Immigration officials want to get rid of a policy that allows some foreign entrepreneurs to stay in the country while they build a start-up business, and the change would affect foreign students studying at Arizona universities.
This is the second try by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to dispose of the International Entrepreneur Rule created by former President Barack Obama.
Federal officials said an executive order by President Donald Trump gives them the power to get rid of the rule, which was originally based on an overly broad legal interpretation.
The rule was designed to fill a gap in the immigration system, and discarding it will keep foreign college students from staying in the U.S. temporarily after graduation, said attorney Christopher Brelje.
“We’re shooting ourselves in the foot here because the whole idea (behind the International Entrepreneur Rule) is to grow our economy and to create quality jobs for U.S. workers,” Brelje said.
Federal officials said the rule doesn’t do enough to protect U.S. workers and investors.
