- October 11, 2011
- Category: Diversity Visa (DV) Lottery Program, Start Up Visa Act
Mahendra Ramsinghani, the Author of The Business of Venture Capital, has recently published an article in the Huffington Post comparing the Diversity Visa Lottery with the Start Up Visa Act.
Please click here for the entire article: Ramsinghani
Mr. Ramsinghani’s central point is that, “While the Diversity Visa, which encourages immigration from a diverse set of nations, thrives, the proposed Startup Visa, which aims to improve the lackluster economy in the U.S., seems to have stalled.”
Regarding the Diversity Lottery, Mr. Ramsinghani notes the relatively low entry requirements for the program. Applicants must be selected and a native of a qualifying country, have at least a high school education, and otherwise admissible under U.S. immigration laws. Applicants would not have to show ties to the United States.
The Start Up Visa Act, in contrast, would have very stringent requirements. Regarding concerns of abuse of the proposed visa, the author states, “requirements in the Startup Visa Act say that only investors who have been in business for at least 2 years and made investments of $500,000 or more in at least two other companies can sponsor foreign-based entrepreneurs. As a VC, I can imagine few investors in line with these requirements who would put their careers at risk by making dubious investments just to get people inside the country.”
The author asks the following question at the end of the artice: “Washington DC needs to reassess its priorities: Do we want 50,000 random people with baseline high school degrees to support some antiquated diversity needs? Or do we want 50,000 of the world’s best entrepreneurs who can help our economy recover and help change our world?”
Passing the Startup Visa Act could definitely aid our sputtering economy. However, the Diversity Visa is established law. The purpose of the program is to encourage diversity in this country and it seems to succeed with that goal. Startup Visa Act, in contrast, is proposed legislation, and not established law. Why can we not have both programs?