

Startup Visa Endorsed by US Chamber of Commerce's Center for Entrepreneurship - HistoryInAction
http://www.uschamber.com/sites/default/files/file_attach/2011legislativeagenda.pdf

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ori_b
What I'd prefer to see is a system similar to Canada's points system[1], which
-- in summary -- gives you points for various qualifications, such as
education, work experience, family ties, amount of capital you'd inject into
the country, and various other metrics to decide whether allowing you into the
country would be a benefit for society.

Special-casing startups wouldn't be needed -- you would get points for having
investments into your company, and the skills needed to build it.

[1]<http://www.workpermit.com/canada/points_calculator.htm>

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forcer
Can someone explain what this endorsement means? Higher chance it passes
through congress?

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xradionut
If it's related to the Chamber of Commerce, chances are it's regressive
policy.

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HistoryInAction
Normally, I wouldn't disagree, but this is an offshoot for supporting
entrepreneurship. Also, the libertarian arguments are there for Startup Visa:
keep the government out of picking winners and let VCs use market-based
metrics to decide which foreign entrepreneurs should get visas.

And the VCs ([http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/03/the-startup-visa-
act...](http://www.feld.com/wp/archives/2011/03/the-startup-visa-act-
of-2011.html)) and entrepreneurs
(<https://www.votizen.com/issues/startupvisa/>) both want this bill to pass.

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geebee
Seems like this is getting a lot of support, though I do have some
reservations. I don't really like the idea of allowing VCs to decide who is
allowed to come to the US. Of course, I don't really like the idea that
employers having this power either.

This could distort the market and suppress what I think is a very healthy
trend toward bootstrapping in high tech. Not that bootstrapping is necessarily
better than funding - in many cases, I'm sure it isn't. But the decision to
accept funding (and the terms of that funding) should be based on what's good
for the business, not whether the founders need a VCs permission to live in
the US.

Obviously VCs are very relevant in software, but with the drop in cost of
starting a business, software entrepreneurs may need them less and less...
unless, of course, they need a visa. This will put VCs right back in the
driver's seat, and let's not pretend this has anything to do with the market -
it has to do with VCs gaining control over a government function (immigration)
and potentially using it as leverage over entrepreneurs.

