How to Fix the Flawed Startup Visa Act

Many foreign-born techies in the U.S. and abroad are pinning their entrepreneurial hopes on the passage of a bill, sponsored by Senators John Kerry (D-Mass.) and Richard Lugar (R-Ind.), to create a startup visa. Tech-industry notables such as Paul Graham, Eric Ries, Brad Feld, Fred Wilson, and David McClure have lobbied for this. I, too, lent this my support. In fact, I have been advocating such a visa since 2007?when my team?s research revealed that 52% of Silicon Valley?s startups from 1995 to 2005 were founded by immigrants. We also learned that a million skilled workers and their families were stuck in ?immigration limbo? and that many were beginning to return home?causing America?s first brain drain. But, as I wrote in my Bloomberg BusinessWeek column, I fear that the Kerry-Lugar bill will get approved?with overwhelming support from both parties. Our leaders will declare victory and claim that they have made the U.S. more competitive. This will not, however, produce the expected startup activity; it won?t give our economy the boost it desperately needs.� That?s because the bill is far too limited. And, given the divisive nature of the current political debates about immigration, this may be the only immigration bill that gets passed until way after the next elections?by when it will be too late. Let me explain the issues and suggest some solutions.

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