USCIS Eases Visa Process For High Skilled Immigrants & Entrepreneurs

On August 3, 2011, USCIS joined with Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano to outline new policies that that will help fuel the nation’s economy and stimulate investment by making it easier for high-skill immigrants and entrepreneurs to obtain visas to start and grow companies and create jobs here in the United States.

As part of the Administration’s comprehensive effort to attract and retain high-skill entrepreneurs, USCIS announced today that it will:

• Clarify that immigrant entrepreneurs may obtain an employment-based second preference (EB-2) immigrant visa if they satisfy the existing requirements, and also may qualify for  a National Interested Waiver under the EB-2 immigrant visa category if they can demonstrate that their business endeavors will be in the interest of the United States;
• Expand the Premium Processing Service to immigrant petitions for multinational executives and managers;
• Clarify when a sole employee-entrepreneur can establish a valid employer-employee relationship for the purposes of qualifying for an H-1B non-immigrant visa;
• Implement fundamental enhancements to streamline the EB-5 process based directly on stakeholder feedback;