The International Entrepreneur Parole Program (IE) has been reactivated by United States Citizen and Immigration Services (USCIS). As we mentioned in an earlier post, the Biden Administration relaunched the IE program for international entrepreneurs who have established their startups in the United States. The IE program allows international entrepreneurs, who otherwise do not meet other visa criteria, to be granted a period of authorized stay in the U.S. to grow their business. IE does not give immigration status to the approved applicants. Instead, qualifying applicants receive what is called “parole”, which is a temporary permission to enter and remain in the U.S for a specified period of time. The IE program does not provide a path to permanent residency.
How to Determine Eligibility
In order to be eligible for IE, a foreign national entrepreneur must meet certain criteria:
The applicant must have an established U.S. start-up business within five years before the application for parole;
The applicant must hold an ownership interest in the start-up of at least ten percent;
The applicant must play a central and active role in the operations of the business and not simply be an investor; and
The start-up must have received a capital investment of at least $250,000 from qualified U.S. investors or at least $100,000 in grants or awards from a qualifying U.S. state, federal, or local government entity. Foreign nationals who are only able to partially satisfies the funding criteria, must provide additional compelling evidence of the start-up’s substantial potential for job creation and rapid growth.
Entrepreneurs whose applications are approved, are thereby “paroled” for a period of time up to thirty months and authorized to work exclusively for the start-up company. As an added benefit, qualifying dependents (children, spouse) also receive parole for the same amount of time and spouses are allowed to apply for employment authorization.
After the initial period of parole is expired, foreign national entrepreneurs may apply for an additional thirty-month period of re-parole, for a total maximum period equivalent to five years of parole to work with the same start-up entity based on “the significant public benefit that would be served by his or her continued parole in the United States.”
To be eligible for re-parole, applicants must show that the business continues to operate, that the foreign national entrepreneur is maintaining at least five percent ownership interest in the company and continues to play a central role within its company structure, and that the business has (a) created at least five qualifying jobs; (b) received at least $500,000 in qualifying investments and government grants, awards, or some combination; OR (c) generated at least $500,000 in U.S. Revenue an averaged a twenty percent annual growth during the first parole period. However, if the applicant only partially satisfies the investment, job creation, and growth portion, other reliable and compelling evidence of the start- up’s substantial potential for job creation and rapid growth may be submitted.
One very important detail to note about the IE program is that parole can be revoked by the United States government at any time if the business is no longer in operation or is unable to provide a significant public benefit to the U.S. Additionally, no more than three entrepreneurs (and their spouses and children) from a qualifying business entity may receive additional periods of parole. The continuation of the IE program is yet another welcomed update to the US immigration policy by the Biden Administration.