StartUp Visa Act: Senators Kerry, Lugar Propose Legislation That Would Grant Visas To Entrepreneurs

The Economic Times:

It looks like the startup founder visa, a concept that has a lot of backing from the startup and venture community, might actually become a reality: Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar (a Democrat and a Republican, respectively) today introduced the Startup Visa Act, which reflects many of the ideas pushed by the movement's advocates.

Read the whole story: The Economic Times

Comments

[DXM]

06:41 PM on 02/25/2010

How about aiding entrepreneurs who are already in the country instead o bringing in even more? We have more than enough people with sufficient drive and ideas - they just need the resources.

[Peter007]

02:33 PM on 02/25/2010

Horrible idea. The immigration process for Visas is already a subjective and arbitrary process. In other words.... its not a fair process. This bill would reward wealthy individuals that want visas. Is this an attempt to get campaign donors into the US by offering them a legal bribe?

Horrible horrible.

[vippy]

02:02 PM on 02/25/2010

Have they completely lost their minds? Educate your own people so they can be enterpreneurs but college is out of reach for most people. This country does not care about education or its people otherwise education would be free, after all it is our future or don't we have one?

[condor101]

09:56 AM on 02/25/2010

Wow!
So, let's understand this correctly.
NAFTA passed over 15 years ago and the result was a decimation of our manufacturing and service industries. At the same time, the number of H1B and other work visas had increased, allowing millions of foreigners to enter and work in the U.S., thus assisting in stagnation of wages. Also, these same foreigners were able to apply for permanent residency and thus continue their employment throughout their lives in the U.S.

Now, going back to NAFTA, the over zealous importation of products into the U.S. has resulted in a loss of jobs here, but a substantial increase in manufacturing and service jobs in countries like China and India. So, through consumption, the American Consumer has assisted millions of citizens in China and India to become wealthy.

Fact: 10 years ago there were no billionaires in China; Now there are several.

With this law for an Entrepreneur Visa, the offspring of the wealthy in India and China are allowed to buy a U.S. Visa and live here for 5 years with an investment of $100,000. Of course, once they start living here, they will apply to change their status to permanent residency.

The demise of america is coming to full circle. The foreigners who exported their products to the U.S., their offspring will now come here to rule over our employment.
How wonderful....thank you Senators for your betrayal to Americans.
May you rot in hell.

[drymartini3]

10:08 PM on 02/25/2010

so our corporations created wealth for people all around the world. what could be wrong with that?

[Patriot86]

07:04 AM on 02/26/2010

They stole it from Americans and gave it to the rest of the world...rather then lifting all boats with a rising tide..they swamped the American boat.

[Sundialsvc4]

07:11 AM on 02/25/2010

Yes, I am quite sure that with 90 million Americans out of work in a nation of 308 million, our salvation lies in third-world countries chock full of "entrepreneurs."

But Senator, I am going to give you thirty pieces of silver, once a second. Just imagine how rich you shall be.

Oh yes, let you and every one of your colleagues in both Houses grow ever richer. But remember this: do NOT bring your wealth into the Temple!

... for it is Blood Money.

[themodernleader]

06:50 AM on 02/25/2010

This is simply another law to open the doors for foreign contol of of our democracy.

[Patriot86]

08:02 AM on 02/25/2010

Sneaky way to get H1B visas in...they will be entrepreneurs...call and stop this. I never liked Kerry..he is a tool.

[drymartini3]

09:59 PM on 02/25/2010

H1B people are smarter than your average joe dropping out of high school.

if you dont believe it check the dropout rates in this country !!

[hellboundtrain]

05:03 AM on 02/25/2010

Russian oligarchs and Nigerian kings invited here to set up corporations to peddle all new and improved financial products!

[masher]

02:35 AM on 02/25/2010

More corporate communism from the Democrats.

This looks like another version of H-1B regulations which has killed jobs and wages for Americans. Obama hates American workers. There is just no doubt.

[OneConservative]

12:09 AM on 02/25/2010

John "the Gold Digger" Kerry should retire. The guy has had a failed career and needs to call it a "failed career":

[plaidsportcoat]

10:55 PM on 02/24/2010

Golly! ANYTHING to avoid investing in our own children with meaningful MONEY. Entrepreneurs from other countries? You KNOW that 99 percent of them are from that top 1% of the World Richies.

[masher]

02:45 AM on 02/25/2010

Just like the Christmas day Nigerian guy. Just get a rich kid and you can get him/her into the US easily.

[Patriot86]

08:04 AM on 02/25/2010

This is so they don't have to give our kids college money...they will import people from more enlightened places like Europe.

[lightnessandjoy]

10:02 PM on 02/24/2010

Hey, makes perfect sense. These dim bulbs can't figure out how to put their own citizens back to work. They're just out-sourcing by in-sourcing. Besides, great new source of campaign contributions.

[ohiomark]

08:23 PM on 02/24/2010

With the second highest corporate tax rate in the world and the threat of even more taxes and mandatory health care cost to be imposed, why would anyone foreign entrereneurs in their right mind come here?

[Hdaryl01]

12:45 AM on 02/25/2010

Exactly. But, in theory, they want to attempt to stem the tide of such entrepreneurs leaving the U.S to return to their native countries. And, counteract the native born entrepreneurs leaving the U.S. for greener pastures in other countries. Reverse migration, and expatriation or very under reported stories. Plus, the H1Bs are gone within days on an annual basis. This new Visa allows Microsoft et al to import cheap tech labor by adding to H1B numbers, thus keeping these wages down for U.S. nationals, and also circumvent wage, withholding, and benefits laws as these "entrepreneurs" would be able to work as independent contractors as employees of their own companies....

[Patriot86]

08:06 AM on 02/25/2010

Total BS...completely wrong...it is giving jobs to those who are not Americans and should not have them...I am going to send money to Kerry's opponent...we need a primary for Sen. Kerry.

[Patriot86]

07:05 AM on 02/26/2010

Let them go....

[masher]

02:43 AM on 02/25/2010

Because China, the brutal communist dictatorship our government and both politcal parties love, is not a great place for workers to live. China is great for corporations but not workers. The US is becoming more and more like communist China but we are still better. Obama is working hard (following in Bush's steps) to make the US more like China.

[rad21]

08:05 PM on 02/24/2010

A win-win is for USA to remove restrictions on foreign physicians working in USA. These skilled individuals will fill current shortage of doctors; which increases with new healthcare insuring all. One physician employs four to five people - nurse-practitioners, PA, nurses, receptionists, transcribers, billing staff etc.

Imagine giving 100,000 visas to foreign physicians. That's half-a-million jobs. And 100,000 new home-owners needing cars, furniture, refrigerators, washing machines, computers etc. What could be a better stimulus to our economy? This stimulus would be achieved without a taxpayer dime.

Plus, high-income earners with mid-income employees contribute tax dollars to the treasury. These jobs are long-term, cannot be exported and provides needed services to Americans. These jobs would be distributed throughout the country in big cities, small towns and rural America. Properly designed, the jobs would be produced about six months after the government issues the work visas / green cards and physicians arrive in the USA.

It would be nice to have US trained-graduates. Yet that will take 10 years for them to enter into the medical field. That's too long wait-time for patients or job-seekers. Recent report claims American doctors are reluctant to serve long-hours in rural areas and inner cities.

[plaidsportcoat]

10:58 PM on 02/24/2010

Then- duh - it should take American doctors less time to get their degrees and cost them less money. And foreign doctors that are not citizens should be paid at their own country's rate, with the saved money going to pay for super expensive American training for the huge numbers of talented Americans who can't afford college. Foreign professionals who come here--the great majority of them are from the very upper classes of their OWN countries.

[drymartini3]

10:00 PM on 02/25/2010

why do people always bring up class. look at qualifications.

class envy is not good !!

[masher]

02:40 AM on 02/25/2010

If a third world nation spends what little money it has to educate a doctor and then we take that doctor away from a village where they are the only doctor between a baby a death and we move that Doctor to the US so he/she can do boob jobs....how is that a win-win?

Developing nations need their professionals. Giving them entry into the US hurts (and kills) people in their nation and it interferes in the labor market in this nation! It mostly helps US corporations who get workers whose education was subsidized by poor people in other nations. This really is the rich eating the poor.

[drymartini3]

10:02 PM on 02/25/2010

everyone needs the same opportunities, that includes the doctors over there.

Why do people come to the US do you think? for bill of rights. LOL.

people come to the

[NABNYC]

07:34 PM on 02/24/2010

Why are our Senators so worried about a bunch of rich foreigners who want to buy a visa for themselves, and bring their families over here to live? It's an absurd idea. We do not need our Senators trying to figure out ways to bring more people into the U.S. to take our jobs. If anything we should halt all immigration until unemployment is 3% or below. Are these Senators just so rich, so removed from reality that they don't understand how angry the public is about this long-term unemployment that is crushing so many people?

Besides, we already have an "entrepreneur" provision in our visa law. It sets aside 10,000 visas per year for anybody who has $1.0 million they are ready to use to start up a business in the U.S. and hire 10 American employees. $1.0 million just might be enough. $100,000 is ridiculous. They cannot start up a business and hire Americans for two years with that little amount of money. This sounds like they are just finding a way around the H1B Visa restrictions. But we don't want to bring more workers into our country. We need to find jobs for Americans first. Which side are you Senators on? Remember the people who elected you, the ones you are supposed to represent?

[drymartini3]

09:08 PM on 02/24/2010

because they are productive in comparison to the welfare queens producing kids at age 20 with no means to pay for it.

[lightnessandjoy]

10:03 PM on 02/24/2010

Oh, go fry an egg.

[masher]

02:35 AM on 02/25/2010

You are obviously not an engineer or programmer in the US.