because of these wonderful examples? Hell no!
H1B is killing America’s STEM future, including our education of STEM. We need to eliminate the corporate greed program and let the green card system work.