Techies Want Startup Visa

Last week, The Startup Success Podcast interviewed Eric Ries of StartupVisa.com about the techie communities grassroots effort to create a visa explicitly for startup founders.  In the rather lengthy interview, Eric Ries discusses the impetus behind the visa, the obvious need for the visa and his experiences discussing the visa with influencers on Capital Hill.  [...]

Is This Immigrant The Next Thomas Edison?

Last week the Bloom Box was officially unveiled to the world.  If its proponents are correct, the Bloom Box will radically redefine how America (and the World) gets its electrical energy.  The creator of the Bloom Box is K.R. Sridhar and if you listen to him on 60 Minutes, you will know why some are [...]

Governorator Says Go For It on Immigration Reform

Governor Schwarzenegger recently sat down for an interview on Fox News.  During part of a long discussion on many topics, the Governorator said that there was never a good time for immigration reform and that continuously delaying the debate on immigration reform will not produce the outcomes that are desired.  The Governorator sees the need [...]

No Americans Asking For Agricultural Jobs Filled By Immigrants

Massive layoffs are occurring in Washington State as many agricultural employers in the region are receiving letters from the U.S. government questioning the employment eligibility of some of their workers. One such employer, Glebber Farms has laid off over 550 employees.

Given the large number of unemployed workers in the region, one would expect many Americans [...]

Immigration Gets Mention in State of the Union

I watched the State of the Union last week – and I didn’t hear any mention of immigration.  But apparently there was a mention of immigration during the State of the Union.  But that was all there was – a passing mention.  In the hour plus speech, President Obama only mentioned immigration (and comprehensive immigration [...]

Dairy Farmers Seek AGjobs Bill with Guest Worker Program

Dairy farmers across the United States are seeking passage of a much needed AGjobs bill that will include a guest worker program. According to Dairy Today, nearly half of the U.S.’s dairy work force are immigrants.  Facing increased I-9 audits from ICE, dairy employers are increasingly asking for the passage of an AGjobs bill that [...]

New Report Shows Economic Benefits of CIR

Dr. Raúl Hinojosa-Ojeda of the University of California-Los Angeles recently released the report, Raising the Floor for American Workers: The Economic Benefits of Comprehensive Immigration Reform.  The report concludes that America would stand to gain at least $1.5 trillion in added Gross Domestic Product over ten years.  Additionally, the report states that comprehensive immigration reform [...]

Silicon Valley to Congress: We Need Startup Visa

by Alison

More an idea than a location, Silicon Valley is  a culture of risk and reward – go hard, go fast, go for broke.  If you succeed, you reap the rewards – if you falter, you start anew with a different idea.  This mindset is capitalism at its best and has garnered America many, [...]

NYC Mayor Bloomberg To Support Immigration Reform

On New Year’s Day the national push for comprehensive immigration reform got a boost of energy as Mayor Bloomberg pledged to make immigration reform a centerpiece of his administration’s agenda. Mayor Bloomberg made the announcement during his swearing in ceremony at New York City Hall.

The Sunday before, Mayor Bloomberg made the statement, “We’re committing what [...]

Immigration Reform - Thirty Years Ago

Senator Goldwater Sought Immigration Reform 30 Years Ago

Don Harris of The Arizona Capitol Times recently made a keen observation about the history of immigration reform.  In an article, Mr. Harris draws parallels between today’s desires for immigration reform and the desires of immigration reform put forth by Senator Goldwater thirty  years ago.  Many of [...]

Comprehensive Immigration Reform Introduced In House

Yesterday, Congressman Luis Gutierrez (D-Ill.) introduced legislation entitled Comprehensive Immigration Reform for America’s Security and Prosperity Act of 2009, or “CIR ASAP.”

The legislation has been long in coming and an overview of the legislation is available from the Immigration Policy Center.  CIR ASAP is certainly not what the final version of Comprehensive Immigration Reform will [...]

I-9 Audits Directed at Vermont Dairy Farms

Word came down late last week that at least five Vermont Dairy Farms have been served with subpoenas from the Immigration Enforcement Agency (ICE).  The subpoenas are part of an I-9 audit that is being conducted on the dairy farms.  An I-9 audit is a review of a company’s documentation concerning its employee’s authorization to [...]

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Coming Soon?

Comprehensive Immigration Reform: Coming Soon?

Last night I attended a panel discussion about comprehensive immigration reform (CIR).  The panelists discussed the need for immigration reform, their desires for what would be included in immigration reform, what will likely be included in immigration reform, and the big question of when comprehensive immigration reform might happen.

The general agreement [...]

Wall Street Journal Opines on U.S. Immigration Policy

A recent opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal examined the US immigration policy on tracking foreign national scientists and researchers.  The opinion piece was a harsh criticism of the current policy on foreign national students, stating “[i]t would be hard to invent a policy more counterproductive to our national interest.”

Comprehensive Immigration Reform has been [...]

The Founder’s Visa

The economy is in need of improvement and one technologist has an idea of how to improve it.  Paul Graham suggests that the single best way to improve the economy is to create a “founders” visa that would allow 10,000 foreign nationals to enter the United States to start new companies.  Mr. Graham’s thought is [...]