International Entrepreneur Rule Delay Worries Chicago Foreign-Based Entrepreneurs

Harriet White
Aug 23, 2017 · 4 min read
Photo Source: Harriet White

Chicago foreign-born entrepreneurs are concerned about their ability to innovate in the United States after President Donald Trump’s administration delayed the International Entrepreneur Rule’s “startup visa” effective date to March 2018.

“I’ve been wanting to focus on my company entirely for a long period of time, and this immigrant entrepreneur rule has been delayed for a while, but it seemed like it was finally going to happen, and I was prepping to be in the first batch of the new status,” said a founder of an emerging technology company at Chicago-based tech incubator 1871. He is from the Asian subcontinent and asked to remain anonymous due to concern about how his comments may influence his professional life. “I had all my ducks in a row for it, but now, things have changed.”

Finalized in early 2017, the International Entrepreneur Rule is a visa program for entrepreneurs who want to build their companies in the United States. To qualify, foreign-born entrepreneurs need to have a large ownership in their startup, be actively involved in its management and have $250,000 in capital from American investors. The Department of Homeland Security’s website says the rule aims to “improve the ability of certain promising start-up founders to begin growing their companies within the United States and help improve our nation’s economy through increased capital spending, innovation and job creation.”

Although the rule was supposed to go into effect on July 17, the Trump administration put it on hold to gather public comments. This delay is a part of the administration’s goal to potentially revoke the rule, in line with the Border Security and Immigration Enforcement Improvements executive order, a DHS ruling said.

According to the Contributions of New Americans in Illinois 2016 report, Illinois has 1.8 million immigrants, which is “the sixth-largest population of foreign-born residents of any state in the country.” The report also stated 22 percent of Illinois entrepreneurs are foreign-born, meaning immigrant entrepreneurs play a key part in Chicago’s economy, according to Mark Harris, CEO and president of the Illinois Science and Technology Coalition.

“That connection between immigration and entrepreneurship is very deep…this is a key population in our innovation economy, and I think we want to ensure not only for our state’s competitiveness but for our region and country as well being able to harness that skilled labor pool,” Harris said.

Without the rule, current Illinois entrepreneurs must continue relying on visas such as the H-1B and Optional Practical Training programs to stay in the country. Yet, these programs aren’t optimal since they require an entrepreneur to work for an established company and are time-consuming, costly and difficult to acquire, said Leon Sasson, the co-founder of Rise Science. He is originally from Panama and is on an OPT worker’s visa.

Sasson said the rule was the “best” option for him to be able to stay here and work on his company, especially since he didn’t win the H-1B visa “lottery.” The emerging technology company founder does have a H-1B visa, yet he said it requires him to work for another company instead of focusing on growing his startup and employing other Americans.

The H-1B visa “requires you to be a worker bee, which is great, but I feel worker bees don’t create opportunities,” the emerging technology company founder said. “Worker bees work.”

Rebecca Shi, the executive director of the Illinois Business Immigration Coalition, said the risk of not having this rule is that the United States will lose talent to countries such as Canada and Singapore, which have a “startup visa.” She said the rule would have given entrepreneurs the “peace of mind that they can focus on innovation and on their products rather than worrying about their immigration status.” Both the IBIC and ISTC have been publicly supportive of the rule and plan to continue lobbying for its implementation due to its pro-economic benefits in Illinois.

While the Trump administration and some of the published public comments about the rule expressed concern about whether it would take entrepreneurial jobs away from Americans, the emerging technology company founder said the rule is more economically beneficial for the United States than the H-1B visa program because it encourages immigrants to generate jobs and revenue in the country.

He said: “I still think entrepreneurship should be encouraged from all over the world since people from all over the world have ideas and have solutions to problems that people here wouldn’t. Not to say there is a discrepancy in talent, but if you can attract talent from all over the world, why would you not?”

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Product Manager working at the Intersection of Media and Innovation; Medill and Mizzou J-School Alum.

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