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Mayor Bloomberg throws support behind expanded EB-5 visa program
Last week, a group of entrepreneurs from India won the NYC Next Idea 2009-2010 competition, which is aimed at supporting and encouraging foreign entrepreneurs who submit their business plans in New York City.
In this, the competition’s first year, the winners were awarded $20,000 and an incubator space in the city for two years. The entrepreneurs have developed a product which uses large battery storage sites to efficiently distribute energy.
NYC Mayor Mike Bloomberg, who announced the winner, called for additional support for immigration policies such as the EB-5 visa program to assist the city’s economy during his announcement.
“I have described this country’s immigration policies as national suicide. We are educating the best and the brightest and giving them the opportunity, and then we don’t give them green cards,” Bloomberg said at the event, as reported by USAdvisors.
He further denied the pervasive belief that foreigners are taking American jobs away from citizens, saying, “Immigrants are the solution to our problem.”
The Mayor went on to commend Congressman Jared Polis, a Democrat from Colorado, for proposing an ancillary EB-5 visa program in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to the news source.
The proposal aims to encourage foreign-born entrepreneurs interested in starting a technology company to bring their investments and experience to the U.S.