The Trump administration will delay implementation of the International Entrepreneur Rule and has signaled its intent to rescind the rule altogether, according to a notice that is set to be published Tuesday in the Federal Register. The Trump administration’s moves to delay and possibly scrap the rule, which was finalized days before former president Barack Obama left office, are not surprising after the rule was sent to the Office of Management and Budget for additional review a little more than a month ago.

Key points:

  • The International Entrepreneur Rule, which was published in the Federal Register Jan. 17, would have granted qualifying foreign entrepreneurs permission to remain temporarily in the U.S. to grow their startup businesses. Applicants would have been required to meet minimum requirements for capital investments or government grants and demonstrate that their startup would provide a significant public benefit through rapid growth and job creation in the U.S.
  • The rule was slated to take effect July 17, but the effective date has now officially been postponed until March 14, 2018. The administration said it will begin the notice-and-comment rulemaking process on a rule to rescind the regulation and that it did not make sense to allow it to take effect in the meantime.
  • “Allowing the [rule] to go into effect while the agency undertakes notice and comment rulemaking to delay its effective date in order to consider a rescission would lead the public to continue to rely on the rule,” U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services stated. “Such reliance would include expending significant effort and resources in order to establish eligibility under the criteria promulgated by the [rule] … In the event the [rule] is rescinded – which the [Department of Homeland Security] believes is highly likely – individuals who satisfied these and other requirements of the [rule] would quite possibly do so without being able to reap benefits from the rule.”

BAL Analysis: BAL supported the International Entrepreneur Rule and advocated to keep it in place. The administration’s moves to delay and eventually scrap the rule are unsurprising, however, especially after it was sent back to OMB for additional review this spring.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group. For additional information, please contact your BAL attorney.

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