Here's another edition of "Dear Sophie," the advice column that answers questions related to labor immigration in tech companies.
"Your questions are critical to the dissemination of knowledge that enables people around the world to push boundaries and pursue their dreams," says Sophie Alcorn, an immigration attorney in Silicon Valley. "Whether you are in people ops, a founder or looking for a job in Silicon Valley, I would love to answer your questions in my next article."
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Dear Sophie: The last 24 hours have been nail biting; I feel helpless and angry that it has come to this. I am worried that things are not getting better and I am also confused about where we are. Sometimes I feel so very, very tired of the struggle. I'm so ready to let go. I want to live in a world where we can create harmony, peace and opportunity for all. Can I still find it in the US? - Wanting to Walnut CreekDear Want,
I hear you.
The good news is that there is great potential, even as the world watches the US presidential election results. If anything, what the last four years have taught me is that two clichés are true: necessity is the mother of invention and, where there is a will, there is a way. I can connect with many people around the world because I know what it's like to have the world of Silicon Valley so close, yet so far away, at a time when I felt powerless to make a difference.
Looking back over the past four years, amazing things have been possible for our clients and my Alcorn Immigration Law team. I started the company from my kitchen only years ago, when my children were small. I looked out the kitchen window washing tiny baby dishes by hand. I still remember the feel of the foam on my fingers as I longingly gazed at the tall building on Castro Street in downtown Mountain View, where 500 Startups used to sit on the top floor. YC was down the street.
I felt so helpless. I was desperate to make the world a better place and reach the world of Silicon Valley, even though it was just past my backyard, it felt like getting to Mars.
From those humble beginnings to today, when I founded and initiated Alcorn Immigration Law on my journey to become a single mom, I know what's possible, even during the last four years of the Trump administration. We have had tremendous success, claiming thousands of victories in supporting companies, individuals and families to legally live and work in the United States. If I've been able to grow my business over the past four years, I know it's possible for anyone to follow their heart and be successful. It is our human essence to long to be a creator in this world, and anyone can and deserves to make a difference.
And here's what else I know: the immigration law is created by congressional acts and signed by the president. Simple tweets can be meant to try to break the rules, but they can't break them. That's what democracy is about.
In democracy, we have agreed to respect fundamental laws, such as the inviolable dignity of the human being, and to agree on procedures for how we make decisions, such as the process of passing an immigration law. Democracy is not about the tyranny of the majority. Democracy is about supporting certain principles and agreeing on a decision-making process. When Trump ignores our basic laws and ignores our legal processes, democracy is in danger.
But democracy doesn't need to be stopped, it only requires minor adjustments to thrive. In any group, jointly supported decisions can be made, taking into account everyone's needs and resources. "Although the world is complex and the decision-making process is complex, the components of the decision-making process are simple," according to Richard Graf, founder of KiE. Simple tools like the DecisionMaker can allow a miracle to happen: in an environment of openness and anonymity, we can all safely share our needs and concerns so that proposals can be formed on the basis of collective best practices, knowledge, experience, intelligence. and intuition. Even if it is a complex situation, the way forward can immediately become clear.
And in our democracy, the paths to living and working in the United States will always remain viable, even if we were to remove a branch or move around a new boulder. Here in Alcorn, despite the fury and fear in the world surrounding immigration, we continually guarantee real wins for our clients. Not a customer yet? Global founders can still create a startup, introduce it to investors, and secure pathways to legally live and work in the United States with visas, green cards, and citizenship.
So I know and I'll say it again: Whatever the election results, there will still be plenty of ways for people to legally navigate the US immigration process and access the opportunities and safety of life here. For more information on these ways, join the Election Results webinar next week.
In the meantime, here are my thoughts on how the election results will affect the future of immigration to the United States:
Looking forward, if Biden wins, he pledged to overturn all Trump-era immigration regulations in the first 100 days and to support global immigration reform. He promised to foster immigrant entrepreneurship, which could finally mean a startup visa! It also wants to accelerate naturalization, lift travel bans for Muslims, pass legislation to expand the number of H-1Bs, increase the amount of employment-based green cards, exempt international STEM graduate students from having to wait for a date of priorities, create a new type of green card to promote regional economic development and support immigrant entrepreneur incubators.
Alternatively, we can expect it a Trump administration would continue to restrict immigration, leading to litigation and judges to decide the fate of many recent policies. We can foresee a continued COVID freeze on green card talks in consulates.
Additionally, DHS recently announced its intention to remove randomness from the H-1B lottery and prioritize the highest to lowest wage annual H-1B selection process starting in Spring 2021. I'm sure there will be. disputes about this; Meanwhile, Alcorn's Immigration Act continues to recommend that all employers proceed with employee registration and lottery candidates as usual. It will take time to clarify these details and we don't want anyone to miss the chance to be selected.
In other updates, immigration is continuing and there is actually some great news for the people: The State Department recently released the November Visa Bulletin and it has stayed the same since October. (If you believe your priority date is current or may be current soon, contact your attorney as soon as possible to discuss filing your I-485 this month to avoid the possibility of recourse in December!)
And if you need the freedom to build your startup, but have been told that you are not yet qualified for an O-1A Visa, EB-1A or EB-2 NIW Green Card, you can join me in Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp with promotional code DEARSOPHIE to receive 20% discount.
We are optimistic for the future. Life always offers us opportunities to grow through contrast and uncertainty, and we remain passionate about our mission to create greater freedom, empowerment, knowledge and love in the world.
Sophie
Do you have a question? Ask it here. We reserve the right to modify your presentation for clarity and / or space. The information provided in "Dear Sophie" is general information and not legal advice. For more information on "Dear Sophie" limits, please view our full disclaimer here. You can contact Sophie directly at Alcorn Immigration Law.
Sophie's podcast, Immigration Law for Tech Startups, is available on all major podcast platforms. If you want to be a guest, accept the questions!