Earlier this year, we covered how the Obama Administration finalized the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule shortly before leaving office. The Rule is scheduled to go into effect on July 17th, and would grant a maximum of five years of parole for certain entrepreneurs who attract qualified funding for their startups or meet discretionary requirements. But this important new immigration benefit for entrepreneurs might not be happening after all.
On May 25, the Trump Administration sent the Rule back to the Office of Management and Budget's Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs for further review. This action would be unnecessary if the administration intends to implement the Rule as planned. In viewing this development in the most optimistic light, prospective beneficiaries of the Rule should brace for delay.
However, there are reasons to believe that the Trump Administration will scrap the Rule entirely. In a January 25 Executive Order, the administration directed USCIS to "take appropriate action to ensure that parole... is exercised only on a case-by-case basis in accordance with the plain language of the statute, and in all circumstances only when an individual demonstrates urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit derived from such parole." Discarding the Rule, which prescribes parole for a class of entrepreneurs meeting regulatory requirements and not on a humanitarian case-by-case basis, would be consistent with the Executive Order.
We will keep our readers apprised of further developments as they are made known.
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