Start-up Visa: Right Agenda, Wrong Policy

We need to rethink immigration policy.  As I have written in the past, we need to find creative new ways to open our doors to immigrant entrepreneurs.

A new bill introduced by Congressman Jared Polis (D-CO), would create a Start-Up Visa for entrepreneurs with financial backing from angel investors.  It is H.R. 4259 – The Employment Benefit Act (you can see a summary of the bill here).

Here is how the bill is described in the press release:

Every day the American economy is losing ground–not to mention high-tech jobs and technologies–to India and China because foreign-born entrepreneurs cannot secure a visa to stay in the U.S. That’s why I’ve introduced H.R. 4259, the Employment Benefit Act, to create AMERICAN jobs by bringing our immigration system into the 21st century and encouraging foreigners with good ideas and much-needed capital to invest in our economy, rather than in our competitors. By streamlining and expanding our nation’s EB-5 visa program, this much-needed change would unleash innovation into our economy, create thousands of quality jobs right here in America, and bring capital to America to grow American businesses.

But, when looking at the details of this bill it becomes clear that this is another example of Washington policy makers thinking they can predict and control the market.

Rather than open the doors and let the market pick winners, the act targets what markets are eligible and constrains its benefits to specific levels of investment.

What about those immigrant entrepreneurs who do not want or need venture capital or angel backing?  Out of luck with this bill.  While venture capital backed deals are important, they create only a small percentage of new jobs in our entrepreneurial economy.

What about entrepreneurs who want to start a business in a particular market where they see an opportunity?  Only if it is in a targeted geographic area.  Entrepreneurship is a powerful economic tool — we need to stop trying to hamper this by making it a social policy tool.

We desperately need immigrant entrepreneurs to join in the rebuilding of our economy.  But we don’t need bureaucrats serving as the bouncer at the door deciding who can come in.