New USCIS Website To Help Foreign Entrepreneurs Create and Operate Businesses in the U.S.

Berin Romagnolo December 5, 2012

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) has created and published a new website devoted to helping foreign entrepreneurs start and operate businesses in the U.S.  The site  is called “Entrepreneur Pathways – A Resource for Immigrant Entrepreneurs” and can be found at:http://www.uscis.gov/portal/site/uscis/eir.  It has resources and information regarding immigration options and processes for foreign entrepreneurs, and has methods to contact the USCIS for additional information.    In its Visa Guide for Entrepreneurs, basic information pertaining to several temporary work visa options are explained, including the basic eligibility criteria, duration of employment permitted, and general application procedures.  The site also explores options for greencards for foreign entrepreneurs to allow them to live and work in the U.S. permanently.

The USCIS hopes to spur new foreign investment in the U.S. with this new effort and attract and retain foreign entrepreneurs in the U.S.  To enhance its resources and address the needs of the foreign business community, the USCIS plans to have one meeting per quarter in 2013 where foreign business leaders and others can come to voice their questions and concerns and develop strategies to address these concerns.  The website will publish the date, time and place of these meetings.  However, as a tentative, preliminary schedule, the USCIS anticipates holding a meeting in Austin, Texas in February 2013 and a meeting in Boston, Massachusetts in May 2013.    

In addition to the website, the USCIS maintains a blog, where news about Entrepreneur Pathways may be published and discussed, and that blog can be found at: http://blog.uscis.gov/.

These new initiatives create optimism that the USCIS will continue its efforts to ease and pave pathways to allow foreign entrepreneurs to work in the U.S.  If you have any questions about any information in this article or the USCIS website, please contact Berin Romagnolo.

This Alert is provided for information purposes only, and does not constitute legal advice.  According to Mass. SJC Rule 3:07, this material may be considered advertising. ©2012 Posternak Blankstein & Lund LLP.  All rights reserved.