deepak8612 | 13 years ago | on: Ask HN: Govt Request – Entrepreneur/Engineer Immigration Horror Stories?
deepak8612 | 13 years ago | on: Ask HN: Govt Request – Entrepreneur/Engineer Immigration Horror Stories?
See this article for a piece Steve Case wrote about me: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224579
He also used the story as an example in a testimony at a congressional hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=...
Quick brief on the situation: * PhD/MD till katrina hit the city and changed the course of my life. * Phd (genetics) at UNC, where I founded my first company (biotech) during my 3rd year. Saw I could have huge impact on peoples lives through these type of ventures * DC for post-doc -- started 2nd company (data analytics in heath and wellness) * Triangle Startup factory (accelerator), a little money, and some mentorship later we are where we are (4 person team, v1 web app, growing user base ~10K, revenue, building mobile apps, pilot testing biometric sensors). Predictive analytics aimed at harnessing behavioral data exhaust in a meaningful and structured manner and extracting actionable knowledge from it. Shifting the paradigm from "lets tell you what you have done" to "let us tell you what you NEED TO DO to get healthier and fitter." * Havent left the country since 2009. Started MBA early because my OPT (optional practical training) expired and I wanted to stay in the country. I can't sponsor myself for an H1. Cant really get funding while I am in school (investment risk - could potentially be overcome). Can't be out of school because of immigration rules. * Finally left so I could see family. Had to get a new visa to come back and finish school... but visa application just got flagged and is going through "administrative review". I have been stuck here now for over 3 weeks without any definite end in sight. This leaves me with running a team remotely (extremely), paying for an education that I cant take advantage of (one that I was getting in order to build a US-based business), cancelling and having to rebook travel plans (I know, not that big of a deal -- but it is a few thousand $$) and waiting.....
Happy to continue offline...
