Jan 21, 2019 · 1h 6m · a16z
Immigration Shifts 2019: Prep & Resources for Startups
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gold bands on the timeline = statements, start to end. Hover to read, click to jump. CC turns on captions
In this comprehensive presentation, ImmiPartner Principals Ting Ni and Hendrick Pretorius guide tech startups through the complex landscape of U.S. corporate immigration in 2019. They outline strategies for overcoming H-1B challenges, exploring alternative visa options, adapting to policy shifts, and establishing compliant internal corporate policies.
How this conversation actually went
Every chapter scored 0–10 on four independent dynamics. Hover any point for the reasoning behind the score. How this is scored →
The host as informed peer 0.0 Guest teaching 3.3 Guest disagreement 0.0 The host pushing back 0.0
speaking balance: gold is the host, purple is the guest (3 minute bins)
Sharpest disagreement ▶ 23:45 Critiquing USCIS logic on wage levels
Ting Ni explicitly criticizes USCIS for using faulty logic when denying specialty occupation status to entry-level wage level one positions.
Hardest push from the host ▶ 0:00 Host introduction and handoffThe host provides no substantive pushback during this webinar session, merely handing off the presentation to the speakers.
Biggest teaching moment ▶ 10:35 Educating audience on H-1B RFE surgeTing Ni educates the audience on the post-2017 policy shift that caused H-1B RFE issuance rates to jump from 22.5% to 68.9%.
The host holds their own ▶ 0:00 Host session openingThe host does not demonstrate legal expertise during this presentation, leaving all substantive analysis to the guest attorneys.
the scores for every segment, with the reasoning behind each
| Chapter | Topic | The host as informed peer | Guest teaching | Guest disagreement | The host pushing back | Why |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Overview of Presentation Agenda | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Ting Ni and Hendrick Pretorius present a corporate immigration overview and stats for Silicon Valley startups. As a presentation monologue without host participation, host expertise and pushback scores are zero. | |
| Current Trends: Federal Shutdown Impact on Immigration | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ting Ni details the impact of the federal government shutdown on agencies like USCIS, DOL, and E-Verify. The presentation continues uninterrupted without host involvement. | |
| Current Trends: H-1B Statistics and RFE Landscape | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ting Ni explains the post-2017 surge in H-1B Request for Evidence (RFE) rates and why the H-1B remains the preferred visa. The host does not intervene. | |
| H-1B RFE Challenges: Specialty Occupation & SOC Codes | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | The presenters break down specialty occupation challenges, proper job descriptions, and SOC code selection. The host is inactive throughout this informational segment. | |
| H-1B RFE Challenges: Wage Tiers and Job Duties | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ting Ni explains Department of Labor wage tiers and how misaligning compensation levels with duties causes RFEs. No host dialogue occurs. | |
| H-1B RFE Challenges: VIBE Database, Inability to Pay, and Best Practices | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Hendrick Pretorius explains the VIBE database, Dun & Bradstreet updates, and proving financial ability to pay offered wages. The segment is a monologue presentation. | |
| Visa Alternatives to the H-1B | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | The presenters review alternatives to H-1B visas, including OPT/STEM OPT, O-1, treaty visas, J-1, L-1, and Canadian relocation. The host provides no commentary. | |
| On the Horizon: Prospective Immigration Policy Changes | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | Hendrick Pretorius outlines prospective policy shifts, including premium processing suspensions and proposed H-1B pre-registration rules. The host does not offer questions or pushback. | |
| 2019 To-Do List: Crafting an Internal Immigration Policy | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Hendrick Pretorius details key considerations for establishing an internal corporate immigration policy. The monologue format continues without host involvement. | |
| 2019 To-Do List: Staff Training and Compliance Preparedness | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | Ting Ni concludes with staff training guidelines, cloud compliance recordkeeping, and preparing for unannounced USCIS site visits. The presentation concludes without host pushback. |
Statements from this episode (22)
Ting Ni argues immigration strategy should be a key employee retention tool
“Immigration should really become a key aspect of your retention strategy for your employees.”
Ting Ni states H-1B visa denial rates are rising
“Now that Denial rates have gone up although not significantly. They, they're definitely increasing.”
Pretorius: Over 70% of Silicon Valley tech workers are foreign-born
“70% of the core working group of residents in the Silicon Valley who are engaged in computer and math related occupations are foreign born, are foreign national.”
Pretorius: Onboarding foreign national employees takes six times longer on average
“A study conducted by SHRM, which is a well-respected human resource management organization, and they found that on average, you know when a foreign national is involved, kind of the onboarding recruitment process tends to take, Again, on average, about six ti…”
Pretorius: 70% of foreign job candidates prioritize green card sponsorship policies
“70% of foreign nationals, or those, you know, who need visas to get employment authorization, state that a company's green card policy, particularly in terms of when they're willing to start sponsorship for a green card, plays a major role in deciding whether …”
Pretorius: U.S. immigration worksite investigations quadrupled to 6,800 in 2018
“In fiscal year, 2018, there were about 6800 worksite investigations, compared to a 1600 the year before that. And similarly, there were about 6000 I-nine audits, compared to a 1300 in the fiscal year before.”
Ting Ni: 75% of immigration agencies stay open during federal shutdowns
“75% of the agencies and programs that deal with immigration remain open, and that's because USCIS and Department of State, these are agencies that run on the fees that they collect from the application, so they are not appropriated Fees by the federal governme…”
Ting Ni: E-Verify non-compliance during shutdowns will be forgiven post-reopening
“So any non-compliance that's happening because you can't get a new case started Will generally be forgiven, and we do expect that to happen again once the government reopens.”
Ni: USCIS H-1B Request for Evidence rates jumped to 68.9% in 2017
“In Q-III, for all the H-I-Bs that were filed, 22.5% received RFE's. It's a little bit higher than the Q-II and the Q-I figures of 13.5 and 17.3% respectively, But it's still within the realm of reason. Fast forward to Q-IV, when everything kind of started happ…”
Ni: USCIS Googles startups to verify H-1B filings match public postings
“Because USCIS do Google companies and confirm whether what you're submitting matches with what you're putting out there to make sure that you're putting the right thing out there from the get-go.”
Ni: Filing H-1Bs under computer programmer SOC code risks RFE or denial
“So if you file an application with a computer programmer code instead of a software engineer code, you're very much going to get an RFE, if not a denial.”
Ni: USCIS logic equating Level 1 wages to non-specialty occupations is faulty
“The first USCIS challenge we see in the wage level category is this idea that Because an H-I-B position has a level one wage, it's not a specialty occupation, meaning any entry level position is by default not a specialty occupation, which is really faulty log…”
Ni: Level 1 wages for equity-heavy senior startup roles trigger USCIS issues
“So, you know, you have a very senior role with very senior job duties, but because you're a startup and you're, you know, kind of paying people more in equity you only, you can only have a wage level One salary. So for that reason, you choose a level one wage.…”
Pretorius: H-1B regulations do not require proving ability to pay wages
“There's actually no requirement for this in the H-B regulations that you have to prove your company can make this payment.”
Pretorius: Startup job postings rarely match H-1B visa applications
“Whatever you put out there in the public for recruitment is actually what you're also submitting in your application, and Ting alluded to this, and that's pretty rarely the case, actually”
Pretorius: Traditional immigration law firm models create conflicts of interest
“The business model of a traditional immigration law firm doesn't really lend itself to giving you enough time on that policy and those procedures, and sometimes there are also conflicts of interest that occur because immigration law firms generally representin…”
Ni: Special U.S. treaty visas exist for only five countries
“And we have a lot of trade treaties, but there's only Five countries that you need to be aware of from the immigration setting because those are the treaties that provide for a special visa. So the countries are Canada, Mexico, Australia, Singapore, and Chile.…”
Pretorius: Canadian work visas take weeks versus over a year in U.S.
“The Canadian government in particular has really seized on what's going on here in the US, and they've made the process of getting a work visa in Canada very streamlined in a matter of weeks compared to, for us, again, it's over a year and, or about a year in …”
Pretorius: USCIS likely to suspend H-1B cap premium processing again
“I think it's pretty safe to say for actual cap, based on what they've done the last two years, it's probably likely there's going to be some suspend, some suspension of that, whether it's before or they announce it right after, you know, cap season kicks off, …”
Pretorius: Banning entry-level H-1B visas will face long court battles
“Is potentially just saying any position that is getting, that falls into the wage level one, so entry level, is just not going to be eligible for H-I-Bs. That, it will be challenged in court, and so it's relative, it would, you know, probably take a while befo…”