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White House Announces New Programs to Encourage Foreign Entrepreneurs
Practical Law Legal Update 6-564-4026 (Approx. 4 pages)
White House Announces New Programs to Encourage Foreign Entrepreneurs
by Practical Law Labor & Employment
| Published on 09 Apr 2014 • USA (National/Federal) |
The White House has released a Fact Sheet announcing imminent publication of several proposed rules by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to accelerate the success of talented foreign entrepreneurs and other highly-skilled immigrants in the US. The proposed regulations will include rules authorizing employment for spouses of certain highly-skilled H-1B visa holders and enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers.
On April 7, 2014, the White House released a Fact Sheet announcing a series of new steps to accelerate the success of entrepreneurs in the US. These new steps included the publication of several proposed rules by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) that will aim to make the US more attractive to talented foreign entrepreneurs and other highly-skilled immigrants. The proposed regulations will include rules:
- Authorizing employment for spouses of certain highly-skilled H-1B visa holders.
- Enhancing opportunities for outstanding professors and researchers.
The impact of the new rules will depend on what the new regulations require or permit. This Fact Sheet appears to build on some of the administrative reforms announced by the DHS on January 31, 2012 to attract and retain highly-skilled immigrants to stimulate US job creation (see Legal Update, Department of Homeland Security Implementing Reforms to Attract and Retain Highly Skilled Immigrants).
At that time, DHS plans included:
- Allowing H-4 dependent spouses of principal H-1B visa holders who have started the process of seeking lawful permanent resident status through employment to legally work while the visa holder awaits adjudication of his adjustment of status application.
- Increasing the types of evidence employers can submit to demonstrate that a professor or researcher is "outstanding" under the employment-based immigrant visa category of outstanding professors and researchers.
Currently, dependent spouses of H-1B workers may only obtain employment authorization by qualifying for their own nonimmigrant visa classification (such as their own H-1B, which may be difficult to obtain or unavailable) or, more commonly, after filing a Form I-485 Adjustment of Status application at the final stage of green card processing (which may not occur for two or more years after initiating the H-1B spouse's employer initiates the green card process). The inability of many dependent spouses to work is often a source of financial and emotional strain for foreign couples in the US. When and under what circumstances spouses in H-4 status will be allowed to obtain employment authorization will inform the full impact of this proposal. (See Key Immigrant Visa Classifications Chart: Box, Acquiring Permanent Resident Status.)
Additionally, intending immigrants in the outstanding professor or research category must present evidence that they meet at least two of six possible criteria. For more information, see Key Immigrant Visa Classifications Chart: Employment-based First Preference Category (EB1-1) and Box, Criteria for Superlative Categories.
Practical Law will report on the content and practical implications of the new regulations when they are published by DHS.