This is pretty close to the E2 Treaty Investor visa, which exists already. I have held one of them. Our investment was bringing over a company founded in the UK. The interesting thing was that the majority of the actual investment came from US investors. Then our accountant valued the company, based on the work we had done since the investment, to be significantly higher than what the investment was. This was submitted in the paperwork, and was accepted.

So my one data point says: a good US immigration lawyer and an accountant who understands how to value software companies does do the trick.

The E2 Treaty Investor:

Nationals of qualifying Treaty countries who have made a significant investment in the United States may qualify for E2 Treaty Investor status. Like the E1 visa, there is no set minimum level of investment which may qualify for E2 status, but the lower the investment the less likely one is to qualify. Again, the level of investment must be sufficient to justify the treaty national (or his/her employees) presence in the United States. The investment must be in an operating business – i.e. simply buying property or stocks and bonds does not qualify. Also, a substantial part of the investment must have been made before applying for E2 status.

Source: http://www.workpermit.com/us/investor_e1_e2.htm

This is the problem area that bugs me about the founder visa concept. The concept is great. Embodying it into law requires it go through the sausage factory.

I jokingly told a doctor last week I could write health care reform in 5 pages. I'm pretty sure I could. But it wouldn't get through congress in that form.

I was being a bit glib. The sausage factory is there for a reason. That reason often sucks, but it's not random.

Look at it from a policy maker's standpoint: strip out the happy talk about money and jobs. What this boils down to is a group of rich people on the left coast asking for a grant of power, the power to give visas, with no oversight. The politicians doesn't know these geeks from anyone, and here they are asking for a slice of government power.

So they propose a committee to make sure this doesn't become a loophole for rich fugitives and tax-evasion. Certain types of people smell a cushy job and the role expands, the idea gets paraphrased to someone at WSJ and we end up with that sentence.

Well, there is potential for abuse: a startup founder gets an "investment" of $500k from an accredited angel and a permanent resident visa. A little while later, the startup takes an exit (e.g. dissolves the company and returns the assets to the investor), netting the founder a greencard in the process.

If you've got somebody willing to wire you $500k, you can basically do that already.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E-2_visa

Well, that requires that you leave the country immediately after the business has been concluded; this proposal says that "... the founder would be granted a permanent resident visa", which presumably wouldn't expire.