Don’t shut door on immigrant techies
My name is Luca Graglia. I am a Chicagoan at heart, an engineer, and most important to me, a co- founder of the tech startup Clueless.
I came to the United States from Bra, Italy, in 2014 to study computer engineering at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and I fell in love with the city. I’ve wanted to start my own company ever since I was a child.
After working here as an engineer for two years, I became confident enough in my skills to go out onmy own. I set out to solve a frequent problem amongmy friends: “What should I do tonight?” By making use of advancements in machine learning and reflecting trends in social media, I believe I can solve that problem in an innovative and addictive way.
When I quit my job to work full- time onmy startup, I had several options, but those options have slowly faded away. I lost the H- 1B visa lottery, which allows highskilled workers to work in the United States legally, and the Department of Homeland Security two months ago announced its intention to delay and rescind the International Entrepreneur Rule, better known as IER.
The H- 1B visa lottery selects only 65,000 winners from more than 250,000 applicants each year, andmy name was not pulled from the hat. The IER, for its part, allowed talented foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the country to start their own companies as long as they met certain strict requirements. The IER freeze is the latest disappointment for tech founders like myself.
IER was designed to keep innovation, companies and jobs in America. Without the rule, it is very likely that I will be forced to leave and takemy business abroad. I no longer will be able to employ U. S. citizens, pay taxes here or grow my company here. Staying in Chicago is important to me because this ismy home. My former UIC professors, who are now my mentors, are here. My company’s co- founder is a native Chicagoan. And the startup community in Chicago feels likemy community.
The loss of Chicago’s thriving tech scene would be devastating for Clueless’ growth.
Though my options are limited, I have one last chance to remain in the United States. The Chicago Global Entrepreneur in Residence program, a partnership between City Hall and five local universities, is now accepting applications. The program chooses immigrant entrepreneurs who meet certain requirements and allows them to build their companies. Entrepreneurs accepted into the program likely can acquire H- 1B visas through one of the participating universities. In exchange, the chosen entrepreneurs are expected to provide services such as mentoring or training interns.
I amconfident that I would thrive both as an entrepreneur and mentor. My company already is benefiting fromthe assistance of professors inmy field, andmy coaching background inspires me to mentor others.
When I speak with other successful immigrant entrepreneurs, many of them say the hardest part about starting a companywas navigating the U. S. immigration process. This is not an uncommon problem— more than half of tech startups have at least one founder who is an immigrant.
When I look at all the innovation that immigrant tech founders have brought and the jobs they’ve created, I can’t help but think that if everyone were informed, programs like IER would not be canceled. Forty percent of our Fortune 500 companies have been founded by immigrants or a child of an immigrant. Why wouldn’t U. S. citizens want immigrants to create more opportunities in the United States?
Founding my own company and seeing it thrive in Chicago ismy greatest aspiration. I’mnot asking for it to be easy; I’m asking for it to be possible. I hope that the Trump administration will provide me and other immigrant innovators with a path to our American Dream.
More than half of tech startups have at least one founder who is an immigrant.