DHS Rule on International Entrepreneurs is Long Overdue

Rapid growth and change in hospitality are creating new opportunities for entrepreneurs, and a rule adopted in the final days of the Obama administration gives non-citizens a way to get in on the act. Known as the “International Entrepreneur Rule,” the rule takes effect July 17, 2017, and allows the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to temporarily “parole” into the United States (which differs legally from an “admission”) foreign nationals who have started companies with such a strong potential for rapid growth and job creation as to promise a “significant public benefit.”

Immigrants founded almost 25 percent of all leisure and hospitality businesses from 2007 to 2011.

The devil is in the details of the Rule. To qualify, the start-up must be no more than three years old. The entrepreneur must own at least 15 percent of the business and play a central role. The company must show strong potential for rapid growth and job creation in one of three ways.

First…