Norwegian-born Fred Kavli is called by some the next Alfred Nobel. He should inspire those who have tried to get a US visa to pursue their dreams and have not yet succeeded. In 1955, Kavli was denied a US visa for lack of having a job lined up for him after he graduated from university in his native Norway. Instead, he moved to Montreal. He got a visa to come to the US the next year and then landed a job with the company that build the Atlas missile. He eventually became Chief Scientist at that company.
Some years later, Kavli got the entrepreneurial bug and decided to start his own company. He ran a simple ad in the Los Angeles Times that read "Engineer seeking financial backing to start own business". And it worked well enough to allow him to start Kavlico. The company went on to become the largest producer of sensors for aeronautics, automotive and industrial firms and the sensors have even been used on the Space Shuttle.
In 2000, Kavli sold his company for $345 million to C-Mac Industries Inc. and the company was later transferred again to French-owned Schneider Electric. Kavli's fortune was built not just by the sale of his company, but by a number of shrewd real estate investments in California.
He's putting his money to good use. He has established the Kavli Prizes which will award $100,000 to individuals for innovations in astrophysics, nanotechnology, and neuroscience. The first prizes will be awarded this year.
Mr. Kavli's foundation also funds a number of institutes. 15 Kavli Institutes operate on major university campuses around the world and promote research in the three fields for which the Kavli Prize will be awarded.
Aside from his contributions to the advancement of science, Mr. Kavli is a philanthropist in his home community of Southern California. One of his causes is supporting the arts and his home town has honored him by naming The Fred Kavli Theatre for the Performing Arts at Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza in his honor.
And rounding out my salute to The Daily Show is, of course, John Oliver. Aside from being one of TDS' regular correspondents, Oliver brought us closed captioning at BBC America. As Oliver notes, "Not even British people can follow the British accent 100 percent of the time."
By the way, Oliver had an interesting immigration issue recently. Oliver was an active participate in the writers' guild strike, but he returned to work because he was worried that he would be violating the terms of his visa if he failed to work while the show was in production. I don't know what kind of visa he has, but it was probably a wise move.
So just how did all these foreign players end up kickers and punters in the NFL? Norwegian-born Jan Stenerud was one of the first players to bring their soccer-style kicking skills. He came to the US as a foreign student with no intention of playing football. In fact, he came on a ski jumping scholarship to Montana State University. One day in his junior year he was training and happened to see the football team practicing. He decided to try kicking a couple of extra points the way he saw other players - straight on with his toe. Then he decided to try like he knew from soccer - with the side of his foot. He spent nineteen years kicking this way for the Kansas City Chiefs, the Green Bay Packers and the Minnesota Vikings. In 1991, he became the first pure kicker to be elected in to the NFL Hall of Fame, one of the most important accomplishments in American sports.
Robert Plant hardly needs an introduction. The British-born rocker is an icon known for his long career with the band Led Zeppelin and his ensuing solo career over the next three decades. Robert Plant is still a major force in the music scene in this country and was recognized with a Grammy Award this past week. He won in the category of Best Pop Collaboration with Vocals for the song “Gone Gone Gone (Done Moved On)” from Raising Sand, his album with Bluegrass singer Allison Kraus (a favorite of mine from Nashville). I know Plant makes his primary residence in the UK, but since he regularly works in the US, he presumably has a work visa, permanent residency or US citizenship (the singer's very private personal life makes research on this topic tough).
In the third of our Oscars series, we honor Marco Beltrami, a composer nominated for best score for the film 3:10 to Yuma. Beltrani, an Italian native, has written scores for a number of action and horror movies. 3:10 to Yuma is a remake of a film based on an Elmore Leonard novel. This is Beltrami's first nomination. Good luck Marc0!
About The Author
Greg Siskind is a partner in Siskind Susser's Memphis, Tennessee, office. After graduating magna cum laude from Vanderbilt University, he received his Juris Doctorate from the University of Chicago. Mr. Siskind is a member of AILA, a board member of the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, and a member of the ABA, where he serves on the LPM Publishing Board as Marketing Vice Chairman. He is the author of several books, including the J Visa Guidebook and The Lawyer's Guide to Marketing on the Internet. Mr. Siskind practices all areas of immigration law, specializing in immigration matters of the health care and technology industries. He can be reached by email at gsiskind@visalaw.com.
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