Could EB-6 Visas Be Coming Soon? New Senate Bill Would Create "Startup Visa" Category For Foreign Entrepreneurs
Last Wednesday (the 24th), Senators Richard Lugar (R, Tennessee) and John Kerry (D, Massachusetts) introduced a bill to the U.S. Senate that would create a new visa category, EB-6, designed specifically for foreign entrepreneurs. The Startup Visa Act of 2010 would allow qualified business people to stay in the United States for two years. Applicants would have to meet the following conditions:
- Must raise $250,000 (minimum), $100,000 of which must come from venture capital or angel investors based in the United States.
- f the entrepreneur can create $1 million in revenue or secure $1 million in capitalization, he or she can achieve permanent resident status in the United States.
- The start up business must ultimately provide jobs for 10 people.
Hundreds of venture capitalists and angel investors from Silicon Valley to New York City have thrown their weight behind the legislation. These experts argue that attracting job creators to the U.S. would simultaneously pump energy into the economy and indirectly strengthen U.S. financial ties with other nations. That the bill has bipartisan sponsorship may bode well for it. It contains elements that appeal to both core Democrat and Republican constituencies. On the one hand, it is "immigrant friendly," so it may appeal to liberal groups; on the other hand, the bill seeks to reward entrepreneurial efforts; thus, it is in many ways in line with the Republican small government, pro-business ideology.
