The Startup Visa® Podcast

Send us Fan Mail Given the various challenges in the United States, many US residents are looking for information about how to immigrate to Canada. Tahmina speaks with David Kika, an immigration expert practicing Canadian immigration law David Kika is a seasoned business immigration professional based in North Vancouver, BC, with deep expertise in Canadian and international immigration pathways. H...

Send us Fan Mail Daniel Sawko is the CEO and co-founder of shipshape.vc, a free-to-use investment search engine designed to help founders quickly and precisely identify the right investors for their business. Built to take the guesswork out of investor targeting, shipshape.vc empowers startups to filter thousands of potential backers by sector, stage, geography, and intent—saving founders weeks of...

Send us Fan Mail Efren Hernandez, a life long USCIS policy leader, now working in the private sector sits down with Tahmina to discuss the shocking $100,000 fee imposed on H-1B visas.  Efren Hernandez is the Founder of EH3 Immigration Consulting. He is an immigration lawyer with 32 years of experience in the field, the vast majority at the former INS and at USCIS. While he has seen and done just a...

Send us Fan Mail Given the various challenges in the United States, many US residents are looking for information about how to immigrate to Canada. Tahmina speaks with David Kika, an immigration expert practicing Canadian immigration law David Kika is a seasoned business immigration professional based in North Vancouver, BC, with deep expertise in Canadian and international immigration pathways. H...

Send us Fan Mail Senator Slatter helped pass state funding for a Washington State immigrant entrepreneur program, one of a handful in the entire country. Tahmina sits down to speak with her.  Senator Vandana Slatter (D–WA 48th District) is a pharmacist, biotech professional, and trailblazing lawmaker who brings science, compassion, and equity to public service. Currently Vice Chair of the Senate E...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, our guest is Chris Bloomquist. He is a 20 year veteran to the technology industry, a 2 time startup founder and expanding into the climate and environmental recruiting industries.  He has a passion to tell the stories of impactful environmental organizations, leveraging his executive level recruitment expertise to put inspiring people to work, and believes that eq...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Veronica, Founder and Managing Director of Sealand Ship Agents and Suppliers & Delver Agents. Veronica transformed Delver Agents into the premier cruise ship agency and supplier in Ushuaia, Argentina, working with exclusive boutique operators, mainstream cruise lines, and expedition cruise companies worldwide. She specia...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Connor O'Brien, a Research and Policy Analyst at the Economic Innovation Group (EIG), where he focuses on high-skilled immigration reform and innovation policy. His research has been cited by media outlets such as Axios, Bloomberg, and the New York Times, and his writing has appeared in Newsweek, National Review, and Ci...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Steve Tobocman, an innovator and leader in the nonprofit, political, and economic fields. Steve has launched several successful nonprofit initiatives, including Global Detroit, WE Global Network, and ProsperUS Detroit, and has built a notable political career as a state legislator. His work has been recognized nationally, an...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Craig Montuori , Co-Founder Global Entrepreneur in Residence Coalition . He is also the Co-Founder of the C19 Coalition and was previously the founding partner of Venture Politics, where he advised numerous political campaigns on engaging the startup community and lobbied Capitol Hill offices and the White House on behalf of...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I interview Jennifer Weinhart , Senior Policy Advisor at Engine. Engine supports the growth of technology entrepreneurship through economic research, policy analysis, and advocacy on local and national issues. It is the voice of startups in government. In addition, Jennifer and Tahmina co-authored an OpEd published in The Hill- Opinion: Green cards for internation...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I speak with Daniel Glazer, founding partner of Wilson Sonsini's London office and a leading expert on helping UK and European tech and life sciences companies expand into the U.S.  Daniel has advised numerous high-growth companies on U.S. market entry, fundraising, and M&A. He is a recognized leader in transatlantic innovation and has partnered with majo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Kristen Hoff, co-founder of Global Talent PR, a specialized agency focused on showcasing the abilities of O1, EB-1, and Global Talent visa applicants. Kristen helps international talent craft compelling narratives that highlight their achievements in fields ranging from science and arts to business and technology. Her expert...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of The Startup Visa Podcast, I speak with Conor Bradshaw, a former client and a dynamic leader who has spent his career producing TV commercials for Fortune 100 tech companies and is now focused on building at Brex. Conor recently graduated from the University of Washington, specializing in Human Decision Science, and continues to pursue his passion for innovative...

Send us Fan Mail Matthew Sawyer is the author of the bestselling book “Make it in America.”  He is also the Managing Director of USAccelerator, and Professor at Columbia and New York Universities.  Matthew shares his insights on market intelligence, strategic consulting, and helping international businesses thrive in the American landscape. I hope you enjoy this conversation as much as I enjoyed s...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast . In this episode, I am honored to speak with Sridhar Katta, CEO and Founder of TruVs.com . TruVs Inc, is a modern business and technology consulting company. They help their customers modernize their business operations using world class business processes and cutting edge technologies. Hear Sridhar share about his immigrant ent...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast . In this episode, I am honored to speak with Marko Issever , CEO and Founder of America EB5 Visa . America EB-5 Visa aims to connect international investors aiming to immigrate to the United States while making a meaningful financial contribution in the form of an investment, typically on a real estate project with seekers of th...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast. In this episode, I am honored to speak with Gavin Johnson , Attorney at Immix Law . As both an entrepreneur and business attorney with an active presence within the Washington State startup scene, Gavin assists clients from early concept stage to clients navigating complex mergers and acquisitions. With his legal and business ex...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast (all episodes linked here ). In this episode, I am honored to speak with Jeremy L. Neufeld, Senior Immigration Fellow at Institute for Progress . Previously, he was an immigration policy analyst at the Niskanen Center. His work has been cited in numerous outlets including the Washington Post, the Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, a...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast. In this episode, I am honored to speak with William Dean , VP of Immigration at Masterplans . William has frequently been a featured panelist at the EB-5 Investors Conference, having spoken on direct investment, business visa options, and franchising. He is also a contributing author to the magazine, writing about job calculatio...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast. Today I have the honor of speaking with Jordan Lawrence , Business Development Associate as Houston EB-5. Developing new relationships with partners in the immigration investment industry is at the heart of what Jordan Lawrence does. Cultivating a network that spans attorneys, wealth managers, international realtors, private ban...

Send us Fan Mail Thank you for tuning in to The Startup Visa Podcast. In this episode, I am honored to speak with Shashi Vijay , Principal Attorney at VJ Law Firm, and friends Ravi Bulusu and Venkatram Reddy Ravi. Shashi founded VJ Law Firm in Fall 2010 with a simple vision: Provide fast, affordable legal services to individuals, families and small-businesses in the Seattle Eastside. She is also t...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode, I interview Jennifer Weinhart , Policy Manager at Engine. Engine supports the growth of technology entrepreneurship through economic research, policy analysis, and advocacy on local and national issues. It is the voice of startups in government. Hope you enjoy listening as much as I enjoyed interviewing her! The Startup Visa Series is a series of interviews of tho...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Danish Soomro , Founder of visadb.io , the first internet visa database. visadb.io is passionate about making travel, work and living abroad easy for the seven billion people around the globe by offering online access to professional and legal help. They also offer free visa information, relocation planning tools and talent...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Startup Visa Series, I speak with Jason Wiens , Policy Director at the Kauffman Foundation . He oversees a national grant portfolio of advocacy projects that educate policymakers about how government can support entrepreneurship and directs the Kauffman-led Start Us Up coalition . His views on entrepreneurship policy have been published in The Wall Street Jo...