If You Create Jobs, We’ll Give You a Visa!

One way to solve the jobs problem would be to let people come to the US who can create them. A loosening up of rules to allow more entrepreneur/immigrants to come and settle in the US has been talked about in the Senate and today in the WSJ.

Senators John Kerry and Richard Lugar have proposed a law in the Senate called the “Start-up Visa Act’ which would create a new two-year visa for immigrant entrepreneurs whose firms attract at least $250,000 in financing from American angel investors. The visa would become permanent if the firm adds at least five non-family employees, attracts $1 million in financing or earns $1 million in revenue.

It turns out that immigrants have accounted for 25% of the technology companies in the US.  But Robert Litan says we must go further, and make it easier for less affluent companies to come here and create jobs.

Litan argues that the next Sergey Brin will most likely come from another country than the US. His idea is to offer a “job creator’s visa’ tied directly and only to job creation by new immigrant entrepreneurs. If at least 5-10 people are hired after a while, he gets to stay, with no restrictions on earnings or financing.

Hey, why NOT make it easier for a guy who is going to put people to work, put them to work here!