Techdirt. Stories filed under "visas" Easily digestible tech news... http://www.techdirt.com/ en-us Techdirt. Stories filed under "visas"http://www.techdirt.com/images/td-88x31.gifhttp://www.techdirt.com/ Wed, 15 Jun 2011 07:24:00 PDT Lofgren Introducing Bill To Revamp Immigration For Entrepreneurs & Skilled Workers Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110614/12320114689/lofgren-introducing-bill-to-revamp-immigration-entrepreneurs-skilled-workers.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20110614/12320114689/lofgren-introducing-bill-to-revamp-immigration-entrepreneurs-skilled-workers.shtml and recognize that immigration is not a zero sum game (i.e., a foreign worker doesn't necessarily mean one fewer job for an American worker), then you can start to look at creating a better program for skilled workers.

It looks like Rep. Zoe Lofgren is trying to do exactly that, with a new bill (which again, has a terrible acronym): the Immigration Driving Entrepreneurship in America... or IDEA Act. On the face of it, the bill seems to hit on a few key points that we've discussed in the past. It focuses on getting immigrants with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) green cards, and making it easier for students in those areas to get visas. This has been a huge issue, where top notch students and skilled workers were often forced to go back home, rather than create jobs and growth in the US.

Also, embedded in all of this appears to be a version of the startup visa, that we've discussed for many years. I still have significant concerns about the specific implementation of a startup visa, and the fact that it still relies on venture capitalists as the gatekeeper. That is, a foreign entrepreneur needs to secure money from a venture capitalist to get the visa. I think this relies way too heavily on the venture capital system, which (contrary to what some VCs believe) is not necessary to build a successful startup. It also could put the entrepreneurs in a tricky position where they need a venture capitalist's support not for monetary reasons, but for immigration reasons, and that opens up the system for abuse. However, the overall concept of granting visas to entrepreneurs is good, and hopefully the specific details will help get around these concerns within the bill.

Importantly, the bill also does not pretend that the current H-1b and L-visa programs are free from abuse. Instead, it tries to reform both of those programs to stop the widespread abuse, wherein those visas too often are used as a way to sneak in cheap labor, rather than for their actual intended purposes of keeping significantly skilled labor here.

Finally, the program appears to try to use the money from these new visas to invest in scholarship programs in those important STEM areas, which seems like a good way to invest back into education for future workers.

There are some devils in the details, but it's nice to see a comprehensive attempt to take on a few of these issues that really are impacting US innovation and economic growth.

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]]> sounds-good-on-paper http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20110614/12320114689 Wed, 15 Dec 2010 08:38:37 PST US Response To Massive Decline In Foreign Travelers: Keep Crazy Policies, But Set Up Ad Campaign Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101215/00104712279/us-response-to-massive-decline-foreign-travelers-keep-crazy-policies-set-up-ad-campaign.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20101215/00104712279/us-response-to-massive-decline-foreign-travelers-keep-crazy-policies-set-up-ad-campaign.shtml more effective, but less insulting security procedures? Do you start looking at why those foreign tourists are staying away in droves? The answer appears to be no, no and no.

Instead, you set up a "public/private partnership" to launch an expensive ad campaign and you fund part of it by charging those very tourists to enter the country.

Yes, the US government and the travel industry have teamed up to launch the new "Corporation for Travel Promotion," (CTP) which will seek to run a huge advertising campaign to foreigners, trying to convince them that once you get past the unfriendly gropers at our borders, the US really is quite nice. The US Travel Association, which is a part of this effort, does say that it would be a good idea to use the CTP to convince the government (which, um, we thought was a part of the CTP) to create a "more efficient and friendly entrance procedure," but notes that work will be "challenging." So, for now, it sounds like the main focus will be on advertising how cool the Golden Gate Bridge looks, if you can actually get into the country.

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]]> uh,-yeah http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20101215/00104712279 Tue, 23 Mar 2010 22:30:00 PDT How Can The Startup Visa Be Improved Upon? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100323/1846078684.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20100323/1846078684.shtml big supporter. When Brad Feld took the idea and got political support for it, I was still a big supporter. But when the bill was actually introduced, I expressed some serious worries about it -- specifically over the fact that it was entirely focused on enterpreneurs who could raise a certain amount of money. As I noted, there were some potentially serious unintended consequences of requiring enterpreneurs to raise a specific amount of money just to stay in the country. The leverage between enterpreneurs and VCs can be a delicate enough balance without adding in the fact that you might get deported if you don't take the deal being handed to you.

While many of the people I know and respect in the industry have been vocal champions of the current bill, it was good to see at least someone make a big deal of these serious deficiencies in the bill. Pascal-Emmanuel Gobry wrote up a post for Business Insider that basically reflects this same viewpoint. We both think that a startup/entrepreneur visa makes a ton of sense, and it's something the country needs, but we're a bit worried by the current bill, which seems entirely focused on venture capital, rather than actual entrepreneurship.

Some have responded and suggested that this is better than nothing, but I'm not entirely convinced of that. A bad bill with unintended consequences could create more harm than good and could derail future attempts to put forth more serious (and needed) reform.

In the end, I think (former VC) Jeff Nolan put it best: this is a "well-intentioned bad idea that shouldn't be stopped." The real thing is that it should be fixed. Now, some of the bill's supporters have suggested that the problems with this bill are necessary, in that it's the only way they'll get passed, but that seems like a defeatist attitude. We have an opportunity to actually get this right and to bring smart entrepreneurs who can create a lot of jobs and tremendous value to the US. We shouldn't rush it through in the easiest manner possible: we should focus on getting it right, even if it takes more effort.

Update: It looks like the folks at the Kaufman Foundation have had similar concerns as well, supporting the concept, but worried about tying it to funding. They suggest an alternative, focused on job creation:
Here's a way to improve on the Kerry-Lugar plan. Create a true "job creator's visa," one tied directly and only to job creation by new immigrant entrepreneurs. The visa could be a temporary one for immigrants already here on another visa who establish a business. It could then be extended if the firm hires at least one American non-family resident. The visa should become permanent once the enterprise crosses a certain job threshold (such as five or 10 workers). But it would not be tied to financing.

There are plenty of immigrants who might qualify: the one million skilled foreign workers now here on H1-B visas who otherwise must go home after six years, as well as the roughly 60,000 foreign students who earn degrees at American universities each year. These are far larger numbers than those who could qualify under the Kerry-Lugar proposal.


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]]> fixing-it-bit-by-bit http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20100323/1846078684 Tue, 1 Dec 2009 16:52:00 PST US Visa Process Making It Even More Difficult For Foreign Musicians To Tour Here Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091201/0010067143.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20091201/0010067143.shtml making life difficult for touring musicians by changing the way they enforced the visas commonly used by musicians. Specifically, the usual visa required proof of popularity -- but had no systems in place to account for popularity via the internet. This resulted in various well known musicians (including, by the way, our friend Lily Allen) being barred from making expected appearances in the US. It appears this sort of thing is happening again. The law still hasn't changed, but US Immigration has again increased the strictness in how it interprets the existing laws for foreign musicians, leading some top acts to be barred from entering the country -- or just increasing the bureaucracy they need to go through. For many foreign acts, touring the US is quite important in attracting more attention.

The article discusses how this is harming some acts that have built a lot of buzz or won awards... but then have had trouble capitalizing on that with a US tour. It's kind of amusing that just as we hear from politicians talking about the importance of helping musicians with more and more draconian copyright laws, they're making it that much more difficult for them to tour, build their reputation and earn a living. The next time an American politician discusses the need for more draconian copyright laws to help musicians, perhaps a reporter can ask them about this particular issue as well.

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]]> that-can't-be-good http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20091201/0010067143 Mon, 13 Apr 2009 10:30:35 PDT Time For A Startup Founder Visa Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090413/0156184477.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20090413/0156184477.shtml create more jobs rather than "take them away." For some reason, too many folks incorrectly think that jobs are a zero-sum game, and if a foreigner takes a job, it means one fewer job for Americans. That's wrong in so many ways that it's difficult to take seriously anyone who makes such a claim. That said, it would be interesting to see what even those opposed to expansions of existing skilled worker immigration plans think about Paul Graham's new suggestion of a special startup founder visa, that would allow 10,000 immigrants into the country, but only if they're starting their own company. Thus, they wouldn't be "taking" anyone else's job, since the job they'd be creating wouldn't exist otherwise -- they'd be creating it from scratch. Such a visa would encourage more entrepreneurial activity, and create more startups that should (in all likelihood) end up creating a lot of new jobs as well -- including a few that might go to those people whining about foreigners "stealing" their jobs...

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]]> let-'em-in! http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20090413/0156184477 Thu, 24 Apr 2008 02:45:13 PDT Would A Skill Ranking, Rather Than A Lottery, Solve The H-1B Visa Problem? Mike Masnick http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080422/013643912.shtml http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20080422/013643912.shtml outstripping the Congressionally mandated supply, the "winners" will be chosen by a random lottery that is supposed to be "fair." But, as some are pointing out, that doesn't really make sense for H-1Bs. The whole program was designed to bring in the most skilled workers and get them to work for American companies, contributing to our economy. So, why not create a system that lets them in based on skill level? That's the question asked by a rather balanced Business Week piece, which also notes that recent research has shown "skilled immigrants boost the economy and create jobs."

While ranking people based on skill certainly is better than a pure random lottery, it still has its problems. Figuring out who's higher skilled is tricky -- and the suggestions on the table will favor large companies over small and may give too much weight to mediocre candidates who graduate from top schools over top candidates who graduate from mediocre schools. In the end, as even the author notes, the real issue shouldn't be focused on the details of the H-1B program, but on figuring out ways to get more skilled immigrants into the US, helping to build out the economy and create more jobs. That certainly could involve overhauling the H-1B program -- which clearly has far too many abuses -- but it shouldn't involve keeping foreign skilled workers out of the country. That's a recipe for disaster, that will shrink the job market, by having some of the best workers competing against American firms, rather than working for American firms.

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]]> only-a-little-bit http://www.techdirt.com/comment_rss.php?sid=20080422/013643912