Dear President Obama,
Eleven years ago, I took a flight from India to the “land of opportunity” — America. I was 17 then, and it was the first time I left home to live somewhere else. Although Purdue University in Indiana was surrounded by cornfields, I found myself surrounded by bright folks from all around the world. The university was incredible — in my first semester itself, I took a Physics class taught by a Nobel laureate. A few weeks later, I attended the career fair, searching for a summer internship.
I still remember I was so excited about finding my first job. Unfortunately, 90%+ companies wouldn’t even speak with me because I had a student F1 visa. The odds were worse if you didn’t study engineering or computer science. On the bright side, it did make prioritization easier, allowing me to focus on the few companies that did hire international students.☺
Fast forward 4 years: I graduated and moved to California to work as an analyst for a Purdue alum who had started his own venture capital firm. Like my peers, I received a 1-year work permit upon graduation. During this time, I had to figure out a way to jump from a student visa (F1) to a work visa (H1B). I really wanted to stay and work here, and so this seemed like a ticking bomb.
As you may remember, 2007 ended up being a very strong year, with businesses booming and hence creating a lot of demand for these H1B visas. Only 65,000 H1B visas are issued each year, and everyone was freaking out whether they were going to “make it”. I figured I should think about backup options. I decided to apply to MIT and Stanford for a graduate degree. As soon as the H1B visa applications opened up in April 2008, more than 150,000 applicants applied within the first 5 days. The US government decided to pick who gets H1B visa by ‘random selection’. Around this time, I got my Stanford admit letter, and figured I should just take that safe route. In retrospect, this ended up being a fortunate move considering the financial crisis later in 2008.
Stanford is an unusually ambitious place. Entrepreneurship is in the air. My classmates thought of a corporate job offer as a “good fallback plan.” A lot of people’s dream job is to be “founder” of a company. I felt the same. But, everyone I talked to — from advisors to alums to professors — advised me to NOT start a company considering I was back on an F1 student visa.
The odds were definitely stacked against people like me, but I had to pursue the dream. With the new graduate degree, I earned another 12-month work permit in the US — as had a Stanford classmate who became my cofounder. We decided to use that window to build and grow Pulse. As soon as the app was released on the iPad, it shot up to the top of the App Store. We were excited, but also very nervous. We hired a few people and raised a sizable round of venture financing, but we were uncertain if we’d even be able to stay in the country the following year.
The stars aligned, and we ended up getting our work visas (H1B). We grew Pulse to almost 30 people and were acquired by LinkedIn last year. My recent permanent residency application was approved — and so, after 11 long years, I can now live and work in the US without stressing out about being kicked out.
So, why am I writing this letter? Because my story is an exception to the rule. Most foreign students I know are not able to find their dream job, build a product that they really want to build or start a company. They end up settling for a mediocre corporate job or go back to their home country. And that is a true loss for America. These are among the brightest students graduating from top-tier universities. These folks would prefer to start companies, create jobs and grow America’s economy, but they don’t have a clear “legal” path to do this.
I was recently on the White House website and came across one of your top 5 issues: Immigration. At the top of the page, there’s a big, highlighted quote from you:
If you’re a foreign student who wants to pursue a career in science or technology, or a foreign entrepreneur who wants to start a business with the backing of American investors, we should help you do that here. Because if you succeed, you’ll create American businesses and American jobs. You’ll help us grow our economy. You’ll help us strengthen our middle class.
- President Barack Obama, January 29, 2013 (source)
This is spot on. Sadly, this is not very different from what President George W. Bush or other presidents said during their terms. In fact, every year since 2003, I’ve heard federal politicians talk about “stapling green cards to STEM graduates”or “creating a startup visa for job-creating entrepreneurs”or some variation of that.
Unfortunately, nothing happens. And each entrepreneur and aspiring inventor sent packing is a blow to the nation.
I woke up today to read that you’re planning to delay immigration reform, yet again. I’m urging you to reconsider. Now is the time to take bold steps that will help the economy — and the immigrants dreaming of building something here that matters, but doing so on borrowed time. Keep America the “land of opportunities”, and not make it the “land of political bureaucracy”.
Best,
Akshay
