Visa Lawyer Blog
Today, May 25, 2018, the Department of Homeland Security announced that it will be publishing a proposed rule in the Federal Register on May 29th to end the International Entrepreneur Rule, a program that gives foreign entrepreneurs the opportunity to apply for parole to come to the United States for the purpose of developing or starting a business venture in the United States.
As you may be aware, during July of last year, DHS took its first steps to dismantle the program by delaying the implementation of the rule until March 14, 2018. During that time, DHS began to draft a proposal to rescind the rule. In December of 2017 however, a federal court ordered USCIS to begin accepting international entrepreneur parole applications, vacating the delay.
In an act of defiance, DHS is now seeking to eliminate the international entrepreneur rule altogether because the department believes that the rule sweeps to broadly and doesn’t provide sufficient protections for U.S. workers and investors. According to the agency, the international entrepreneur rule “is not an appropriate vehicle for attracting and retaining international entrepreneurs.” This is once again an effort by the Trump administration to undermine Obama era policies such as Deferred Action, to better align with the President’s America-first policies on immigration.
Specifically, the agency is making changes to this rule because it is inconsistent with the President’s Executive Order, “Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements,” signed into law on January 25, 2017.
According to DHS, the international entrepreneur program is a program that should have been established through the legislative process rather than through the Secretary’s discretionary authority to grant temporary parole
Despite this proposal, DHS continues to retain the discretionary authority to grant parole to individuals wishing to enter the United States for a temporary specified period of time, for urgent humanitarian reasons or for reasons that would significantly benefit the public.
For more information about the international entrepreneur rule please click here. To pursue other options such as the E-2 visa or EB-5, please contact our office.