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DRAIN
who are entrepreneurs must also
pay themselves the prevailing
wage of a chief executive, which
many are unable to do because
they have invested their money in
building their businesses.
Such rules are meant to ensure
companies don’t outsource H-1B
workers to outside contractors or
use visas to save money on payroll. A USCIS spokesman said the
agency “takes seriously our responsibility to detect and prevent
immigration benefit fraud, especially where it poses a risk to the
integrity of our nation’s immigration system or national security.”
But by creating such obstacles
for foreign entrepreneurs, the
United States risks losing the
next big tech company to another
country, advocates say.
“If Mark Zuckerberg had been a
foreign student, Facebook would
never have gotten started in the
United States. He wouldn’t have
had any options,” said Eleanor
Pelta, an immigration attorney and
past president of the American
Immigration Lawyers Association.
Chris Bentley, a spokesman for
United States Citizenship and Immigration Services, said the agency does not comment on specific
cases. But he said each visa ap-
HUFFINGTON
11.11.12
plicant is considered individually.
“Each case is unique,” he said.
“There’s no cookie-cutter path
that applies to everyone.”
The Obama Administration announced a plan last year to make it
easier for immigrant entrepreneurs
to qualify for visas. Foreign-born
founders could qualify for a “national interest” waiver — and waive
other visa requirements — if they
show “exceptional ability.” Federal immigration officials approved
about 4,000 petitions for national
interest waivers this year. But immigration lawyers say the standard
for meeting them is difficult.
Darash’s situatio