International Entrepreneur Rule Faces Uncertain Fate
International Entrepreneur Rule Faces Uncertain Fate
The International Entrepreneur Rule is now quite gloomy given the recent drastic changes that have characterized the United States immigration. When the first term of the former United States president Barack Obama ended, the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS) approved the International Entrepreneur Rule, and it was set to take effect on the 17th of July 2017. The rule, otherwise known as the startup visa, is aimed at creating a friendly environment for foreign entrepreneurs to establish start-up companies in the United States.
From the immigration stance that the Donald Trump’s administration has taken, the times are not normal in the United States. Contrary to the expectation of many, the Department of Homeland Security, on 11th of July 2017, postponed the rule until March 14 in 2018. In a bid to explain why this move was orchestrated just six days from when the rule should have taken effect, the public-affairs officer for the Citizenship and Immigration Services of the Department of Homeland stated that the delay was to ensure that the rule was in compliance with the executive order by the president on border security. A public-comment period that was to last until the 10th of August 2017 was launched in a bid to gauge the feelings and the view of people with regards to the rule being rescinded.
What the International Entrepreneur Rule dictates
According to the International Entrepreneur Rule, if a foreign startup entrepreneur can sufficiently prove that they are able to create jobs for citizens of the United States and that they have raised a minimum capital of $250,000 from investors based in the United States, then they can be granted permission to work in the United States. A qualifying candidate will be offered a parole status that would last for an initial period of two and a half years. After the period has elapsed, the company that the entrepreneur would have started would undergo an assessment process. The process would involve checking whether they have created jobs, the status of their investment, the revenue and many other factors. After an entrepreneur has successfully provided sufficient satisfaction of compliance with the set rules, then they are granted an additional two and a half years to stay in the United States.
According to a statement that was issued on the 17th of January by the Department of Homeland Security, the Startup visa would have benefited an estimated 2,940 eligible foreign entrepreneurs every year. Silicon Valley actually approved the same.
Delaying of the rule
In a move that was rather not surprising but unfortunate, DHS announced the delay of the program up until 14th of March, 2018 for the reasons earlier mentioned. The move has cast a huge shadow of doubt on whether the rule will see the light of the day or not. The immigration rhetoric that Trump champions for is proving to be quite unfavorable to entrepreneurship in the United States. The move makes it more appealing for entrepreneurs who have great and innovative ideas to choose to invest and establish their companies in other countries with more appealing policies than having to struggle with the obstacles they have to face just to set up in the United States. Economic experts and leaders of some of the biggest companies in the United States think that countries like Canada, France and China are more likely to benefit from this delay.
Immigration policies have been tightened ever since Trump got to power. It is more difficult, now more than ever before, to get into the United States. The argument that the enactment of the International Entrepreneur Rule will create a backdoor through which entrepreneurs can find their way into the United States without being vetted is not true. The dictates of the rule require that the entrepreneur has a thorough background check done on them to ensure that they are legitimate.
The public comment period helped give a picture of what people actually think after the move by the Department of Homeland Security to delay the rule. Hopefully, the cry of entrepreneurs who had been waiting for this rule to take effect will be heard. Some of the commenters expressed how heartbroken they were to learn that the program they had been waiting for, and that was just six days away, was delayed further forcing them to suspend or even cancel their plans. Others were of the view that the trend that had emerged of Canada poaching entrepreneurs and their ideas from the United States would only spike thanks to the delay.
The International Entrepreneur Rule was created with the aim of allowing more entrepreneurs come to the United States and create more jobs for the American population. Knowing that the rules of immigration are tougher with Trump as the president, the delaying of this rule raises so many questions. The delay actually works against the goal of the government to provide its people with more job opportunities. With entrepreneurs’ hopes being shadowed by such acts, they can only hope that the rule is not scrapped off altogether.
