Sophie Alcorn, lawyerauthor and founder Alcorn Immigration Law In Silicon Valley, California, he is an award-winning Certified Specialist in Immigration and Nationality Law by the State Bar Board for Legal Specialization. Sophie is passionate about transcending borders, expanding opportunities, and connecting the world through her compassionate, insightful, and expert immigration law practice. Connect with Sophie on LinkedIn And Twitter.
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Dear Sophie,
I remember reading in your column a few years ago about the parole program for international entrepreneurs and that it was the closest thing the United States had to a startup visa. What happened to the program? Is it still there? How does a startup founder start building in the US quickly?
— Ideal for parole?
Dear perfectionist,
Thank you for your “just in time” questions. Yes Parole for international entrepreneurs IEPs remain available, but the time it takes for USCIS to adjudicate IEP cases is more than two years, and the application and activation processes often take longer and are unwieldy than for a regular visa such as an O-1 or H-1B. .
Recognizing these issues, President Biden has tasked the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), with improving the Individualized Education Program (IEP) process for startup founders in AI and other critical, technology-related areas. . Recently emerging technologies Executive Order on Amnesty International.
I recently spoke with Samuel Newbold, a New York City-based immigration attorney who also has a practice centered around investors and entrepreneurs. He has helped many entrepreneurs obtain an IEP. One of the most direct paths to qualifying is through government grants from startup funders such as Urban Future Laboratorywhich collaborates with the city, academia and the private sector to encourage economic growth, job creation and innovation.
Sam says that in his experience, IEPs tend to make more sense for startup founders who have received economic development grants or funding rather than funding from venture capital or private investors because of the complex evidence requirements. The minimum requirement is at least $106,000 in government funding, which can be non-dilutive.
“the [IEP] “The program requires private venture capital firms to justify their track record and that they have made good investments,” Newbold says. “As you can imagine, this is very private and sensitive information” and most investors are sensitive about disclosing it.
Let me describe how an IEP works and dive into how to qualify for an IEP and offer alternatives.