352: Immigration Reform and the Power of a Diverse Population with Tahmina Watson

Summary On this episode of Startup Junkies, hosts Jeff Amerine, Grace Gill, and Harrison Kitson are joined by Tahmina Watson, founder of Watson Immigration Law, a Seattle-based law firm that exclusively practices in the area of United State immigration and naturalization law. Throughout the episode, Tahmina discusses the challenges many immigrant entrepreneurs face when trying to obtain their visas, the importance of advocacy, the power of making someone else’s dreams come true, her latest book The Startup Visa: U.S. Immigration Visa Guide for Startups and Founders, and much more!   Show Notes (0:51) Introducing Tahmina Watson (2:51) Immigration Challenges for Entrepreneurs (10:05) Skills-Based Immigration Policies (13:48) Catering to a Diverse Population (15:46) Tahmina’s Inspiration for Writing a Book (20:58) The Startup Visa: U.S. Immigration Visa Guide for Startups and Founders (25:33) The Power of Good Karma (30:10) Advice to the Younger Self and Closing Thoughts   Links Jeff Amerine Grace Gill Harrison Kitson Tahmina Watson Watson Immigration Law     The Startup Visa: U.S. Immigration Visa Guide for Startups and Founders    Quotes “Immigrants do get the job done, but entrepreneurship is also a throughline in the American history. And so if we are looking to have an America that is going to be prosperous for our children [and] our grandchildren, we need to keep the eye on the ball of making sure that the next generation of entrepreneurs come to the U.S. And this is where we have the next Google and the next thing that’s going to change the world.” - Tahmina Watson, (7:15)   “One of the things that is so important for me to explain so that people understand it is that when businesses cannot fill their positions, who is the loser? It’s the American consumer that is the loser. It’s the American tax purse that is the loser. You know, we are not helping ourselves by not thinking about the various tools that can solve our economic problems, and immigration is one of those tools.” - Tahmina Watson, (9:33) “I love being here. America’s given me my home. My children are here, and I want a country that my children can prosper in and their children can prosper in. And I think we need to use our voices with every tool possible—particularly immigration—to make that happen.” - Tahmina Watson, (13:27)