Given that the International Entrepreneur Rule will hopefully be implemented very soon, I am reposting this important article from January 2017 to remind people of the rules.
International Entrepreneurs Rule
FINAL RULE – JANUARY 2017
A Simplified Summary by Tahmina Watson
USCIS announced proposed new rules on August 26, 2016 for international entrepreneurs. Comments were sought for a 45-day period. On Friday January 13th, the final rules were released and will be officially published on Tuesday January 17th 2017. The rule will go into effect on July 17th 2017.
Readers will recall my detailed summary of the proposed rule. I am very grateful to Techstar founder and one of the original Startup visa advocates Brad Feld who had mentioned my summary on his blog Feld thoughts. Below I update the summary reflecting the final rule.
The Department of Homeland Security read every comment submitted. I was privileged to advise various organizations on their comments and provide guidance and suggestions. I had personally teamed up with the Washington Technology Industry Association (WTIA) and a few other Seattle industry leaders to submit detailed comments. I am proud to say that several of our comments were adopted. In addition, several of our comments were mentioned in the final rules given the uniqueness. While some of our comments were not adopted, at least a handful have been referenced to suggest that they could be adopted in the future. Our comments that were specifically mentioned are at page 55 (re. known employer program), page 56 (re. too invasive to seek confidential information), page 60 (re. bootstrapping) and page 95 (re. 125% poverty guidelines).
I want to thank WTIA, particularly Michael Schutzler and Julie Pham, Heather Redman, The 9 Mile Lab- particularly Sanjary Puri and Neal Mody, CEO Zoic Capitol- for taking time out of their busy schedules to dedicate their expertise, passion and time to make a difference on this policy. We are fortunate to have such leaders in Washington State.
While the rule will go into effect on July 17th 2017, with a new incoming administration taking office on January 20th 2017, it is important we remain vigilant. A rule such as this can be taken away with another rule. We must speak up and act if such steps are taken. However, my hope is that pro-business minded leaders in the new administration will recognize the immense importance of this new rule and will allow to it to take effect.
I want to take this opportunity to thank the Obama administration for making entrepreneurship an important part of its agenda. Recognizing the importance of entrepreneurship by President Obama has had a global impact.
I also want to thank White House entrepreneurship policy stars- Tom Kalil, Deputy Director for Technology and Innovation and Doug Rand, Assistant Director of Entrepreneurship at the Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP). Both have dedicated several years to reach this point of creating and finalizing these rules. I am particularly grateful to Doug Rand for taking time out of his busy schedule to appear on my radio show “Immigration with Tahmina” to discuss these rules.