The author of the article, Vivek Wadhwa, is one of the most famous academic proponents of the H-1B visa. When I read the title, I initially thought the article would be about innovation and the startup climate in SV, but as I was progressing through, it confirmed my suspicions--it was another veiled opinion piece for increasing H-1B visa numbers. Maybe there is some value to his observations and arguments, but other readers should be aware what the ultimate goal is here...
I think you guys are missing the point. I know he normally is in favor of H1 but not this article.
He mentions two mains things in his post:
1. Give a path of Green Card to entrepreneurs.
2. Do not bound h1b employees to current jobs. Right now US is allowing quasi slavery by bounding workers to their jobs and making it really difficult to switch. If employers couldn't enslave h1 workers it wouldn't be economically viable for them and they are get lot less h1 workers.
I have worked at startups all of my career, built the biggest social network to come out of India, built another startup, sold it to Dropbox, currently head the innovation group at a Fortune 15. All I want to do is build startups. But on H1 I can't hold majority stake in my own company, and because of my previous experience I don't want to do a startup again on h1.
It will take me 20 years to get a Green Card on EB-2. I am trying for EB-1 but even with my background it will be difficult. If I don't get a Green Card by next year I will move out of US.
I am also discouraging any Entrepreneurs I know in India against a move to US.
> I am trying for EB-1 but even with my background it will be difficult.
If you have probed this possibility already, what is the evidence that speaks against you reaching EB-1A status? I assume making three out of the ten categories won't be problematic, but I myself am unclear about qualitative judgments in totality.
What I do know is, that the many EB-1 grantees from any YC batch were decimated to 50% sometime around 2014.
thanks @alex_hirner. I have applied for EB-1 EA. Doing whatever I can to get it and will find out the result next year.
However I have significant resources at my disposal right now, which many other entrepreneurs wouldn't have - supporting the point raised by Vivek Wadhwa. If I had a Green Card, I wouldn't have sold to Dropbox and would be doing running a startup right now :)
Didn't quite understand your last line. Did it mean that 50% of YC batch applicants for EB-1 got it?
An E-2 investor visa could also do the trick in case of affluent resources. I wouldn't know about limits on the controlling stake though.
> Did it mean that 50% of YC batch applicants for EB-1 got it?
That was unclear of me. Actually, the ratio of granted vs. rejected applications dropped by around 50% (from a discussion in Feb this year). Thus, I don't know how many applied for in total in a typical cohort.
Oh I remember the questionable articles Vivek Wadhwa used to post on Techcrunch from a few yrs back about immigration, H1B, and startups that used to get derided on HN for lack of quality. Lots of opinion and hype, with very little data to back it up. Just look at this sweeping statement:
> The world’s entrepreneurs used to dream of coming to Silicon Valley because it was the innovation capital of the world and there were few opportunities elsewhere. This is no longer the case, as I learned during my recent trip to New Delhi. There are start-up incubators sprouting up all over India, and the quality of the start-ups is second only to those in Silicon Valley and China, which are running head to head.
You could argue that China is possibly #2 but how is India any where near #3? What has come out of India in the last decade besides the export of some good talent?
That's because most Israeli startups are targeted to US market because of lack of local market. Many get acquired when either they are threat to a US Industry Major or if they have saturated the market. Some get acquired for talent (Engineers from Israel are awesome) and it is easier to move Israelis to US vs trying to move Indians (Green Card waiting line for Indians is 20 years while it is instantaneous for Israelis - smart people don't want to become slaves).
One other thing most people don't realise is that life on an H1 is shit. You have to do a shitload of paperwork. You have to answer stupid questions when entering US. You have to answer stupid questions at Consulate when getting Visa. There is a lot of paperwork and uncertainty when you are changing job. No one should be stuck on h1 for 20 years. I did my 6 and am looking to get out next year if I don't get a Green Card by then.
With Indian companies, most are operating in Indian Market, are nowhere close to saturating Indian Market. I expect quite a few of them to be worth 10B or more.
Oh, it's Wadhwa. I read the article and didn't even notice.
Wadhwa isn't a real academic. He doesn't have a doctorate. His academic appointments are "entrepreneur in residence" or some other vague affiliation like that. He's mostly a pundit, writing for the Washington Post and the WSJ.
