An Amendment to the Immgration Bill (We WANT Entrepreneurs)

The Entrepreneur Visa

• No new illegals - Application must be qualified for visa-free travel using the visa waiver or capable of qualifying for a B1, B2 or other visa. In that way, if they do overstay their visa illegally, it isn’t the new categories fault – they’d have just come in on another category and overstayed that anyway.
• Survival Money Needed - Rather than requiring $200,000 and having to come from a treaty trader country ( as is required for an E2), you need enough money to avoid becoming destitute and can come from anywhere (why do we care where someone comes from as long as they’re going to make us more successful as a nation?). Paul Graham can start viable, multi-million dollar businesses on under $20,000, so why not let Netrepreneurs come to the US with $20,000 per family member (if you allow family members at all)?
• No Business Plan Required - If a VC being paid millions of dollars a year (assuming a certain level of success) who has been picking businesses for a decade is wrong nine times out of ten, no reason to believe someone who chooses to spend their life processing paperwork for the Federal government will do any better. The best businesses typically have whacked out business plans. Would the federal government REALLY have given the YouTube team a visa based on the business plan of losing money on free video hosting online and making it up in quantity?!
• Pre-pay Your Own Deportation - You have to pay $5k to the government so if they have to throw you out you’ve paid the associated costs. If you take a flight back on your own the $5k is automatically repaid on going to the US consulate in your home country.
• Automatic Time-out - You have two years to become valuable or get out. Say two full time employees in first two years. If you hit the target you get a indefinite E2 style visa to keep running the business and maybe if you grow it to a certain size or sell it for a certain amount you get a green card if you want one (this part is optional – if you don’t want them as citizens, just take the no-risk non-immigrant labor route – your choice).
• No Other Requirements - The form should be something you can fill out in five minutes without legal help, the interview should be a formality and the process should take AT MOST 5 business days (unfortunately, excluding security checks if they are genuinely necessary for national security). No reason for it to take more than an hour excluding any security and background checks which should be expedited as much as possible (I’m sorry, but we need entrepreneurs more than almost anything else – they should jump the queue – they create the jobs to pay for everyone else).
• No Cap - More people competing to create jobs is a GOOD thing. Let as many in as are willing to come. If you REALLY want to limit numbers, do it using market mechanisms such as charging a premium, but bear in mind the tougher you make it, the less likely you are to get the YouTubes.
• No Fancy Perks - Don’t authorize them to work for any company except for their own one they set up as part of the process. No medicare or Medicaid, no employment visas for their family and they have to get medical insurance that will fly them back to their home country if they are seriously ill or injured so it isn't your problem if they get sick. Same for family members.
• Provide Support - They’re gonna make us money if they succeed – and create new jobs to boot. How about we help them with direct access to small business administration programs (except for the loan programs) and an extranet with FAQs, support forums and access to service providers?
• Let the IRS Do Its Job - The IRS is pretty good at distinguishing independent contractors from full time employees. Make sure they review these companies as a priority to ensure that they are truly creating new businesses, not just playing the old L2/H1 shuffle and pretending to set up a company while going to work full time in a US companies office.