In a surprising and controversial move, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has rejected a green card application filed by Yuchen Jin, a prominent computer scientist and chief technology officer of AI startup Hyperbolic Labs. This rejection sparked a huge debate in the technology community over the evaluation criteria used by immigration authorities.
Jin, who co-founded Hyperbolic Labs and successfully secured $20 million in funding for the company, learned that his contributions were deemed to lack the necessary influence “beyond Apple, Inc.” It was done. In a rare error, USCIS mistakenly identified Mr. Jin as Apple’s chief technology officer, a position he never held.
After waiting for a decision for more than a year, Jin expressed his dissatisfaction on social media X, criticizing the authorities’ reasoning as “careless and inconsistent.” He said, “What do you mean? I’ve never worked at Apple. I got a CS PhD, co-founded an AI startup, and raised $20 million. And yet, I’ve never worked at Apple. I waited a year and was rejected for this stupid reason.”
Despite acknowledging Jin’s significant contributions to advanced technology, USCIS ultimately determined that his research did not meet the economic and national impact standards required for the green card category. The decision sparked alarm among business leaders, who noted that the agency’s rationale could be vague and formulaic.
In response to the denial, Jin appealed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal initiative launched by President-elect Donald Trump to reform the high-skilled immigration system. DOGE is comprised of high-profile figures including Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, and is focused on streamlining government processes and reducing regulatory burdens.
Mr. Jin argues that America’s competitiveness depends largely on its ability to attract skilled immigrants, and calls for an overhaul of the high-skilled immigration system. “Highly skilled immigrants are America’s secret weapon. Immigration should be a meritocracy, not left to immigrants who carelessly review documents or copy and paste reasons for refusal,” he said. !” he said.
One user commented on Jin’s post: “Are you considering an appeal? This is such a blatant mistake that it might be successful (less than 2% success rate).”
To this he replied: “I was told by @deedydas that there was little chance of an appeal, and someone said that a pending appeal could affect my ability to reapply, so I decided to just reapply. I hope the system matches me with a better police officer this time.”
