A visa route built for employees can fail prospective founders

Lex Zhao, a venture investor, argued in Rest of World that U.S. immigration policy can lose promising founders even when American universities successfully attract them.

The mismatch is temporal. A graduate who wants to start a company immediately may face a system that more readily accommodates joining an established employer and waiting for a durable status. A startup idea does not necessarily remain attractive through that wait.

Zhao used AI researchers and international recruitment efforts to make the case that scientific training, employment, and company formation should be considered together. His proposed response was an active pathway for identifying and retaining potential founders.

This is an advocacy essay from someone who invests in immigrant entrepreneurs, rather than a causal study proving which policy caused each departure. Its strongest contribution is the distinction between attracting talent to study and giving that talent a workable route to build.