Immigrant Founders' Summit In San Francisco To Spotlight Innovation Amid H-1B Visa Decline

A major summit celebrating immigrant entrepreneurship is set to take place in San Francisco this October against the backdrop of declining H-1B visa registrations and increasingly restrictive US immigration policies. The event comes as fresh data underscores the critical role immigrant founders continue to play in driving America's startup ecosystem and economic growth.

Summit to spotlight immigrants' contribution to US innovation

The One Way Summit, scheduled for October 28-29 in San Francisco, will bring together more than 1,000 founders, investors and technology leaders to examine the role of immigrant entrepreneurs in fostering innovation and building high-growth businesses.

The event comes at a time when immigration has become a focal point of policy debate in the United States. According to the Brookings Institution, 2025 marked the first year in five decades that the US recorded net negative migration. The think tank also cited data from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), showing a 38.5 per cent decline in eligible H-1B visa registrations for the 2026-27 cycle compared with the previous year.

Organisers are positioning the summit as a platform to highlight the importance of immigrant entrepreneurs in sustaining the US startup ecosystem despite an increasingly challenging immigration environment.

A report by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP) found that 59 per cent of US unicorn startups were founded or co-founded by immigrants. Together, these companies have generated nearly USD 5 trillion in value while creating hundreds of thousands of jobs.

The report also found that entrepreneurs born in India lead the list of immigrant founders, having established or co-founded 96 US unicorns. They are followed by founders born in Israel with 60 unicorns and the United Kingdom with 47.

Among the confirmed speakers are Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures; Severin Hacker, co-founder and CTO of Duolingo; Cal Henderson, co-founder and former CTO of Slack; Anna Makanju, Vice President of Global Impact at OpenAI; Immad Akhund, Founder and CEO of Mercury; Nicolas Dessaigne, General Partner at Y Combinator; Juan Pablo Ortega, co-founder of Rappi and Yuno; Manan Mehta, Founding Partner at Unshackled Ventures; and Gagan Biyani, co-founder of Udemy and Maven.

US immigration policies become more restrictive

The summit comes amid sweeping changes to US immigration policy, including tighter visa scrutiny, large-scale deportations and widespread cancellations of student visas.

One of the most significant proposed changes relates to international students. On May 5, 2026, the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) proposed ending the existing "Duration of Status" ("D/S") framework for F-1 student visas.

Under the current system, international students can generally remain in the United States as long as they maintain their academic status and comply with visa conditions.

The proposed rule would instead introduce a fixed admission period of up to four years for most F-1 and J-1 visa holders. Students seeking to continue their education or remain in the country for post-graduation work authorisation beyond that period would need formal approval from the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

The proposed changes are part of a broader tightening of US immigration and visa regulations that have raised concerns among international students, skilled professionals and the global technology community.

(With inputs from ANI)