Trump Announces Roll Out and Roll Back of the International Entrepreneur Parole

Forced by a federal court order, the Trump administration finally announced that it will accept applications pursuant to the international entrepreneur parole rule (IER). The Obama-era rule was set to go into effect in July 2017, but was delayed by the current administration. This announcement should be good news for immigrant innovators who planned to apply for this opportunity to start-up their businesses in the U.S.

Unfortunately, this “victory” is short-lived. In the same announcement, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) confirmed that it plans to end the IER almost as soon as it started, stating “[w]hile DHS implements the IER, DHS will also proceed with issuing a notice of proposed rulemaking (NPRM) seeking to remove the Jan. 17, 2017, IER. DHS is in the final stages of drafting the NPRM.”

Considering the administration’s hostility to this rule and plans to end it, it’s my predictions that applicants are unlikely to win an approval. If you are willing to risk the fees and time to apply, you can find information about the procedure and costs at the USCIS website page.