Y Combinator Says Visa Challenges Hampering Participation of International Startups (techcrunch.com) 21
An anonymous reader shares a report: The declining participation of Indian and Southeast Asian startups in Y Combinator is slowly becoming a trend. The previous batches showed a steeper presence with 10 startups in the batch prior, 20 in S22, 37 in W22, 33 in S21 and a peak of 44 in W21. In a statement to TechCrunch, a YC spokesperson attributed the drop to shift back to in-person events by the storied venture accelerator firm that necessitates founders to relocate to the U.S. for a quarter of a year.
And for an increasingly growing number of international startups, that's becoming a challenge. "We've found that there's no replacement for being in person with other founders and investors for the three months of YC. One impact of that however is that we've seen international founders struggle to participate because of their inability to get visas," the spokesperson said. The U.S. government has intensified visa scrutiny in recent years, particularly for countries with high visa overstays, due to national security and illegal immigration concerns. "The founders of GigaML, for example, are world-class researchers who trained Llama2 to beat Anthropic Claude 2. But the founders had to do office hours over Zoom because their visas were denied twice by U.S. Immigration. Founders want to come to the U.S. but can't. We need policy change," the YC spokesperson added.
And for an increasingly growing number of international startups, that's becoming a challenge. "We've found that there's no replacement for being in person with other founders and investors for the three months of YC. One impact of that however is that we've seen international founders struggle to participate because of their inability to get visas," the spokesperson said. The U.S. government has intensified visa scrutiny in recent years, particularly for countries with high visa overstays, due to national security and illegal immigration concerns. "The founders of GigaML, for example, are world-class researchers who trained Llama2 to beat Anthropic Claude 2. But the founders had to do office hours over Zoom because their visas were denied twice by U.S. Immigration. Founders want to come to the U.S. but can't. We need policy change," the YC spokesperson added.
Use zoom (Score:1)
The world is connected now.
Why does anyone need to do YC in person?
Re: (Score:1)
Because humping each other produces bonding.
What were the numbers like in 2018 or 2019? (Score:3)
Note we aren't given that data. It would allow proper context to be drawn. The way it reads, this is a plea for a change in immigration policy to restore the pandemic situation. I'd respond that maybe they should operate like they did during the pandemic, rather than blaming the government?
"We want more H-1Bs!" (Score:1)
Translation: "We want more H-1Bs and foreign workers who will work cheaply." We heard this same song and dance since 2000, where businesses want cheap, indentured slaves.
How about this: We toss the H-1B program completely. If someone is valuable enough to have a work permit over domestic people, they get a permanent resident, "green card" , so they are not beholden to just one employer and can give the middle finger if need be.
Re: (Score:1)
Maybe there are legitimate needs, but I've personally witnessed multiple visa abuses myself. Those who abuse the system may be spoiling the pot for real projects.
Who's this hurting? (Score:4, Insightful)
If this is hurting YC, then maybe they need to figure their shit out and adapt to new conditions? I don't see how policy for an entire nation needs to change it's policies just because VCs are having a tough time.
Re:Who's this hurting? (Score:4, Insightful)
They could open programmes in the several continents where they their userbase is located. Other VCs are doing it.
Or you could, and I'm just spitballing here (Score:2)
Here in America there's a reason all the State and Federal subsidies for our public universities (which were keeping tuition low) dried up at exactly the same time as a big push for H1-B and other high skill visas.
They don't need you or your kids. Your entire family is disposable.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you know what Y-combinator is? They find ideas, they want to be able to invest in ideas that make money. They aren’t hiring workers to implement their business idea, rather they exist to fund people with the best ideas that will make money.
Re: (Score:2)
Disposable? Speak for yourself. Also try to stay on-topic next time.
Think outside the box. (Score:1)
Insufficient info (Score:1)
Maybe they did something bad.
Re: (Score:1)
Yeah, you gotta be a real fuckup, get caught lying on your application or do something else stupid to get denied twice.
A criminal record, a previous tourist visa overstay, something. Random people rarely get denied at all much less twice.
Re:Insufficient info (Score:4, Insightful)
Not really, if the country you are applying from has a large number of overstayers they increase the burden of proof that you won’t overstay. For example, if you are applying from say Afghanistan you would have to prove that you have a lot of ties to your home country (own a lucrative business or have a good job) and have enough funds to fund your stay in the USA with a comfortable margin. In other words if you aren’t wealthy and can’t show reasons you would return they would deny your visa. Typically the poorer your country is the higher the burden of proof is on you that you won’t overstay. That makes it hard for entrepreneurs.
Reference: https://www.alllaw.com/article... [alllaw.com]
Re: (Score:1)
I'm pretty sure these startup guys were not Taliban looking to build a mobile app to more easily track and kill unbelievers.
This is YC crying that a trivial number of applicants from Asia and India had visa problems. They don't say what percentage had no problem at all getting a visa.
No more indentured servants (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Don't think this is about visas for workers. It's so that y-combinator can meet people in person and work with them on getting their startups off the ground.
Re: (Score:2)
Tell YC to get on a plane. Or use video conferencing.
Typical State Department bullshit (Score:4, Interesting)
They've been like this for years. They'll turn a blind eye to people entering the country illegally, but visa applicants and recipients get denied entry and/or deported swiftly over the tiniest of infractions.
Re: (Score:3)
2019 was the seventh consecutive year that Visa overstays outnumbered illegal border crossings. Only about 15% of Visa overstays are deported each year. About 10% of border crossers are caught and deported each year. While yes the US is more capable of identifying and deporting Visa overstays, the deportation rate isn't drastically different. For border crossers who are caught, the rate is nearly identical.
Re: (Score:2)
This post is full of nonsequitor. First off, we are not discussing visa overstays. The individuals in question want three month visas so they can consult with Y Combinator in pursuit of funding. That you would draw any moral or legal equivalence between these people and illegal border crossers is mind-bogglingly insane, not to speak of the general absurdity of attempting to compare any sort of visa overstay with the same border jumpers.