Tell your Startup Visa story

I've been promising big Startup Visa-related news on Twitter for a few weeks. There is news, it's very exciting, and I still can't share it. Soon, I promise. But in order for this idea to progress into legislation,  we need your help. Whether you're a US citizen or an immigrant, entrepreneur or investor, founder or employee, there's something you can do. This is especially true if you live outside the echo chamber of Silicon Valley. There are four ways to get involved below. Even if none apply to you, see if you know someone who could help. Thanks!

1. If you are an immigrant founder who has helped build a company that has created jobs in the US, we need you to tell your story. If we receive your story by February 27th, it will become part of our Geeks on a Plane DC delegation (including me) talking to lawmakers. We've created a place where you can tell your Startup Visa story anonymously if you'd like. Or, if you'd prefer to do it by video, you can upload to YouTube - just use the "startup visa" tag.
   
   
2. If you're a startup investor, and you support the goals of the Startup Visa proposal, we'd like you lend your name to our efforts. You can read about the latest iteration of the proposal at StartupVisa.com. If you're willing to publicly sign on to a letter of support, please get in touch. If you'd be willing to talk to the press about your support, please leave a comment here as well.
   
   
3. If you are a US citizen that is employed at a company with at least one immigrant founder, we'd love to hear your stories, too. Part of our belief in advancing this legislation is that more startup founders means more jobs and economic growth for everyone. The fact of Americans standing up for our values - of openness, meritocracy, and entrepreneurship - is especially powerful.
   
   
4. If you're registered to vote in the United States, and you'd like your elected representatives to know that you support the Startup Visa, you can register your support in just two minutes at http://2gov.org/visa. Although signing up is about as much work as a tweet, the impact is much larger. 2gov does the work to produce hard-copy reports of constituent sentiment and delivers them to the appropriate officials. So by signing up, you're sending a message directly to the decision-makers who depend on your votes for their jobs.

I hope you'll choose one of the steps above to help out. If you have other ideas, please feel free to leave them in a comment.

I know that sometimes campaigns like this can seem overwhelming. But your support has already had tremendous impact. The good news I hope we'll get to announce in a few days is the direct result of the twitter campaign you helped launch last year. At some point, I hope I'll be able to tell you more. For now, take my word for it. You are making this happen. Thank you.