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The International Entrepreneur Rule is just a first step

15 May 2021
Dan Ackermann

The Biden administrationon Monday announced that it will fully implement the International Entrepreneur Rule (IER), an Obama-era program that lets certain foreign-born entrepreneurs stay in the U.S. for up to five years.

Why it matters:The Department of Homeland Security estimates that once implemented, about 3,000 foreign entrepreneurs would qualify per year for the IER program, resulting in about 100,000 jobs being created over a decade.

Big picture: Right now, immigrants who want to start a company in the U.S. have to retrofit visas to their personal situations and hope that immigration administrators approve.

  • Many who are already here under employer-sponsored visas like H1-B or the post-college extension (F1-OPT) apply for green cards to (hopefully) be able to start their companies.
  • Some apply for the E2 visa, which requires the applicant to personally invest in the startup.
  • Others make their case for an O1 visa — for an "individual who possesses extraordinary ability" — which is best known for helping musicians and actors.
  • The ultimate goal is a green card — permanent U.S. residency — which comes with freedom for employment (short of some government jobs).

"Our portfolio founders come from 27 non-U.S. countries, [and] they’ve been on 12 different kinds of visas," says Unshackled Ventures partner Nitin Pachisia, whose firm exclusively backs foreign-born entrepreneurs and helps them with immigration.

Meanwhile: Other countries like Canada have scooped up would-be U.S. immigrants by offering more straightforward visa programs for entrepreneurs.

  • Turkish-born Omer Kucukdere, co-founder of Nestpick, tells Axios he set up his company in Germany thanks to the European Union's Blue Card visa, and a number of his employees have also used it.

What’s next: IER isn't a panacea for foreign-born founders because it gives DHS discretionary authority and is not a formal immigration status.

  • Only Congress can create an actual visa for entrepreneurs, like what's been proposed in something called The Startup Act.

The bottom line: The U.S. now has a clearer path for foreign-born entrepreneurs, but it's still not entirely clear.

Transcripts show George Floyd told police "I can't breathe" over 20 times

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Newly released transcripts of bodycam footage from the Minneapolis Police Department show that George Floyd told officers he could not breathe more than 20 times in the moments leading up to his death.

Why it matters: Floyd's killing sparked a national wave of Black Lives Matter protests and an ongoing reckoning over systemic racism in the United States. The transcripts "offer one the most thorough and dramatic accounts" before Floyd's death, The New York Times writes.

The state of play: The transcripts were released as former officer Thomas Lane seeks to have the charges that he aided in Floyd's death thrown out in court, per the Times. He is one of four officers who have been charged.

  • The filings also include a 60-page transcript of an interview with Lane. He said he "felt maybe that something was going on" when asked if he believed that Floyd was having a medical emergency at the time.

What the transcripts say:

  • Floyd told the officers he was claustrophobic as they tried to get him into the squad car.
  • The transcripts also show Floyd saying, "Momma, I love you. Tell my kids I love them. I'm dead."
  • Former officer Derek Chauvin, who had his knee on Floyd's neck for over eight minutes, told Floyd, "Then stop talking, stop yelling, it takes a heck of a lot of oxygen to talk."

Read the transcripts via DocumentCloud.