Book: Unshackled: A Practical Guide for Highly Skilled Immigrants to Thriving in the United States

I recently wrote the foreword to Unshackled, a new book co-authored by Soundarya Basubramani, an Indian writer, and Sameer Khedekar, a seasoned immigration lawyer. Unshackled breaks down how legal immigration works in America in a friendly, accessible, and humane way. It's filled with raw stories from highly skilled immigrants who borrowed unconventional paths and practical tips for navigating those paths.

Last August, Rajesh Setty emailed me a request from Soundarya when the book was just an idea. Soundarya shared her vision for the book and why she wanted to write it. Unsurprisingly, the motivation stemmed from personal frustrations with the US immigration system

Legal immigration, especially for highly skilled immigrants, has been important to me for over a decade. I was deeply involved in the Startup Visa movement in 2010. When that finally failed, I started supporting several grassroots movements like the GEiR program, invested in immigrant-founded businesses, am an investor and board member. administration of Boundless, one of Unshackled's first albums. Ventures (unrelated to this book), and even became the executive producer of a movie called For Here Or To Go. Unshackled seemed like another step in the right direction.

I met Soundarya and Sameer on a video call at the end of August. Their pitch was promising and I encouraged them to set up a crowdfunding campaign. They did, and I was one of 612 people who supported the campaign, which raised $48,340. Shortly after the campaign ended, Soundarya received a $50,000 grant from Emergent Ventures for the project.

Soundarya kept me posted, and I received the unpublished Unshacked manuscript five months later. I read it in a weekend and loved it. The book did not look like a legal guide. Soundarya and Sameer managed to break down how legal immigration works in simple and engaging language while capturing the raw emotions in first-hand immigrant stories. Having seen the book come to life from a simple idea just nine months ago, I agreed to write the foreword.

Less than a year after its creation, Soundarya and Sameer are hosting a big event to launch their book on July 22, 2023 in Sunnyvale, California. Although I cannot attend the event, I hope you can attend and support a worthwhile project. Doug Rand, who is currently an adviser to the Director of USCIS, should be there for a fireside chat about the past and future of immigration policy.

Soundarya and Sameer - congratulations on the publication of this important book. And, Rajesh, thanks for connecting us.