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Start-ups and New Immigration Law of the USA

For the last time there are a lot of posts about immigration reform of the USA, which was accepted by Senate on June 27, 2013. But we see one and the same issues which are discussed everywhere.

In this article I will try to recite the main idea of this big law (almost 1200 pages) in short, which concerns IT specialists and especially start-ups.

First of all, I have to admit that this reform can really simplify the procedure of issuance of visas for agricultural workers, medics, IT specialists, graduating students of the American universities or colleges and representatives of other hard-to-get professions.  Those people, who have got their professions in American Universities, will get green-cards out of turn, even avoiding the scoring program. The only condition is the presence of an employment offer.

Scoring immigration

Green-card lottery will be never conducted. Instead of it since September 2014 there will be a program of scoring immigration per sample of Australian, Canadian and New Zealand. But it will be more liberal and accessible. They give 250000 visas per anum for this program!

Scores are posted for:

  • Education (three gradations: master, doctor, bachelor)

  • English proficiency

  • Experience of working in the USA or abroad, especially by specialty

  • Presence of an employment offer in the USA

  • Citizenship of the country from which few immigrants come.

For this program they give 250000 visas with an opportunity of automatic increasing of their amount, if the economical situation of the USA requires it. There is no minimal quantity of scores for this program. But of course those people who get the biggest amount of scores will get entry visas. Visas will be distributed once a quarter among people who apply for it.

Attention! Many people with a high level of education or with hard-to-get professions are eliminated from the list automatically, because they will get visas out-of-order.

It is also curious, that owners of F visas (students’ ones) mustn’t prove the absence of immigration intentions. They are allowed to have them now like the owners H1B visas.

Visas for start-ups

If you are a start-up who has invested in his enterprise in the USA at least $100,000, in this case you have a chance to get non-immigrant visa of the new type X, which allows to live and conduct business in the USA.

Initially, this visa is given for three years, and if you raise your business to the capitalization of $250,000 and create at least 3 work places you have an opportunity to extend your visa for the next 3 years.

And then when you reach 1 million dollars and 10 work places you can get a green-card and stay in the USA forever.