US: Proposal for a new immigration rule specifically targeted for entrepreneurs

There has been a proposition for a new rule by the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) which would grant a new immigration option, leading to a temporary entry for a period of up to 5 years, to foreign individuals seeking to build new companies in the United States.
This new rule was proposed on Friday, 26^th August’ 2016, by the Department of Homeland Security and is an effort by the Obama Administration to create a “start up” visa that would pave the way for Immigrant Entrepreneurs looking for ways to start businesses in the United States, without getting any action from Congress. Entrepreneurs from any industry can be eligible to apply for this program, though a special preference is given to applicants from the technology field as it has been Silicon Valley’s top priority to introduce an immigration route for start-up founders specifically.
This new rule will take advantage of the existing Immigration And Nationality Act, according to which the US government has the authority to grant individuals temporary entry into the country on a case-by-case basis for “urgent humanitarian reasons” or “significant public benefit”. The white house is arguing for the latter, saying that those entrepreneurs who are contributing to GDP by creating jobs in the United States are serving a significant public benefit.

Application Through Two Tiers Of Admission

There isn’t a predetermined cap restricting the number of people that can apply under this new proposed immigration rule, although there are significant requirements to meet the edibility criteria. Entrepreneurs will have the option to apply for two tiers of admission.
Through the first tier, applicants will gain entry into the country for two years. However, the government will reserve the right to reverse this decision whenever they want to. In order to meet the eligibility criteria under this proposed rule, the individuals must own at least 50% of the stock in their companies and should have risen at least $345,000 from US Investors with track record of US investments, or at least $100,000 from federal, state, or local government agencies.
The second tier will grant admission to businessmen for an additional period of 3 years. To qualify for this, they have to meet certain conditions, such as continuously running their businesses in the US, retaining at least 10% of ownership, either raise at least $500,000 from US investors, or generate $500,000 in annual revenue with 20% year-over-year growth, or show that they have created at least 10 full time jobs throughout the five-year period.
This proposal comes up at a time when a similar foreign Immigrant Investor Program, the US EB-5 program, is up for renewal in Congress at the end of September.
According to US immigration officials, this new program is not a replacement for the US EB-5 program, an entrepreneur immigration program for individuals who invest at least half a million dollars in a US business. Against this investment, they will receive conditional residency status, a chance to secure Immigration To USA , and an eventual path to US citizenship if their investment succeeds.
The public can express their opinions on this proposal during the 45-day comment period. At the end of this period, the U.S Citizenship and Immigration Services (UCIS) will address the comments.  The proposal will not take effect until after a final rule is published in the Federal Register.
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