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Hi [FORMATTED_FIRST_NAME GOES HERE],

Happy Wednesday. ✨

Soundarya here, from Unshackled. :)

Here's a Thanksgiving offer for you: If you join the Unshackled community as an annual member anytime starting today until the end of the month (Nov 30th), you get a quadruple reward:

• $100 off on the Annual Membership
• Free 30-min consult with me (worth $125), and
• Free access to my course on how to plan with Notion (worth $200)
• A surprise gift from me :)

Use the coupon code "THANKSGIVING" while purchasing a membership, and DM me within the community to claim the other rewards!

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Before we jump in, I want to thank our sponsors Napkinsights and Topmate who made this newsletter free for all. And, I'm delighted to welcome 96 new subscribers to our newsletter since last week. We're 9450 members strong now! 🙏

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This week's TL;DR

• ​Apple hit with a $25M fine for favoring immigrants over citizens.
• ​Free Webinar: Getting a PR in Canada. [Nov 30th, 6:30 PM PST]
• ​Top 11 digital nomad visas for remote workers!

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📌 UNfold: Top stories

​Biden Administration Affirms Power to Revoke Visas for Hamas Supporters.

The Biden administration asserted its authority to revoke visas for U.S. residents supporting terrorist groups like Hamas. In response to Sen. Marco Rubio, the State Department confirms it can take immediate action, including visa revocation when there's evidence of ineligibility. Republicans push for stricter measures against pro-Hamas foreigners, urging the administration to enforce visa revocations.

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​Apple Hit with $25 Million Fine for Alleged Preference of H-1B Workers​

Apple faces a $25 million penalty for allegedly favoring H-1B workers over citizens (a charge it denies). The penalty includes a $6.7M fine and $18.2M to be distributed among affected citizens or green card workers. The case involves Apple's purported conversion of H-1Bs to permanent resident status without adequately considering citizen and green card employees for these positions.

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​New Consulates and Staff Boost Aim to Reduce US Visa Delays for Indian Applicants​

To address visa delays for Indian applicants, the U.S. is increasing staff and opening new consulates, including in Ahmedabad. The U.S. embassy aims to issue 10-15% more visas in 2023, and the recent addition of a consulate in Hyderabad has already seen an increase in visa issuance. The Biden administration had earlier talked about a "domestic visa renewal" program, but still no update on that yet. Sigh.

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🎁 UNlock: Relevant resources

​AMA: Relocating to Canada with Syndesus (ft. Maitrayee Sohni) [Nov 30th, 6.30 PM PST]​

Like many immigrants, Maitrayee came to the US to study and work. But, also like many immigrants, she didn't get picked in the H-1B lottery three times in a row. She ddin't want to go back to India, so she did something interesting: she moved to Canada while retaining her US job by working with Syndesus. Currently, she is a Canadian permanent resident! (This webinar is being conducted as part of the Unshackled online community.)

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​How to launch your Kickstarter campaign as an H-1B worker​

In recent years, crowdfunding platforms like Kickstarter have become a popular way to turn innovative ideas into reality. But, turns out you can NOT launch a Kickstarter campaign on a visa. But but, don’t worry because there are plenty of alternatives that do let you launch your campaign, including Fundrazr, Fundable, and Ulele. Check them out!

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​Top 11 Digital Nomad Visas for Remote Workers​

Whether you are looking to travel from place to place while working remotely or want to try a longer stay in a new country, check out this article. It covers all the major countries offering a digital nomad visa and highlights some top picks as of July 2022. Plus, it links you directly to government websites so you can learn more directly from the source.

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🪄 UNveil: This week’s sponsor

• ​Need a thoughtful gift to give this Thanksgiving? Look no further. My dear mentor, Rajesh Setty, published a book called "Napkinsights." It's a collection of 250 insights that fit on the back of a napkin. They're full of wisdom, love, and knowledge. It'll make anyone in your life pause & ponder. Begin your gift-giving today!​

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• ​Start earning $ from your time using Topmate. I'm sure there is one topic that you excel at and won't shut up about. And chances are, that's exactly what someone out there is willing to pay for. Now, Topmate is the tool that can make it happen. Spend 10 minutes setting up your profile, make it public, and start making $ for your time and expertise.

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👉 Want to put yourself in front of 9500+ high-skilled immigrants? Just hit reply to start a conversation.

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🥳 UNshackled: What's happening in the community?

I plan to spend the rest of this year working under wraps to create a few resources that will make the community more valuable for the members, while also talking to existing users to get their feedback.

For starters, I've decided to migrate the community away from Circle.so into Slack, while building a native site where we host all of our courses, guides, events, and resources!

This way, we go where the people are already (Slack) while also building our own interface to improve the experience.

Besides the above, here's what's been brewin' in our community the past week:

• ​Adding our 12th mentor: We're adding our 12th mentor in the directory - Vinay Prabha - who graciously reached out to volunteer his time & help EB1 aspirants! With Vinay, we now have 12 recipients of O1/EB1 who offer a free call.
• ​Free webinar on moving to Canada: Thinking about moving to the North? This webinar is for you. We're bringing in an immigrant who moved from the US to Canada while maintaining her US job, and eventually getting Canadian PR.
• Launching the first Case Study next week: Imagine if there was a library filled with case studies of past O-1/EB-1 recipients, sharing exactly how they got to the finish line. We're launching the first one from the vault next week!
• GPT4-backed O-1 profile-evaluation tool is underway: I’m collaborating with the Schmidt Futures organization to build a tool that will give you a personalized roadmap for your O-1 journey. This will be free for all.

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As a reminder, if you join the community as an Annual Member any day from today until the end of November 2023, you get quadruple benefit:

• $100 off on the Annual Membership
• Free 30-min consult with me (worth $125), and
• Free access to my course on how to plan with Notion (worth $200)
• A surprise gift from me :)

Use the coupon code "THANKSGIVING" while purchasing a membership, and DM me within the community to claim the other rewards!

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Until next week, stay wonderful.

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Yours truly,

Soundarya 💚

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💡 None of the information shared in this newsletter is meant to be legal advice. If you're looking for legal advice, speak to a lawyer, or hit reply and let me know so I can connect you with one.

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💫 UNcover: Picks from the internet

• ​How to Reform High-Skilled Immigration​
• ​Tech Weekend by Founders Village. Tickets, Fri, Dec 8, 2023 at 12:00 PM​

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