The recent release of updated guidance and a detailed FAQ by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) is a significant development. This rule affords foreign national entrepreneurs the opportunity to establish a startup business in the United States and stay for a period of up to 2½ years, with the potential for renewal for another 2½ years if specific benchmarks are achieved.
Applicants under the IER may include up to three entrepreneurs per startup, and their spouses and children may also be eligible for parole, with spouses potentially being eligible for employment authorization. It is noteworthy that IER applicants can be either living abroad or already in the United States.
The USCIS has stated that new applications are currently being actively processed with no backlog, which is welcome news for entrepreneurs seeking to take advantage of this opportunity.
Initially issued by the Obama administration in early 2017, the IER encountered opposition from the Trump administration, which sought to rescind the measure. However, a federal court ruling upheld the program following a challenge by business groups.
The updated guidance from the USCIS aims to clarify the qualifications required for the IER and is intended to encourage eligible individuals to apply for the program.
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