The National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) recently called on President Donald Trump not to rescind the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), which is designed to increase foreign entrepreneurship in the United States.
Specifically, it allows entrepreneurs to build their businesses in the United States if they meet certain criteria and are vetted by the Department of Homeland Security.
However, the DHS recently proposed the “Rescission of the International Entrepreneur Rule,” which is pending review by the Office of Management and Budget. This puts IER on uncertain footing and threatens the benefits to the U.S. economy that come from the IER.
“The International Entrepreneur Rule (IER) allows world-class immigrant entrepreneurs to build new companies in the United States if the startup has substantial potential for rapid growth and job creation,” NVCA, along with 31 other business organizations, wrote to Trump. “During your State of the Union speech, you stressed the need for a ‘merit-based immigration system — one that admits people who are skilled, who want to work, who will contribute to our society, and who will love and respect our country.’ IER applicants are emphatically all of those things and as such deserve your full support.”
The rescission of the rule has been pending review by the Office of Management and Budget since November, which places a “dark cloud” over IER and creates uncertainty for immigrant entrepreneurs.
“The rescission rule stifles investment into new companies with foreign-born founders, which ultimately costs the U.S. economy,” the group wrote in the letter. “It also exacerbates an alarming trend of elite entrepreneurs launching successful startups outside the United States. Twenty years ago, our country’s share of global venture investment was 90 percent, but that number has dropped precipitously to 81 percent in 2006 and to 53 percent in 2017. In 2016, China was home to six of the 10 largest venture capital investments in the world. If we continue to push entrepreneurs overseas, our share of global investment will continue to decrease.”