President Trump’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has pushed back the intended start date of a rule issued by his predecessor to allow certain foreign entrepreneurs to remain in the U.S. to build their enterprises.

Announced before President Obama left office in January, the International Entrepreneur Rule served to offer parole status for an initial period of up to two years to aliens whose businesses “provide a significant public benefit through the substantial and demonstrated potential for rapid business growth and job creation.” Such discretionary parole status is typically granted to foreigners whose work involves humanitarian or medical assistance. Aliens qualifying under this rule would have had to meet minimum requirements, including capital investments, and the Obama administration estimated that nearly 3,000 foreign nationals would have applied for this benefit annually.

Rather than allowing the rule to go into effect on July 17, as originally intended, DHS announced in a memo yesterday that the rule would be delayed until March 14, 2018, adding that, before then, the agency “may ultimately eliminate the program.”

Our Thoughts

This decision is unfortunate, but hardly surprising. The administration essentially telegraphed its desire to curtail or rescind the rule when it resubmitted the proposal to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for additional review this spring. Our firm supported the regulation, as it offered an alternative to high-skilled foreign workers who are reliant on existing visa programs, many of which—particularly the H-1B visa—are constrained by statutory limitations.

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Former U.S. Consular officer, Attorney Sechyi Laiu joined Zhang & Associates, P.C. on June 26, 2017

At Zhang & Associates, P.C., Attorney Laiu specializes on Consular Processing cases and business development. Attorney Laiu also focuses on TN visas, E visas, CBP administrative proceedings (monetary confiscation, deferred inspection), and overseas financial compliance.

Prior to joining Zhang & Associates, P.C., Attorney Laiu worked for the U.S. Department of State as a Chinese and Portuguese speaking diplomat. As a consular-coned officer who served in Vancouver (Canada), Shenyang (P.R. China), and Rio de Janeiro (Brazil), Attorney Laiu processed over 30,000 visa cases and worked in every section of Consular Affairs overseas (Fraud Prevention Unit, Immigrant Visas, Non-Immigrant Visas, and American Citizen Services).

He will use his experience and expertise to deliver the highest quality of service to our clients.

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Founded in 1996, Zhang & Associates, P.C. offers legal services to clients worldwide in all aspects of U.S immigration law. We have successfully handled over ten thousand immigration cases.

At Zhang & Associates, P.C., our attorneys and supporting professionals are committed to providing high-quality immigration and non-immigration visa services. We specialize in NIW, EB-1, EB-5, PERM, I-485 I-130, H-1B, O, L and J cases. In the past twenty-one years, we have successfully helped over ten thousand clients get green cards. If you plan to apply for a green card, please send your CV to Attorney Jerry Zhang (info@hooyou.com) for a free evaluation.

Zhang & Associates, P.C.

Silicon Valley • New York • Los Angeles • Chicago • Houston • Austin • Seattle • Palo Alto • Madison • Honolulu

Tel:	1-800-230-7040, 713-771-8433
Email:	info@hooyou.com
website:	http://www.hooyou.com

 

(07/11/2017)