How to Advocate for the Start Up Visa Act

I have previously blogged about the benefits of the Start Up Visa Act.  In my most recent blog, I noted that this bill is in the first step in the legislative process.  After a year, not much has happened since the Start Up Visa Act had been reintroduced.  So, how would the average supporter of this legislation advocate for its passage? 

Here are some steps most could take advantage of when advocating for this legislation:

1.  Contact your Local Congressional Representative:  Click HOUSE to find your local congressman.

2.  Contact your State’s Senator:  Click SENATE

3.  USE SOCIAL MEDIA:  The Start Up Visa Act is tailor made for the social media savvy.  Here are some suggestions:

A]  Get your Senator or Congressman’s TWITTER HANDLE

B]  Start a fan appreciation page on your own Facebook profile

C]  Start Up Visa.com is a web page in support of the Start Up Visa Act.  Some prominent entrepreneurs have created this web site.  You can both do a Facebook “Like” and Tweet your support of #startupvisa on this website.  The website asks its supporters to use the following tweet:  “I support #Startupvisa! Show your support at http://startupvisa.com vía @startupvisa“

D]  Come up with your own unique idea.  The possibilities are endless.  The target audience is both the public and your local senator or congressional representative. 

4.  Create a Campaign Style Strategy:  Craig Montuori is the Executive Director of PolitiHacks.  He has excellent suggestions on how to advocate for this bill.  He states that this is an “inside-game biz.”  His main point is that advocates need to focus on this as a bill that CREATES JOBS, rather than benefiting  immigrants.  It is an excellent point.  Say you have a foreign university graduate  with an idea that could be the next Big Thing(the next Google, Facebook, Apple Etc…).  Is that graduate going to go work under an H-1B visa making $50k and working 40 hours a week for some company?  Of course not.  If that graduate cannot obtain a visa here in the United States, he or she will go home or to another country, and start up that company.  A company like that could create thousands of jobs.  This is what our politicians need to remember.