Sophie Alcorn Podcast

Join Sophie in welcoming Doug Rand, a visionary in the realm of innovation and immigration policy, to explore the unique journey that led him from the world of evolutionary biology to the corridors of the White House. Doug shares his fascinating transition from scientific research to entrepreneurship and policy-making, shedding light on the pivotal role of his work under the Obama administration i...

Isabelle is the Head of the Startup Battlefield Program at TechCrunch, where she leads the sourcing and selection of 200 game-changing, early-stage companies each year to showcase at TechCrunch Disrupt. Before this, she managed a global startup accelerator, helping hundreds of startups from countries like Japan, South Korea, Italy, and Spain expand to the U.S. Isabelle is passionate about supporti...

Haseeb Awan, CEO of Efani Secure Mobile, protects celebrities and high-net-worth individuals from phone hacking. A Y Combinator alumnus and telecom engineer, he also co-founded a major Bitcoin ATM network. His work has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, and Hulu.  Haseeb's journey from Pakistan to the United States is nothing short of extraordinary. Picture this: a student i...

Rachel Perić is Executive Director of Welcoming America.  Inspired by her family's refugee story,  she has worked for more than a decade to grow the worldwide movement of welcomers and advocate for the power of everyday people to build welcoming communities for all.   Rachel has worked throughout her career with local leaders whose innovative solutions to community building in an era of migration...

Best-selling author, sought-after speaker, and transformation consultant, Michael's purpose is to unlock your full potential by helping you rethink your approach to change. Michael is a coach to companies, leaders, teams, and individuals seeking to improve performance through transformation. Embark on a journey with us as we unravel how aligning personal and organizational goals with the brain's n...

Jonathan Nelson is the Founder and Executive Director of HF Capital, which provides corporate advisory and project management services to assist growth-stage technology companies in raising capital through stock exchanges. He previously founded Hackers/Founders, which is one of the largest global communities of tech founders. In addition, Jonathan also serves in advisory roles for the Partnership...

James Peck leads Cooper Parry's Tech and High Growth Tax Team, specializing in supporting venture and PE-backed businesses as they scale from Early Stage through various funding rounds and prepare for liquidity events.  Before joining Cooper Parry, he was at Grant Thornton, where he headed their Fast Growth Technology Tax Team.  Passionate about fostering growth and innovation, James has also ment...

Unlock the secrets of the PERM process and transform your approach to employment-based immigration. Sophie's latest episode takes you on a journey through the key stages of the U.S. immigration system's Program Electronic Review Management (PERM), revealing how employers can successfully sponsor foreign workers for green cards. Sophie provides insights into the vital steps including prevailing wag...

Join Sophie for an enlightening conversation with Amy Nice, a distinguished immigration lawyer and policy expert, as we unpack the complexities of STEM immigration policy. Amy shares her invaluable insights into how immigrants with advanced STEM degrees are pivotal to America's innovation, economic growth, and national security. Amidst the challenges of navigating the U.S. immigration system, Amy'...

Immigration law expert Jonathan Grode joins us to unravel the complexities of employment-based immigration in the U.S. We discuss the challenges businesses face with I-9 forms and the critical importance of audits and training to mitigate risks. With a focus on the economic and logistical consequences of increased enforcement under the Trump administration, we highlight the significant contributio...

Unlock the secrets of U.S. immigration laws with our exclusive insights into the H-1B visa process for tech founders and startup teams. You'll discover how recent regulatory changes empower founders to fully own their ventures while navigating the complex employer-employee dynamics. Learn how to craft immigration strategies that align with your entrepreneurial vision, ensuring both your business a...

Dr. José-Marie Griffiths is the President of Dakota State University in Madison, South Dakota. She has spent her career in research, teaching, public service, corporate leadership, workforce and economic development, and higher education administration, with a special focus on working in STEM fields.  She has served in presidential appointments to the National Science Board, the U.S. President's I...

Deedy Das invests at Menlo Ventures in Seed and Series A companies in AI / SaaS / Infra and helps run the $100M Anthology Fund with Anthropic. He was on the founding team of the $4.6B enterprise search and AI company Glean, where he built and led Glean Assistant to $15M+ ARR. Deedy also writes frequently about tech, AI, startups, and immigration on X which have received 400M+ views and been featur...

Steve Tobocman is a serial entrepreneur in the nonprofit sector, having co-led or led the launch of nearly a dozen creative nonprofit endeavors, most of which are forwarding social justice and economic opportunity to this day. Steve is the Executive Director of Global Detroit, a nationally recognized leader in the emerging field of immigrant-inclusive economic development. He is a former State Rep...

The H-1B visa serves as a vital pathway for global talent in specialty occupations, driving innovation and economic growth in the United States. In this episode, Sophie explains the essential requirements for both employers and employees, clarifying the numerical cap, lottery system, and special exemptions for universities and research organizations. She provides insights into the application time...

Jeremiah Anderson is the CEO and co-founder of ORE, a pioneering company transforming mineral exploration through cutting-edge muon tomography technology. With more than a decade leading the development of scalable products that leverage physics and AI, Jeremiah now drives a diverse team dedicated to creating faster, cost-effective, and environmentally sustainable solutions for subsurface imaging....

Learn the secrets to a seamless F-1 to H-1B transition with us as Sophie Alcorn unpacks the groundbreaking updates taking effect in January 2025. By extending cap gap protections, these changes promise international graduates an additional six months of work authorization while waiting for H-1B approval, transforming the landscape for students and employers alike. Learn how this extension reduces...

Bret Waters has been in Silicon Valley his entire career as an entrepreneur, CEO, academic, and investor. Today he teaches entrepreneurship at Stanford, coaches startup CEO's at Miller Center for Social Entrepreneurship, and gives talks around the world on the democratization of entrepreneurship. He is the author of a new book, The Launch Path: Getting from a startup idea to a launched venture. Ex...

Jesse M. Bless is the founder and owner of Bless Litigation LLC.  Jesse worked in the U.S. Department of Justice between September 2004 and May 2017.  Prior to opening Bless Litigation LLC, Jesse was selected as the American Immigration Lawyers Association's first Director of Federal Litigation (2019-2022). Discover how Jesse's impactful work with the American Immigration Lawyers Association conti...

Visionary insights from Dr. Alvy Ray Smith, co-founder of Pixar, reveal the unnoticed revolution of digital convergence that began around 2000. He shares how this shift from analog to digital media, driven by the relentless pace of Moore's Law, set the stage for game-changing technologies like AI. Through a captivating discussion, we revisit the days when analog ruled and follow the technological...

Christian Ray Flores is an entrepreneur, evangelist, international recording artist, and philanthropist. From a childhood as a refugee, he has forged an extraordinary path as a successful artist, entrepreneur, speaker, and leader. Christian founded Xponential as a coaching program and community for world changers to thrive for life. His book, Little Book of Big Reasons to Love America , will be pu...

Jeremy Robbins is the Executive Director of the American Immigration Council. Previously, Jeremy spent more than a decade building New American Economy, the think tank and advocacy organization founded by Michael Bloomberg to make the economic case for smarter immigration policies, as NAE's first and sole Executive Director. Prior to that, Jeremy served as a policy advisor and special counsel in t...

Kelli J. Stump is the President of the American Immigration Lawyers Association where she has also served as chair of the EOIR and ICE committees, as well as serving as a member of many National AILA Liaison committees including several conference planning committees, the Membership Committee, and the Publications Committee. She is the owner and principal attorney at Stump Law in Oklahoma City, OK...

Professor of Law and Migration Studies, University of San Francisco; Founder of the Immigrant Legal Resource Center and the USF Immigration & Deportation Defense Clinic. Author of many books: most recently Humanizing Immigration: How to Transform Our Racist and Unjust Immigration System), and co-counsel in precedent-setting Supreme Court asylum case: INS v. Cardoza-Fonseca (1987). In this episode,...

Unlock the keys to navigating the future of U.S. immigration policy as we analyze the potential shifts under the Trump administration. Through the lens of an experienced immigration lawyer, we promise insights into how recent election outcomes may reshape high-skilled and business immigration. From H-1B and L-1 visa types to enforcement strategies, we scrutinize Trump's official principles and the...