This is a very positive development. Not the same as stapling a Green Card to your PhD diploma, but certainly a step in the right direction.
CS people keep getting the shaft when it comes to govt definitions of occupation. For instance, there is no software engineer category in the TN visa for Canadians. When the release says startups, I assume tech startups. They say they will also train their employees to understand the peculiarities of this segment. Again, extremely positive news.
There is an 'engineer' category, so if you have a degree that says 'software engineer' (which are about 5-10 classes shy of a CS degree usually) you can use it. They have this artificial distinction between programmer and software engineer where you make or design new code or just modify existing code so lawyers are still required and there is the 'Computer Systems Analyst' that seems to always imply a need for a degree that says Computers in it.
CS people keep getting the shaft when it comes to govt definitions of occupation. For instance, there is no software engineer category in the TN visa for Canadians. When the release says startups, I assume tech startups. They say they will also train their employees to understand the peculiarities of this segment. Again, extremely positive news.