Draper University recently invited me to speak to participants of its Silicon Valley entrepreneurship program. In addition to covering the main pathways for international entrepreneurs to move to the U.S. to grow their startups, I focused on the journeys of three immigrant founders. Their stories all show how employing a bit of creativity produces successful…
We get that question frequently from both individuals and employers, so here’s a quick rundown of what you should know. U.S. immigration law caps the number of green cards issued per year for employment-based categories at 140,000 and for family-based categories at 226,000. Each green card category is subject to a quota not only on…
We’re excited to announce a new educational program that offers budding foreign entrepreneurs and seasoned foreign business executives to sharpen their English skills and pitch their startups in Silicon Valley. Another local, woman-owned business, the San Francisco-based English Language Institute (ELI), launched its Business English for Entrepreneurs Program in October 2018. The 12-week course combines…
Last week, Charles Oppenheim, chief of the Department of State’s Immigrant Visa Control & Reporting, provided an estimate of the final action dates over the next several months and the estimated wait times for an EB-5 green card. He said the final action dates will remain “current”—or ready for processing—for all countries except India China,…
If you’ve done some amazing things, you have a lot of U.S. immigration options. Options mean choices, and you have several choices to make regarding your path to obtaining a U.S. green card. Our clients often consider applying for either an EB-1A green card for extraordinary ability or an EB-2 green card with a…
Since late last year when the Trump administration first announced its intention to eliminate the regulation that allows some H-4 visa holders to obtain a work permit, Farha and her husband Rajiv* have been nervous and stressed. Farha and Rajiv came to the U.S. on student visas from their native India. Both of them earned…
We recently held office hours at Draper University to answer immigration questions from the current batch of students in the summer startup training program. Thanks to one of our clients—a graduate of the program—Draper staff invited me and my colleagues, Jeff Huang and Gabby Phillips, to talk to interested students about their options. When we…
When Amelia and Oliver* left their native Australia nearly two years ago, the married couple was excited about embarking on their next life adventure in the U.S. Oliver, an algorithmic programmer, accepted a new job in Silicon Valley. Amelia, a university-trained artist, thought life in a new country would inspire her work. And it did…
If you are eligible to file for an adjustment of status for a green card under an EB-1 petition, do it by July 31. On August 1, all foreign nationals will no longer immediately receive an EB-1 green card when they or their employers apply for permanent residency, according to the latest Visa Bulletin. This…
Although the end is near for entrepreneur parole under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), startup founders have alternatives to build amazing companies in the U.S. After nearly a year of threatening to terminate the IER program, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) made good on that threat last week: It published a proposal in the…