Last week, US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) launched a new website designed to provide information about immigration to foreign-born entrepreneurs. The “Entrepreneur Pathways” site is an extension of USCIS's “Entrepreneurs in Residence” initiative, through which USCIS has been working with a team of business experts from the private and public sectors to better understand issues related to entrepreneurs. The site is a welcome resource that provides a helpful overview of the requirements relative to some of the most common non-immigrant visas available to foreign-born entrepreneurs (USCIS indicates that in the future, the site will also provide information about immigrant visas), as well as a general description of the application process. It is important to note, however, that Entrepreneur Pathways creates no new visa options for entrepreneurs seeking to start businesses in the United States, nor does it provide information about all of the options that may be available to emerging companies and their founders, depending upon the specific circumstances.
For more information about which non-immigrant or immigrant visa options may be available to you, please contact Laura Schneider, of WilmerHale's Immigration Practice, or for general corporate and venture capital needs, please contact Mick Bain or Peter Buckland of the Emerging Company Practice.
