The Start-Up Visa Buzz
While comprehensive immigration reform currently seems a distant dream, there is some support in Congress for a new immigrant visa for entrepreneurs. Called the Start-Up Visa, this new category of immigrant visa would require a $250,000 investment in a start-up venture. At least $100,000 of that capital would need to come from a U.S. investor. An entrepreneur would receive a conditional green card for two years, and at the end of those years, he or she would need to show that the start-up venture created at least 5 jobs for U.S. workers.
Modeled on the EB-5 program, which currently requires a $1,000,000 investment in most cases and the creation of 10 jobs, the Start-Up Visa is a brilliant idea which recognizes that scrappy entrepreneurs (not just those investors who have $1,000,000 in cash to plunk down) create the companies that are an engine of huge growth in our economy. The idea has generated a lobbying effort by Silicon Valley, and appears to have some key Congressional support. To learn more, visit www.startupvisa.com . Let’s hope the xenophobes in Congress don’t kill this one.
Tags: entrepreneurs, start-up visa
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