23 Nov Today, we’re proud to welcome San Jose State University to the Global Entrepreneur In Residence
Today, we’re proud to welcome San Jose State University to the Global Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) Coalition of colleges and universities around the country who are expanding opportunities for immigration entrepreneurs to drive economic growth and create jobs. These university Global EIR programs enable founders to access the visas they need to unlock their growth potential as they pursue their American Dreams.
While the US immigration system should never force a startup to shut down or a founder to sadly put their dreams to rest, all too often, founders are forced to decide between their visa status and their businesses. Of the 94 visa categories, not one exists specifically for entrepreneurs, forcing founders to waste time generating the extra qualifications needed to qualify for a visa that will let them build their business for another few months here or a year there.
The economic cost to the country is significant — the human cost even more so. The Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation, which focuses on education around entrepreneurship, estimates that a viable startup visa would generate $70–240B in economic growth and spur the creation of 500,000 to 1,300,000 new jobs over a decade at scale. A single Global EIR program is estimated to create 65 new businesses and 300 new jobs in a city like San Jose or St. Louis over just its first five years of operation.
Founders like Kunal Bahl who graduate from the University of Pennsylvania Wharton School with an MBA and look to take that education to build a great company are often forced to return home. Now, Snapdeal is valued at $6.5B and has created thousands of jobs in India. More often, the dream is put aside until a green card is acquired after a decade in a 9–5 role or the startup is attempted but crushed by an immigration system that doesn’t understand and has no pathway for immigrant founders to chase their American Dreams.
What Global EIR does is allow universities to offer that pathway to international students and immigrant entrepreneurs to let them turn their ideas into reality. Through accessing the cap-exempt visas available through university sponsorship or collaboration, founders are able to work on their timeline, not the government’s once a year April lottery.
University campuses are vibrant places, increasingly serving as innovation hubs for the regions that they serve. Through the Global EIR program, they’re able to retain the great young professionals they help train and attract new entrepreneurs to help their cities grow as innovation economy centers. The ideas that are generated in our universities shouldn’t be lost to the United States simply because those that came up with them are international students.
Thanks to the support of our San Jose launch partners, including Unshackled Ventures, Hackers/Founders, and 500 Startups. These startup community leaders recognized the everyday immigration problems faced by international entrepreneurs and took clear steps to solve the problem.
San Jose State University joins a Coalition of fourteen other universities across five states with Global EIR programs. Visas have been approved for 30 founders with an application approval rate of 100%. More than 400 jobs have been created by the 24 companies supported by the Global EIR Coalition, and those companies have raised more than $180M in private capital.
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The Global EIR Coalition is committed to expanding opportunities for immigrant entrepreneurs to build their businesses, create jobs, and drive local economic growth across the country. More information can be found at http://www.globaleir.org/
Original article