US: Yuchen Jin green card rejection cites senior role at Apple, he claims never worked there

In a controversial decision, the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has rejected the green card application of Yuchen Jin, a computer scientist and Chief Technology Officer of the AI startup Hyperbolic Labs.

Jin, who co-founded the company and secured USD 20 million in funding, was told his work lacked an impact “beyond that of Apple, Inc”. In a bizarre twist, the rejection also falsely referred to him as Apple’s Chief Technology Officer – a position he has never held.

Jin, who earned a PhD in computer science, has been waiting over a year for the USCIS decision. After the rejection, he voiced his frustration on X, calling out the agency’s reasoning as careless and inconsistent.

“WTF? I have NEVER worked at Apple!” Jin posted. “I got my CS PhD, cofounded an AI startup, and raised USD 20M. Yet, after waiting an entire year, I’m rejected with this absurd reasoning.”

USCIS acknowledged Jin’s significant contributions to advanced technology but ultimately determined that his work did not meet the economic and national impact standards required for the green card category.

Business owners on X pointed out that the reasoning appears vague and copied, raising broader concerns about how high-skilled immigration cases are evaluated.

Jin also appealed to the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), a federal initiative created by US President-elect Donald Trump to reform the high-skilled immigration system.

DOGE, which includes prominent figures like Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy, is tasked with streamlining government operations, cutting unnecessary regulations, and improving federal efficiency.

Jin called on the agency to overhaul the high-skilled immigration system, saying, “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!”

Upon being asked by an X user if he could file an appeal to get the decision overturned, Jin said he wasn’t very hopeful as the “success rate” was very low.