International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP): The Right to Stay for Founders

The International Entrepreneur Rule has been in force since 2017 and is administered by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). It allows foreign entrepreneurs to work for US startups that have received substantial funding from qualified US investors. The thresholds are adjusted to the Consumer Price Index every three years; the amounts on this page apply since October 1, 2024 (USCIS, agency page as of January 25, 2025).

1The International Entrepreneur Parole Program (IEPP) at a glance

DHS grants this US work authorization under a provision of immigration law known as "parole".

The parole statute lets the agency, at its discretion, grant foreign nationals permission to enter and work for urgent humanitarian reasons or for significant public benefit.

The regulation sets general criteria that favor foreign nationals who play a key role in US startups. The basis is public benefit: entrepreneurship, innovation and job creation.

The program fills a gap in the current US immigration system, which offers talented entrepreneurs who want to found, build or help steer new US companies few or no workable options for a work permit.

The H-1B visa, for example, is tightly limited by its annual cap, imposes high salary requirements on employers and is therefore often unsuitable for startups with few or no employees or little or no revenue.

The E-2 investor visa is only available to citizens of countries that have a special treaty with the US. The visa requires the US company to be majority foreign-owned. It also usually calls for a substantial capital investment, similar to the EB-5 immigrant investor visa.

2How to qualify for International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP)

To qualify for International Entrepreneur Parole (IEP), the entrepreneur must play a central and active role in running the startup and show that their academic background and/or experience will substantially drive the company's growth.

"Entrepreneur" here is not limited to the people running the startup. It can also include technical founders and other key people who are critical to the company's success.

2.1The applicant's ownership stake

At the time of the initial application, the entrepreneur must own at least 10% of the company, although this share may gradually decline over five years as equity is transferred to other investors.

The applicant must, however, keep some ownership in the company throughout the entire parole period; at re-parole, USCIS still requires at least 5% ownership.

The US startup must have been formed within the five years before the IEP application, or within five years of receiving the qualifying grants, awards or investments described below.

The IEP application must also show that the US startup has conducted lawful business throughout the entire period since its formation.

This may sound tricky, since proof of business activity may be needed before the entrepreneur is in the United States full time, but the preamble to the regulation calls for flexible interpretation. Business activity can be shown through business licenses, purchased or leased equipment, contracts for products or services, invoices, licensing agreements, tax returns, sales tax filings and marketing efforts.

No more than three entrepreneurs can be granted IEP on the basis of the same startup.

2.2Investment by qualified US investors

For the entrepreneur to qualify for IEP, the startup must have raised at least $311,071 in capital from qualified US investors, or at least $124,429 in qualifying government awards or grants, within the eighteen months before the application (amounts since October 1, 2024; adjusted for inflation every three years).

Private investors can be individuals or investment firms such as venture capital funds, angel investors or startup accelerators that are majority owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent residents and have invested at least $746,571 in new US businesses over the past five years. At least two of those businesses must have created five or more US jobs or reached $622,142 in revenue with average annual revenue growth of at least 20%.

It is unclear exactly how DHS will interpret the requirement that qualified investors be owned and controlled by US citizens or permanent residents.

3IEP also works with investment firms

With some investment firms, it can be hard to trace the ownership of a large number of limited partnerships, because they invest money but exercise no control over management or the investment.

 

If the IEP application can show that the funds of a US-based investment firm are controlled by US citizens or residents who themselves hold a stake in the firm, DHS should accept this as meeting the intended purpose of the rule.

Support for this reading can be found in the L-1 visa category, where "ownership and control" between entities within a multinational group can be shown through agreements that give control to a common parent company or a group of individual directors, even with minority stakes.

In the preamble to the IEP rule, DHS also responded to a public comment on foreign funding and investment, confirming that a qualified investment firm must be owned or controlled by US citizens or permanent residents.

4Re-parole: extending your IEP

IEP gives the entrepreneur an initial 30-month work authorization for the startup in the US.

Through re-parole, this can be extended by another 30 months, to five years in total, if it is shown that the entrepreneur's role continues to provide significant public benefit to the United States.

This usually means showing that the startup has received at least $622,142 in qualified investments or government grants or awards, created at least five US jobs, or reached annual revenue of at least $622,142 with average annual revenue growth of at least 20%.

If the startup has received substantial funding from qualified investors but does not meet all of the requirements above for initial parole or re-parole, DHS may still approve an IEP application at its discretion if compelling evidence of rapid growth and job creation is provided.

Such evidence includes the company's number of users or customers, revenue, additional investment or funding (including through crowdfunding platforms), social impact, national reach and/or positive impact on the town or region where the company operates.

5How family members benefit

The entrepreneur's spouse and children can file their own parole applications. Once in the United States, the spouse can apply for work authorization.

Because the law only gives DHS discretion where there is significant public benefit (or urgent humanitarian reasons), the IEP rule requires applications from spouses and children to include evidence that the dependent "otherwise merits a favorable exercise of discretion."

The rule is silent on what kind of evidence family members must provide, but the preamble suggests dependents can provide significant public benefit "by maintaining family unity and thereby further encouraging the entrepreneur to operate and grow the business in the United States and bring the benefits of that growth to the United States."

The startup is not required to pay the entrepreneur a minimum salary or any other guaranteed compensation. However, DHS can only grant IEP if the entrepreneur's household income in the US is at least 400% of the federal poverty line.

The 2026 poverty line for a household of four in the 48 contiguous states is $33,000. An entrepreneur applying for IEP for themselves, a spouse and two children would therefore need to show expected annual household income of at least $132,000.

This can be income paid by the startup or a combination of sources, such as investment income or the spouse's income.

6How do changes in company structure affect IEP status?

Throughout the entire parole period, the entrepreneur must promptly inform DHS of any material changes. Material changes include, among other things, "significant" changes in the ownership and control of the startup.

In the preamble, DHS notes that a material change may occur when a transfer of equity results in one or more owners not previously named in the IEP application gaining a majority stake in the company.

So it is entirely possible that additional funding (and new controlling owners) the startup receives during the first 30 months of IEP serves as the qualifying investment that allows the entrepreneur to be re-paroled, while at the same time requiring them to report the equity transfer, including the diluted ownership stake, to DHS as a material change.

When it adopted the final rule, the agency explicitly acknowledged this apparent tension. It stated that it does not expect such ownership changes to lead to termination of parole in and of themselves, but that reviewing the impact of new ownership is important for the integrity of the IEP program.

The regulation gives DHS broad discretion to terminate parole at any time and without stating reasons, as soon as the agency determines that IEP no longer provides a significant public benefit to the United States.

Much like the termination provisions for other approvals, and as the IEP rule expressly allows, DHS may also notify the entrepreneur of any concerns or questions it has about continued IEP eligibility and give them the opportunity to respond.

For example, the agency may raise concerns if it believes the information in the IEP application was not truthful or accurate, if the entrepreneur failed to report a material change in time, if the entrepreneur no longer holds a central and active role, or if they no longer own a qualifying stake in the startup.

7What comes after IEP?

In its current form, the IEP program grants permission to work in the US for up to five years. Entrepreneurs whose talents the United States needs for the longer term should therefore look into other options for staying in the US well before their parole expires. Our visa overview gives you a rundown of the alternatives; for founders, the O-1 visa for startup founders and the E-2 investor visa are especially worth a look.

Reinstating the IEP program was a welcome sign that the US government understands the crucial role that startups founded by foreign entrepreneurs have played, and will keep playing, in creating jobs and powering the US economy.

In short

• International Entrepreneur Parole lets foreign founders work for a US startup that has received substantial funding from qualified US investors or government grants.
• At the initial application, the founder must hold at least 10 percent and play a central, active role; the startup can be no more than five years old, and no more than three founders are approved per startup.
• The initial grant is valid for 30 months and can be extended by another 30 months if the startup shows investment, job creation or revenue growth.
• Spouses and children file their own applications, and household income must reach at least 400 percent of the federal poverty line.

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