AI startup co-founder's green card denied in major US immigration blunder; Reason - it has Apple connection

Yuchen Jin, a computer scientist and Chief Technology Officer (CTO) at the AI startup Hyperbolic Labs recently faced a surprising rejection of his US green card application by the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS).

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Yuchen said that the agency in its note mentioned that his work did not have "impact beyond that of Apple, Inc.." But here is the twist as the CTO mentioned in his post that "he never worked at Apple".

He criticised the agency, stating that the officer carelessly reviewed the documents and simply copied and pasted the rejection reasons.

He wrote, “USCIS just denied my US green card application. Claiming my work lacks impact "beyond that of Apple, Inc." -- even though they acknowledge that I am the Apple CTO. WTF? I have NEVER worked at Apple! I got my cs PhD, cofounded an AI startup, and raised $20M. Yet, after waiting an entire year, I'm rejected with this absurd reasoning. I really hope DOGE, with @elonmusk, @sriramk , and @DavidSacks, can fix the system and accelerate high-skilled immigration. High-skilled immigrants are America's secret weapon. It should be merit-based -- not left to some USCIS officer carelessly reviewing documents and copy-pasting rejection reasons!”

Reactions pour in on the US immigration goof-up

VC at Menlo Ventures, Deedy das said, “Really say to see this happen to you but not the first time I've seen USCIS make egregious blunders. If this is a NOID, you might be able to petition for a clear error but chances are slim. I'd withdraw application and reapply. Have seen near identical apps go through on the second attempt.”

One user added saying, “Sorry to hear about your situation. And thanks for sharing. I’m also getting messed around by USCIS en route to a green card & got a bizarre RFE too. My visa lawyer mentioned that he was noticing staff issues at USCIS - a dip in quality & quantity. Not good news!”

Jeff Dean, Chief Scientist, Google DeepMind & Google Research said, “That's beyond frustrating. We should want talented people to come to this country! You deserve better than a cursory denial where it's clear the person didn't even look carefully at the application. I hope it gets sorted out in the opposite decision in the end.”

One user joked, “I’d be willing to bet they have a form letter and forgot to change parts of it”