U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) announced today that the agency is working to begin accepting applications under the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER). The decision comes in the wake of a court ruling earlier this month that overruled USCIS’s decision to delay the implementation of the IER until next year.

Established under the Obama administration, the IER offers 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.” This pathway to discretionary parole status was principally intended for foreign applicants whose work involves humanitarian or medical assistance.

As we reported to our readers this past summer, the IER was slated to go into effect in July of this year before the Trump administration’s Department of Homeland Security (DHS) decided to push back the start date in order to further “review the IER” and potentially “eliminate the program” altogether.

Notwithstanding DHS’s professed concerns, the IER is intended to benefit only those aliens who meet strict qualifications, including minimal capital investments. The Obama administration estimated that roughly 3,000 foreign nationals would be qualified to apply for the IER benefit annually.

Our Thoughts

It was a U.S. District Court that overruled USCIS on the IER implementation delay, once again demonstrating the more prominent role the judiciary has played thus far in the Trump administration in correcting the executive branch’s immigration-related overreach. Our firm continues to support the IER, as we believe it offers skilled foreign workers a credible alternative to existing visa programs that are constrained by lengthy adjudication and processing times, in addition to visa availability and statutory limitations.

If you are a potential beneficiary of the IER or interested in pursuing other employment-based immigration pathways, we invite you to click here to contact one of our experienced immigration attorneys for an initial consultation at no charge.

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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.

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

 

(12/14/2017)