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Happy Wednesday. ✨

Soundarya here, from Unshackled. :)

After months of hard work by me and my team, we're officially launching the 2.0 version of the Unshackled website. We've chosen a darker (and dare I say, cooler) theme this time. There are still many bug fixes and updates -- but I hope you enjoy the initial look!

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Check out Unshackled website 2.0

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Before we jump in, I want to thank our sponsors Inri and Coverdoc.ai who made this newsletter free for all. And, I'm delighted to welcome 155 new subscribers to our newsletter since last week. Welcome, welcome! 🙏

You're receiving this email as part of the Unshackled weekly newsletter. Immigration is a complex world. So every Wednesday, I try to simplify that by sharing top stories and relevant resources that matter to you. I also sprinkle it with updates on what's happening with the Unshackled book & community. If you find value in reading it, forward this to a lucky friend. If this was forwarded to you, get your own here! Read all the past editions here. 💃

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This week's TL;DR

• ​Free webinar with O-1A recipient & founder: Hemant Gangolia.
• ​Free webinar on self-petitioning with Fiona McEntee, an immigration lawyer.
• Check out Unshackled's website 2.0!​

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📌 UNfold: Top stories

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​U.S. Risks Decline And Stagnation Without Immigrants​

New research indicates that the U.S. faces potential stagnation and a decline in living standards without immigrants. Not surprising, of course. Immigrants are essential to counteract the falling U.S. birthrate and the retirement of Baby Boomers. By 2040, the U.S. will have over 6 million fewer working-age individuals than in 2022. The study by economist Madeline Zavodny emphasizes that international migration is the "sole potential source of growth for the U.S. working-age population in the upcoming years."

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​DOJ Sues SpaceX for Discriminating Against Asylees and Refugees in Hiring​

Yep. The lawsuit alleges that SpaceX routinely discouraged refugees and asylees from applying and refused to consider them between September 2018 and May 2022. This could be in violation of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). Elon Musk, in his style, took to X (formerly Twitter) to deny these allegations & state that SpaceX was forced to only hire citizens.

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🎁 UNlock: Relevant resources

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​[Free Webinar] H-1B to H-4 to O-1A as a founder [01 Sept 2023, 08:00 AM PST]​

I'm thrilled to interview Hemant Gangolia, the co-founder of Inri and a recent O-1A recipient! Hemant's story is one of a kind: he was on an H-1B with Meta until he eventually quit that to switch to an H-4 and build his startup. He didn't take a salary for 16 months though -- due to H-4 restrictions -- until he finally got his O-1A. [This is a free webinar conducted as part of the Unshackled community.]

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​[Free Webinar] Self-Sponsor Your Way to a U.S. Green Card [30 Aug 2023, 10:00 AM PST]​

Fiona McEntee, an award-winning immigration lawyer, is hosting a webinar on August 30th at 12 p.m. CT. The webinar will focus on self-sponsoring a U.S. green card and will cover two options: the National Interest Waiver and the EB-1A visa. Check it out if you're actively thinking of either of those pathways!

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​Steps to Secure Your U.S. Green Card from a Temporary Work Visa​

Let's say you just got approved for an EB-1/2/3. Yay! But now what? This article details the steps you need to take from the moment you get approval until you actually get the green card in your hands.

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🪄 UNveil: This week’s sponsors

• Are you an NRI wanting to invest in India? Inri's got you covered. They're a fintech platform that makes the complex process of opening a bank account, curating a portfolio, & cross-border taxes simple and convenient. Best part? You can access their platform for FREE for a lifetime if you sign up & invest by August 31st (tomorrow!). Watch this video to know more.

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• Are you actively recruiting? Awesome. Use CoverDoc to craft a stellar cover letter in minutes using AI. With just a few details, CoverDoc crafts a tailor-made letter, delivered to your Inbox. They also help you prepare for your interview & rate your application. Check 'em out.

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👉 Want to sponsor an upcoming newsletter? Just hit reply to start a conversation.

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🥳 UNshackled: What's happening in the community?

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We have 125+ O-1/EB-1 aspirants who signed up for a 1:1 user interview. If you were one of them, thank you! I'll be sending you a personal WhatsApp message by this weekend with the next steps.

Besides the above, here's what brewin' in the community:

• We've added a new mentor to our directory: Varun Negandhi. If you spend time on LinkedIn, chances are you've come across Varun's posts! Varun has generously offered his time to anyone who wants to move to Canada, get promoted in their jobs, or build a side income. This makes 6 mentors in total who offer a free consult!
• Upcoming webinar with O-1A recipient: Hemant Gangolia, co-founder of Inri.
• Upcoming webinar with EB-1A recipient: Sunku Ranganath, a Product Leader at Intel. (next week!)
• [Coming soon] An O-1/EB-1 tracker that will bring order to chaos when you prepare your application.
• [Coming soon] A database of awards, memberships, judging, and publications to get you started!

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If you'd like to join the community and get access to the above, along with free lawyer consults, free mentor consults, weekly events, and a ton of resources, use this private link (with a 20% discount).​

Or, if you just wanna kick back and read the book for now, get your copy on Amazon today! (both Kindle and paperback)

Until next week, stay fantabulous.

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Yours truly,

Soundarya 💚

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