Articles about immigration

‘I really want to fix this’: Microsoft vet launches Seattle startup to transform work visa applications

Priyanka Kulkarni loved her decade working at Microsoft. She believed she was contributing to meaningful projects, but they weren’t hers.… Read More

Podcast

Immigration and tech: New realities, old problems, and what’s at stake for the future

This week on the GeekWire Podcast: how the pandemic, politics, labor shortages, and the rise of remote work are impacting… Read More

Seattle’s Jane Park makes history in NYSE debut of women-run Athena Consumer Acquisition Corp.

The ceremonial ringing of the New York Stock Exchange opening bell Monday morning was symbolic in multiple ways for Jane… Read More

Immigration startup Boundless raises $25M, eyes opportunity with ‘pro-immigrant administration’

New funding: Seattle startup Boundless landed $25 million to help support people through the immigration process. The software: The company’s technology… Read More

Here’s the first thing President Biden should do to spark entrepreneurship in the U.S.

The most powerful lever President Joe Biden can pull to catalyze entrepreneurship in the U.S. is immigration reform. That’s according… Read More

President Biden doubles down on immigration agenda, but tech priorities take a backseat

President Joe Biden continued unwinding the previous administration’s controversial immigration agenda Tuesday through a series of executive orders. Over the… Read More

COVID-19 and Trump visa ban leave South Africa biotech startup in limbo as it plots move to Seattle

Jason Haddock had big plans for the rollout of his health tech startup in the U.S. The CEO of 3X4… Read More

Trump admin revokes rule requiring international students to take in-person classes to stay in the country

The Trump administration is walking back a controversial rule that would not allow international students to remain the country if… Read More

Washington state sues Trump administration over student visa rules

Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson announced plans to sue the federal government over new rules that would ban international students… Read More

Tech leaders slam Trump’s temporary work visa ban

Leaders from across U.S. technology industry are condemning new restrictions on employment-based visas imposed by President Donald Trump this week.… Read More

Amazon slams Trump’s new visa ban as ‘short-sighted’ risk to American competitiveness

President Donald Trump’s signature on an executive order further restricting immigration to the U.S. hardly had time to dry before… Read More

President Trump plans restrictions on skilled work visas used by tech and other industries

Update: President Donald Trump signed the temporary visa ban Monday afternoon and Amazon was quick to rebuke the policy. President Donald… Read More

Supreme Court’s denial of Trump’s attempt to rescind DACA is a win for Dreamers and Microsoft

The U.S. Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the Trump administration’s attempt to dissolve the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA)… Read More

How President Trump’s new immigration restrictions would impact the tech industry

President Donald Trump’s moratorium on a key immigration pathway is sowing fear in the U.S. technology industry, which relies on… Read More

GeekWire Calendar Picks: Susan Fowler talks about her book; the science of making alcohol; and more

— In 2017, news of sexual harassment problems at Uber made national headlines and investigations led to the ousting of… Read More

Remitly expands beyond remittances, launches new banking service for immigrants

Remitly, the well-funded Seattle startup that helps people send money overseas, is expanding beyond remittances for the first time and… Read More

Supreme Court lifts ban on Trump’s ‘public charge’ policy, making it harder for immigrants to qualify for green cards

The Trump administration is allowed to implement a rule that makes it difficult for immigrants who use public benefits to… Read More

Microsoft, Reddit, Twitter, others urge federal court to block Trump’s ‘public charge’ immigration rule

Companies across the country are trying to convince a federal judge that a new change to the U.S. immigration system… Read More

Legalpad raises $10M to scale work visa automation platform

A Seattle startup that helps companies apply for visas on behalf of international talent announced a $10 million investment round… Read More

Seattle port officials approve face recognition guardrails as feds waffle on the controversial tech

The Port of Seattle established new rules governing the use of biometric screening Tuesday amid an ongoing global debate over… Read More

Supreme Court hears Microsoft case challenging Trump’s decision to terminate DACA

Nineteen Microsoft employees traveled to the U.S. Supreme Court on Tuesday for a hearing in a critical immigration case that… Read More

Microsoft goes to bat for Dreamer employees as Supreme Court prepares to hear DACA case

There’s the service and security engineer — brought to the U.S. from Mexico when she was four years old —… Read More

Tableau employees hold rally in Seattle, ask leadership to sever ties with ICE and CBP

Tableau employees are adding their voices to the chorus of tech workers demanding their employers cancel contracts with the federal… Read More

Boundless launches tool to help immigrants assess risk, as courts block rollout of new Trump policy

One month after President Donald Trump’s 2017 inauguration, a Seattle startup called Boundless exited stealth mode and announced it would… Read More

Microsoft and GitHub workers protest ICE contracts in latest demonstration of employee activism

Microsoft employees are showing solidarity with workers at GitHub, a subsidiary of the company, who want their employer to cancel… Read More

Why Microsoft won’t unplug government agencies despite opposition to Trump policies

A new wave of employee activism is forcing tech companies to rethink — and in several cases cancel — contracts… Read More

Tech company Chef won’t renew U.S. immigration contracts, changing course amid employee activism

Software engineers are powerful players in the technology industry. Typically, they exercise that power to negotiate sky-high salaries that companies… Read More

Tech industry warns US immigration policy hurts American competitiveness in AI

A trade group representing some of the world’s largest technology companies is urging governments to rethink their immigration policies or… Read More

Lawsuit brought by Microsoft, others over Trump’s DACA cancelation heads to the Supreme Court

The DACA lawsuit Microsoft and Princeton University brought will be considered by the Supreme Court. The court will decide whether… Read More

DHS moving biometric screening system to Amazon Web Services amid debate over government tech

The Department of Homeland Security is migrating the system it uses to search for people using biometric data to Amazon’s… Read More