Startup visa rule

Trump administration officially delays ‘startup visa’ rule

By Trisha Thadani

The Trump administration has officially delayed a rule that would allow some foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the U.S. and build their companies. During this delay, the administration will propose a plan to rescind the rule all together, according to a Federal Register notice that will be published Tuesday.

This official notice, which will be published in the Federal Register Tuesday, comes exactly one week before the rule was slated to go into effect. It will be delayed until March 14.

The International Entrepreneur Rule, is the closest the United States has come to the "startup visa" Silicon Valley has long sought, was approved by the Department of Homeland Security in January during President Barack Obama’s waning hours in office.

It will be delayed until March 14. The delay “will provide DHS with an opportunity to obtain comments from the public regarding a proposal to rescind the rule,” according to the notice.

The rule is being delayed for reconsideration in light of a Jan. 25 executive order on immigration and border security. The order declared that the secretary of Homeland Security "shall take appropriate action to ensure that parole authority … is exercised in all circumstances only when an individual demonstrates urgent humanitarian reasons or a significant public benefit derived from such parole."

Many in Silicon Valley were looking forward to the rule because currently no straightforward path exists for a foreign entrepreneur to reside in the U.S. while building a company.