• Read NYT article on "La French Tech" - it seemed cool.
• Always liked France - visited often.
• Wanted to establish a European "base" for my startup in Paris.

• Business model: "Masterclass meets 'collective Dr. House'"
• AI-driven worldwide in 10+ languages.
• No need for grants or state support.

• Visa portal enquiries (Portail des Étrangers) resulted in auto-replies: "You must wait".
• Police prefecture does NOT let in without an appointment letter (it never arrived).

• Clara Chappaz (La French Tech director)
• Jean-Noël Barrot (3 attempts)
• Bruno Le Maire (3 attempts)

• Sent a letter via Élysée Palace "Contact the President" web form on 29 December 2023.
• Received a reply on 06 February 2024: "Your letter was forwarded to the right department at the Ministry of the Interior."

I also wrote to many members of cabinets for:

1. 'Digital Minister' (Marina Ferrari, who took over from Jean-Noël Barrot),
2. Minister of Economics (Bruno Le Maire) and
3. President Macron's cabinet (Alexis Kohler, Rodrigue Furcy)

None of the emails bounced back.

• Residence card was printed 15 months after I arrived France.
• "Residence permit not available" remained in the web portal for at ~2 months AFTER the card was in my hands (!)
• I've never received an official notification to pick up the card.

• Even with my Carte de Séjour in hand, I could not get a EURL (LLC) registered in France.
• Qonto, a leading French business services provider, explained that French government regulations prohibited opening legal entities for Passeport Talent holders.
• <- Listen to the conversation with a Qonto representative after my online EURL application was rejected.

• Listen to a voicemail from Société Générale bank representative saying they will not open a personal (and business) bank account.
• I went to several banks - same result. And without a French RIB I cannot open an account online.
• But I need a EURL (LLC) legal entity and a business bank account first!

• I appealed to President Macron again (X, LinkedIn, emails to Cabinet members)
• I submitted my "Passport Talent" visa renewal application in January 2025.

• I have made extraordinary efforts to open a legal entity in France since I arrived 33 months ago.
• 15 months of a 24-month validity of my "Passport Talent" were spent waiting for a printed card.
• 8 more months were spent waiting for a renewal, during which legal entity registration attempts were not possible.

1. In January 2024 "Passeport Talent" words were REMOVED from the 'passeport talent' program's name, thus making Residency Cards with "Passeport Talent" words on them invalid.
   
   This change of words was CRITICAL: Residence cards (carte de séjour) with words “Passport Talent” NO LONGER served their purpose (to open legal entity).
   
   
2. I received my card 3 months after the law was changed - in April 2024 (after 15 months wait).
   
   But my card had an OLD wording ("Passeport Talent")
   
   
3. This is exactly what representative of QONTO told me (a French accounting and legal entity registration platform) : "Your “Passeport Talent” is no longer accepted by the French government to register a legal entity in France”. See transcript and audio on the left side.

• Then my renewal was rejected and I got “OQTF” - a demand to leave France in 30 days. This deadline expires on 03 October. 
• Discovery of root cause of refusal to register my LLC does NOT mean that my "deportation order" will be rescinded, despite letters of support from La French Tech and Assamblée Nationale deputies.
• Because... I don't know why!

• Next hearing on the merits of my appeal is scheduled on 24 March 2026.
• Until that time, I remain in an illegal status in France.

1. On 10 October 2025 I had a hearing at the Administrative Court of Paris. I filed for urgent dismissal of my deportation order (“OQTF”).
   
   The French State (Paris Police Prefecture) sent a grey-haired lawyer who passionately argued against me for 30 minutes in front of the judge!
   
   
2. It looked just like in the movies - a fiery speech, flailing lawyer’s robes, and hand waiving, with pointing to me and my old mother sitting on a bench.
   
   Paris Police Prefecture's lawyer argued that:
   (1) I had not worked on my venture since I came to France,
   (2) I have no stable housing and no income, and
   (3) I have no “friendly relations”, “social activities", and “integration into French society”.
   
   All that are blatant lies:
   (1) My e-health venture is my full-time activity, for years.
   (2) I have been renting the same flat in Paris for ~3 years (lease available)
   (3) I have been a member of HBS Club of France, Harvard Club of France, and attended ~100 social and business events in Paris, ~30 art exhibitions, and I have developed hundreds of social and business contacts in France since my arrival in Paris in 2023.
   
   
3. QONTO issued me a letter confirming that my Residency Card (Carte de séjour) with words “Passeport Talent” was NO LONGER accepted by the French authorities for legal entity registration.
   
   QONTO is a top French legal entity registration and business management firm for entrepreneurs.
   
   See letter in French and English translation on the other side of a timeline arrow.

• TRIBUNAL ADMINISTRATIF DE PARIS
• 24 March, 09:30 AM
• Salle René Chapus, 7 rue de Jouy, Paris.