Alma

CEO & Founder

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Hosting some of the best Silicon Valley speakers in our backyard. Before March 2023, I was passively engaged due to my work

Host

McKinsey & Company

Associate

Cooley LLP

Admitted to practice in New York and California.

European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)

Lawyer

Law School of Kyrgyz National University

Deputy Dean

Hi there, I’m Aizada!

I’m an immigrant, attorney, and tech founder.

Here’s my story…

In 2015, I graduated from Harvard Law School.

I couldn’t stay in the US due to visa issues and went to work in London.

Three years later, I moved to California with my husband.

When I moved back to the US, that's when the immigration nightmare began.

As I would with any other service provider, I used Google to find lawyers who could help me with my immigration process.

I found a firm.
I hired them.
I was given the wrong advice.

That advice led me to almost miss out on a job offer that, thankfully, I later secured.

With that frustration in mind, I realized I had to start a company to solve the problem professionals were facing.

Now, I’m building Alma to reimagine immigration legal services. Alma is designed to lead each case with speed, excellence, and care.

Disclaimer: Nothing I share on this platform is legal advice. Opinions are my own and shared for informational purposes only.

Big Announcement - We're giving away $100,000 

No strings attached. No equity taken. Just pure cash to help early-stage founders build their dreams.

Here's why we're doing this:

We believe Immigration drives innovation. Period.

44% of US unicorn founders are immigrants. Yet immigrant founders face unique barriers accessing capital and networks.

Today, I'm announcing Alma Ascent - the $100K Pitch Competition for Immigrant-led startups.

We're bringing Silicon Valley's top early-stage VCs to judge and make it the most exciting startup pitch event of the year.

10 teams will be selected to pitch live in Palo Alto on November 20th.

Who can apply:

Early-stage startups (pre-seed or less than $2M raised)

Teams from anywhere in the world (as long as you can be in the Bay Area for finals)

At least one founder must be an immigrant

Application deadline: November 6, 2025 at 11:59 PM PST

Prizes:

First Place: $60,000
Second Place: $40,000

This isn't just about the money though.

Its about giving Immigrant founders access to the kind of network and mentorship that can change the trajectory of their companies.

We truly believe in Immigrant founders. All 3 of Alma's founders are immigrants. This is our way of backing that belief with real capital.

Applications are open now. Link in the comments.

p.s. If you're exploring work visa options like O-1, EB-1, H-1B etc. Alma can assess your profile and guide you through the process. Feel free to share your details on our website!

Aizada Marat

CEO @Alma | Reimagining legal immigration | Harvard Law

Big Immigration news: USCIS just released detailed guidance on the H-1B $100K fee. The fee doesn't apply to F-1 to H-1B change of status. 

Who is subject to the $100,000 payment:

- New H-1B petitions filed at or after 12:01 a.m. EST on September 21, 2025
- Also applies if a petition requests consular notification, port of entry notification, or pre-flight inspection for an immigrant in the US
- Applies if you're ineligible for a change of status or an amendment or extension of stay (or if you depart the US before the adjudication of a change of status request)

The Proclamation does not apply to any previously issued and currently valid H-1B visas, or any petitions submitted prior to 12:01 a.m. EST on September 21, 2025.

The Proclamation does not prevent any holder of a current H-1B visa from traveling in and out of the US. 

The Proclamation DOES NOT apply to a petition that is requesting an amendment, change of status, or extension of stay for someone who's inside the United States.

That means It doesn't apply to F-1 to H-1B change of status. And doesn't apply for travel after petition approved (which was a big question earlier) unless USCIS determines you're ineliglble for COS or you depart the US while it's pending.

You will also not be considered to be subject to the payment if you depart the United States and apply for a visa based on the approved petition and/or seek to reenter the United States on a current H-1B visa.

Regarding the payment:  Payment must be made prior to filing a petition with USCIS

Petitioners must submit proof that the payment has been scheduled from [pay dot gov] or evidence of an exception from the $100,000 payment from the Secretary of Homeland Security at the time of filing the H-1B petition.

No payment or exception proof = automatic denial. 

This fundamentally changes how US companies approach international hiring.

P.S. If you’re exploring work visa options like O-1, EB-1, or H-1B, Alma can assess your profile and guide you through the process.

More than half of all new H-1Bs are already in the U.S. on other visas.

Based on FY24 USCIS data, 54% of H-1Bs are change of status applications.

71.2% were students (F-1 to OPT/STEM OPT)

8.7% were exchange visitors (J-1 researchers, scholars)

That's ~80% (or ~40% of total) who were educated or trained in the U.S. These people have been living here for years already.

They paid tuition and rent. They pay taxes. They earn salaries on par with, or higher than, U.S. averages.

This is definitely not cheap labour. USCIS FY24 wage data shows:

25th percentile: $90,000
Median: $120,000  
75th percentile: $159,000
Mean: $133,000

(And remember this is FY24 data. FY26 begins in 9 days. Salaries are higher now.)

So who's making under $80K?

Not just consulting firms. A lot are postdocs, scientists, professors in cap-exempt roles at universities that skew the data too.

Yes, large IT services companies do file many H-1Bs at entry-level prevailing wages (~$60K–$90K). But they're not the majority (less than 25%).

The narrative that H-1B workers are primarily cheap foreign labor brought in to undercut American wages doesn't match the data.

At this time, we do not interpret the new $100K fee to immediately impact extensions, transfers, or changes of status to H-1B filed while the individual is already inside the U.S. 

Adding a $100K fee is definitely not the solution to addressing the concerns.

Update: We don’t interpret the proclamation to apply to new extensions but it is unclear if it applies to other new H-1B petitions, particularly if the beneficiaries subsequently travel.

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