On Friday, the Department of Homeland Security proposed a new rule to make it easier for foreigners to stay in the US for up to five years to build their startup.
The change will grant the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) the ability to "allow certain international entrepreneurs to be considered for parole (temporary permission to be in the United States) so that they may start or scale their businesses here in the United States," the USCIS says.
For foreign startup founders to qualify, they must own at least 15% of the startup and have started the company in the US within the last three years. There's also a requirement that the startup has raised at least $345,000 from prominent investors or received at least $100,000 in grants.
Rather than trying to pass a new act through Congress, the proposed rule is an extension of the US Citizenship and Immigration Services so it doesn't have to go to a vote. Instead, anyone has 45 days to publicly comment on the rule.