DHS to Continue the International Entrepreneur Parole Program

This week, USCIS announced that the Department of Homeland Security is withdrawing a 2018 notice that proposed the removal of the International Entrepreneur (IE) program from DHS regulations. The IE program guidelines, published in January of 2017, will remain intact. The program allows for up to three entrepreneurs per start-up entity to reside and work in the United States, with the goal of bolstering the US economy through innovation and job creation. This announcement is in line with the Biden administration’s wider immigration policy and Executive Order 14012: “Restoring Faith in Our Legal Immigration Systems and Strengthening Integration and Inclusion Efforts for New Americans,” which promotes expanded access to a more functional and efficient immigration system. Under the IE program, which was implemented in December of 2017 after almost a year of legal delays and court battles, USCIS adjudicators can grant parole (permission to enter and reside in the US) to foreign entrepreneurs, their spouses, and children on a case-by-case basis. More information on IE program eligibility and application process can be found here.