Sophie Alcorn Podcast

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I’m joined by Lynda Hagerty, our Chief Legal Officer for Excellence at Alcorn Immigration. We talk all about the H-1B lottery and we'll be covering everything you need to know to tackle the H-1B lottery in 2023. If you have not started already, your preparation begins now! 

Whether you're hearing about it for the first time, you're new to HR and it's your first time for your company or you're just trying to figure out what's next, the H-1B is an opportunity for a company to sponsor a foreign national employee for a professional position and get work authorization. The trick with the H-1B is the first time you secure it, you have to go through this whole lottery process, which only has a very small window. If you think this is your next step, listen in to know more about what it entails to apply for one. 

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• Overview: timeline, sponsorship, job qualification, wage rates 

• Types of specialty occupations and examples of jobs that have pushback on

• Education requirements and exceptions

• Who is the H-1B best for?

• The best next step to pursuing a green card and how the process works

• Benefits of the H-1B

• Eligibility of companies in order to participate

• How the electronic registration system works

• Your odds in the lottery process and processing trends

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:

• Episode 11: Your Startup’s First H-1B

• Episode 30: H-1B Nitty Gritty #1: Transfer, Extensions, Amendments in Tech

• Episode 31: H-1B Nitty Gritty #2: H-1B Transfer for Startup Founders

• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I am joined by Kieran White, CEO and co-founder of Return Protocol, a blockchain tech startup that empowers consumers, businesses, and communities to take transparent and value-aligned climate action. 

Kieran shares how his company has fundraised for his U.S. immigration journey, and what it's like to be a startup founder in climate tech. Kieran actually did the Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp online, a program that helps people, who have zero accomplishments, understand visas like the O-1A, EB-1, and EB-2. Kieran recently got stamped with an O-1 visa and he’s coming to the U.S. soon!

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• His decision to start his own company
• How he fundraised his way to the U.S.
• Why he chose San Francisco
• Navigating carbon markets and crypto as a startup founder
• What’s next for him and his company

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Linkedin: Kieran White

Return Protocol

Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp 

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
• Episode 16: E-2 Visa for Founders and Employees
• Episode 38: Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp Course
• Episode 44: 7 of the Most Startup-Friendly Visas Explained
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I’m joined by Nadia Zaidi our expert on writing-intensive hard cases for startup founders, as we talk all about the L-1 visa and all it entails – the path to the green card, who qualifies and who doesn't, and more.

The L-1 visa is for intracompany transferees, including managers, executives, and workers with specialized knowledge. This is an episode for people who already have an operating business in a country besides the U.S. and you need to send people to the US to either start a new business, raise funding for your startup, or open a sales and marketing branch.

The L visa is not the first visa type that would come to mind for a founder. But in some cases, a company may already have incorporated an entity abroad, they want to scale and break into the U.S. market but they're not willing to shut down their foreign business. Hence, this is a great option for multinationals.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• When to consider an L visa and who qualifies for an L-1 visa?
• What “specialized knowledge” means
• Choosing between an L-1 visa vs E-2 visa
• Visa classification for the founding team
• What happens to immigration after a Delaware flip
• The importance of having an org chart for new offices
• How to get a head start on the EB-1C pathway

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Resources:

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
  • Episode 021: Intracompany Transfers – L-1 Visas and EB-1C Green Cards for Multinational Managers, Executives, and People with Specialized Knowledge
  • Episode 44: 7 of the Most Startup-Friendly Visas Explained
  • Episode 113: How startup founders are moving to the US
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, we’re going to switch things up a bit since I’m the one being interviewed. I’m going to share who we are at Alcorn Immigration Law, why we began this podcast and the work that we do to support immigrants from all over the world to create wealth, abundance, and opportunities so they can enjoy freedom, prosperity, and peace of mind in the United States.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• The birth of Alcorn Immigration Law
• What drew me to pursue a niche in immigration law of tech startups
• Assisting startup founders as a part of the spiritual mission
• Getting clear on what the outcome is: strategy and preparation
• The value of communication and celebration
• Our ideal outcome and client
• What Alcorn’s future looks like

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

National Venture Capital Association

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
• Episode 16: E-2 Visa for Founders and Employees
• Episode 39: Startup Law with Attorney Lindsey Mignano
• Episode 89: Advocating for International Startup Founders with Jeff Farrah of National Venture Capital Association
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I’m joined by Lynda Hagerty, our Chief Legal Officer at Alcorn Immigration. We're ringing in the holiday season with some gratitude. We are looking back at 2022 with an appreciation for all the good things that came to us in the air and yet another busy year for immigration. 

We're also sharing our take on some of the best updates to the immigration process in 2022. It has been a very monumental year with a lot of positive developments. We've had a lot of ups and downs in the area of immigration law and we believe we're headed in a very positive direction. 

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• Why there were fewer requests for evidence this year
• The expansion of premium processing categories
• The interview waiver: process and eligibility
• What the expansion of STEM OPT means
• Development of status for L and E status
• The 540-day EAD extension for H4
• New STEM guidance for O-1 Extraordinary Ability visa applicants
• Our hope for immigration for 2023

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

National Venture Capital Association

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
• Episode 129: H-1B Trends with Robert Bouchard, The H-1B Guy
• Episode 133: Navigating Visa Interviews with Mandy Feuerbacher
• Episode 132: H-1B’s in 2023 with Lynda Hagerty
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I’m joined by Jed Kodner, a talent partner for both DFJ Growth Venture Capital and Threshold Ventures, advising portfolio companies on identifying, attracting, and retaining world-class talent. Named on Business Insider's list of the 25 must-know recruiters at top VC firms, Jen is highly experienced in talent acquisition at companies including Andreessen Horowitz, Comcast Ventures, Box, and Adobe.

People are your biggest asset. Without talent, your business is not going to be successful. Listen in as Jen talks about the importance of being intentional with achieving a higher-level talent acquisition with an early focus on diversity. She shares some keys to attracting, identifying, retaining, and motivating brilliant people in your team, as well as some best practices for hiring in different countries and geographies.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• How companies can have an early focus on diversity
• Changes in pay transparency
• The current state of the talent landscape
• Why lean into people you want to keep
• Hiring people who need immigration sponsorship
• How to prevent yourself from getting fired from your job as a founder

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

https://dfjgrowth.com/ 

https://threshold.vc/ 

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:

• Episode 16: E-2 Visa for Founders and Employees
• Episode 044: 7 of the Most Startup-Friendly Visas Explained
• Episode 72: Special Visas for Talent from Specific Countries

• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I am joined by Dr. Sankar Venkatraman. With over 14 years of leadership roles in Product Marketing, he is now a global workforce expert who built and managed award-winning marketing programs. 

A global evangelist for LinkedIn, Dr. Venkatraman educates us on, not only workplace transformation but also digital transformation with the role of AI. He also talks about the big shift to this portfolio career in the future of work, where the average Gen Z will have 12 to 14 careers, not jobs. You can be an immigration advocate, while also being a podcaster. An artist could, at the same time be a dance instructor, or have a job at a corporate company. 

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• What he does as a LinkedIn global evangelist
• The portfolio career and the workplace transformation
• The impact of AI on the future of work
• Continuous learning is the key skill of the employee of the future
• Why the whole definition of the idea of work is going to change
• How LinkedIn is addressing the network gap

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Leadership Mountain View

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:

• Episode 63: Immigration, Global Mobility, Working from Home, and the Future of Work

• Episode 103: A Futurist’s Lens on Immigration – Future of Work, Climate Change, and More with Jamais Cascio

• Episode 126: The Future of Work with Jason Sosa

• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this special edition of Immigration Law for Tech Startups, I'm joined by expert attorney Lynda Hagerty as we discuss the mass layoffs in Silicon Valley. Thousands of laid-off individuals are on work visas and it's definitely a stressful time. We’re going to talk about all of the ramifications and what all this means for the state of immigration in the United States.

Twitter has laid off nearly 50% of its workforce and many names in tech are expected to follow, including big tech companies like Meta, Microsoft, and Intel. So far 416 startups and tech-oriented companies in the U.S. have laid off individuals between April and October compared to only 20 in the first quarter. There are also several hiring freezes taking place at Apple and Amazon, as well as a looming crypto winter with NFT and cryptocurrency exchange marketplaces like Robinhood and Coinbase, letting go of 20% to 30% of their workforce.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• What it means for companies doing layoffs
• What it means for the people being laid off and their spouses, and alternative options available
• How this impacts the PERM process
• An option for green card self-petition
• What to keep in mind if you’re looking to start a tech startup in the U.S.

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter

• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:

• • Episode 129: H-1B Trends with Robert Bouchard, The H-1B Guy

• • Episode Episode 131: Immigration and the Future of Human Flight with Guanhao Wu

• • Episode 132: H-1B’s in 2023 with Lynda Hagerty

• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook

Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I am joined by former U.S. diplomat and State Department Consular Officer, Mandy Feuerbacher, to talk about how you can navigate visa interviews. Mandy currently runs Argo Visa, a startup consisting of a team of 25 other former consular officers who work with immigration professionals and individuals seeking visas to guide them through the consular visa interview process. 

As consulates are opening up again, more and more in-person interviews are happening. Although only a very small percentage of people get problems at the interview, you still have to prepare for the interview because the cost of those problems is tremendous. It’s not worth the risk to just hope that it all turns out okay or that the consular officer shows up in a good mood that day. It’s all a human communication process. So you have to make sure you come prepared and you’re able to communicate your intentions and purpose well.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

In this episode, you’ll hear about:

• How her experience as a consular officer shaped her understanding of immigration law
• How to be proactive during the visa interview process
• USCIS interviews vs. consular interviews
• How consular officers balance the country’s needs for international students
• How Argo Visa is helping clients
• Recommendations for remote interviews
• Understanding the different types of administrative processing cases

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Resources:

Argo Visa

https://www.argovisa.com/ 

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
  • Episode 26: F-1 Students and Work
  • Episode 61: The Immigration Journey with Navroop Sahdev
  • Episode 124: International Students & Professionals Succeed with Robert Adams
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.

In this week’s Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast, I am joined by Lynda Hagerty, our Chief Legal Officer for Excellence at Alcorn Immigration Law, as we discuss everything you need to know about getting ready for the next H-1B season, which officially starts now. We talk about some of the most important frequently asked questions about H1-Bs.

Lynda is a business immigration attorney who has been practicing business immigration law for about 20 years with boutique-style firms. It’s great to hear her perspective on H-1Bs as well as some tips on how people can start preparing for the coming H-1B lottery season.

Please share this episode with companies, HR and recruiting professionals, startup founders, international talent, or anyone who can benefit from it. Sign up for the Alcorn monthly newsletter to receive the latest immigration news and issues. Reach out to us if we can help you determine the best immigration options for yourself, your company, your employees or prospective employees, or your family whether in the U.S. or abroad.

• What is an H-1B?
• The benefits of an H-1B visa
• Educational degree levels and job types for an H-1B
• The H-1B timeline: filing and lottery
• Present challenges related to getting H-1Bs
• Other options to get visas in other countries

Don’t miss my upcoming conversations with top Silicon Valley venture capitalists, startup founders, professors, futurists, and thought leaders on Immigration Law for Tech Startups. Subscribe to this podcast here or on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or whatever your favorite platform is. As always, we welcome your rating and review of this podcast. We appreciate your feedback!

Alcorn Immigration Law:

• Subscribe to the monthly Alcorn newsletter
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups podcast:
  • Episode 099: H-1B Planning for FY2023
  • Episode 104: H-1B FY2023 Lottery Planning
  • Episode 129: H-1B Trends with Robert Bouchard, The H-1B Guy
• Immigration Options for Talent, Investors, and Founders
• Immigration Law for Tech Startups eBook
• Extraordinary Ability Bootcamp course for best practices for securing the O-1A visa, EB-1A green card, or the EB-2 NIW (National Interest Waiver) green card—the top options for startup founders. Use promotion code ILTS for 20% off the enrollment fee.