ABSTRACT

In 2012, the company Blueseed announced a plan that would enable foreign-born entrepreneurs to work in the United States without a work visa. The entrepreneurs would live and work on a converted cruise ship, docked in international waters twelve nautical miles off the California coast. The residents would be transported to land in small ferries with easy access to Silicon Valley. The entrepreneurs could travel up to 180 days a year on a temporary business or tourist visa (B1/ B2), but could not earn money on the US mainland. This solution was Blueseed’s answer to the shortage of H-1B temporary work visas for skilled migrants in the United States. In the year 2012, the cap of 85,000 H-1B visas was reached within ten weeks, compared to thirty-three weeks in 2011. Over 1,500 entrepreneurs have expressed interest, and Blueseed is currently trying to raise US$31 million to launch the project (Blueseed; Gustin 2012). While critics have derided the Blueseed plan as a publicity stunt, it raises interesting questions about the politics and practicalities of international skilled migration.