Immigration

I recently wrote the Foreword for Unshackled , a new book co-authored by Soundarya Basubramani , a writer from India, and Sameer Khedekar , a veteran immigration lawyer. Unshackled breaks down how legal immigration works in America in a way that is friendly, accessible, and human*.* It’s filled with raw stories of high-skilled immigrants who walked unconventional paths and actionable guidance to navigate those paths. Last August, Rajesh Setty sent me an email request from Soundarya when the book was just an idea. Soundarya shared her vision for the book and why she wanted to write it. Unsurprisingly, the motivation stemmed from personal frustrations with the immigration system in the U.S. ...

Boundless Immigration , a company we’ve been investors in since they spun out of Pioneer Square Labs venture studio, raised a $25 million financing last week . If you are a regular reader of this blog, you know that I’ve been involved in and advocating for legal immigration since 2010, when, with a half dozen other VCs and entrepreneurs, I co-created the Startup Visa initiative. Since then, I’ve been involved in many immigration-related activities, including the Global EIR program , a docu-drama called For Here or To Go, and direct involvement in helping many immigrants to the US get their visas and green cards. ...

I continue to be a strong supporter of legal immigration to the United States. A fundamental belief of mine is that entrepreneurs should be able to start their companies anywhere they want. A corollary to that is some of the historical success of the US as an entrepreneurial ecosystem has been being the place that entrepreneurs want to start a company. Today, it’s hard to get a visa to start a company in the US. Our legal immigration system is complex and expensive to navigate, and there are few choices for entrepreneurs, especially aspiring entrepreneurs, who haven’t already managed to get a visa. ...

I’ve been working on the Startup Visa since I first wrote about it 2009 in my post The Founders Visa Movement . After a decade, it’s clear that our federal government has broadly failed us on this front. In 2015, I announced the Global EIR initiative to try something different. Today, I’m happy to welcome the University of Michigan to the Global EIR network . Applications are now open to become a Global Entrepreneur in Residence at the University of Michigan’s Economic Growth Institution (EGI) . Interested applicants can learn more about the program , fill out an application form, and reach out to Millie Chu at Global Detroit. ...

Life often involves tough tradeoffs. I love running marathons but I’m less happy about the body soreness and longer recovery cycles as I age. I’m excited about every investment Foundry Group makes, but I know not all of them are going to pan out. Entrepreneurs talk about “changing the world”, but the companies that emerge often ring hollow against this backdrop. And, when confronted with a for-profit company that has a strong social mission, many founders and investors struggle with the profit motive. ...

I’ve been consistently public, for almost a decade, about my belief that we should significantly change our approach to immigration in the US, especially for entrepreneurs. As one of the original advocates of the Startup Visa , I continue to be bummed out that our government can’t seem to figure out why this is important or doing anything productive around it. But, I’ve been appalled the past few days, as Amy and I spend time in Germany, to watch the Trump immigration enforcement that separates children from their parents and detain the children in separate locations. While we had a joyful anniversary yesterday , I felt a bitter emotional undercurrent that upset me. ...

This article, Engineers Are Leaving Trump’s America for the Canadian Dream , stimulated a simple thought for me. Canada has a huge, near-term competitive opportunity over to the US. I have a deeply held belief that US entrepreneurship has benefited extraordinarily over since World War II due to the desire of people from around the world to come to make their lives in the US. While this immigration philosophy started with the drafting of the Declaration of Independence in 1776 (and arguably before that with the European colonization of America), it transformed entrepreneurship, the US economy, and the US’s place in the world dramatically from the 1950s on. ...

Amy and I have been big supporters of a movie about immigration called For Here or To Go? With our friends at Boundless , we are sponsoring a week of screenings in Seattle . We are supplying a bunch of free tickets and – when they are used up – will still have a set of paid tickets available . It’s playing at the Landmark Theaters Crest Cinema Center from Friday 9/22 to Wednesday 9/27. If the topic of immigration is important to you, this is a great, powerful, thought-provoking movie. ...

Yesterday, the White House announced it was delaying and likely eliminating the International Entrepreneur Rule . This rule is the closest we’ve come to a Startup Visa , something I’ve been working on with numerous other people since 2009. Several failed bills in Congress, a failed bipartisan Senate comprehensive immigration reform bill, and an Executive Order later, and we still have nothing. I’m disappointed but not surprised. Steve Case says it really well in his article America Will Fall Behind Without Immigrant Entrepreneurs . I won’t repeat his words here because I agree 100% with them. I encourage you to go read his post if this is a topic you care about. ...

Amy and I are executive producers of the movie “For Here or To Go?” We’ve decided to fund the screening of it in Boulder. It will be showing at It will be showing at The Boedecker Theater at The Dairy Center for the Arts on May 28th at 4:30pm. Tickets are only $11 and are limited. They’ll sell out quickly so sign up now. We will be there – we hope to see you also! ...