Flashstarts, Cleveland’s startup accelerator has entered into a new partnership with Global Cleveland. Together, the two organizations which support innovation and entrepreneurship in one of Ohio’s biggest cities, hope to attract more international talent to the area.
The partnership meshes each organizations natural talent to form a more robust strategic plan to attract entrepreneurs.
Both organizations are looking to utilize the H-1B Visa as a tool to attract entrepreneurs from anywhere in the world. Right now though, they need to secure a partnership with a major university. As the H-1b Visa stands, the US State Department can issue a maximum of 65,000 H-1B visas per year to immigrants in the workforce. They can issue another 20,000 for people with advanced degrees. Last year there were 236,000 applicants for those visas. Those capped numbers don’t apply to colleges and universities.
Flashstarts and Global Cleveland are looking to create a global Entrepreneur In Residence Program. That person or persons would work for and train at the university for 20 hours a week and spend the rest of their time at Flashstarts. The Global Entrepreneur In Residence Program “aligns perfectly with Global Cleveland’s vision of transforming Cleveland into an international hub of innovation,” Jessica Whale, director of Global Talent and Economic Development at Global Cleveland, stated in the news release.
Time is running out for Flashstarts, Global Cleveland and any other organization be it public, private or corporate, that’s looking to use the H-1B visa as a tool. President Donald Trump has already drafted an executive order to mandate hiring first in the US before resorting to seeking out immigrants through the H-1B program. That order is only a draft at this time.
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