Trailing spouses are eligible to apply for work authorization under the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule, one of the rule’s major benefits.

The proposed International Entrepreneur Rule is currently in a public comment period. If approved in its current form, the rule gives United States Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) the discretion to grant parole—or a temporary stay in the U.S.—to foreign entrepreneurs who create, oversee and rapidly grow their startup in the U.S. To receive parole, entrepreneurs would have to show their startup provides a significant public benefit by creating jobs, generating revenue and having the potential to boost the U.S. economy.

The spouse and children of immigrant entrepreneurs who receive parole would also be eligible to stay temporarily in the U.S. And paroled spouses could apply for an Employment Authorization Document (EAD). Spouses are typically prohibited from working under common visa categories, such as H-4 and O-3, so the work authorization provision in the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule is huge.

Most trailing spouses are highly-educated individuals—predominantly wives—who give up their careers abroad to join their founder spouses in Silicon Valley. Under the proposed rule, the trailing spouses need not be reluctant housewives.  And hopefully, more women will become startup founders themselves, since their husbands will not have to give up their careers when they “follow” their wives to the U.S.

Only a handful of visas allow the spouses of foreign entrepreneurs to apply for work authorization, or the EAD. Those visas include:

• H-4 visa (for certain dependent spouses of H-1B nonimmigrant visa holders)
• E-2 treaty investor visa
• L-1 intracompany transferee visa

Given that, I applaud USCIS for the work authorization provision and will urge the agency to retain it in my comments about the International Entrepreneur Rule. USCIS is accepting comments on the rule from the public until October 17, 2016,

As for the EAD, the application filing fee is currently $380. USCIS typically takes about three months to process the application.

To find out more about the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule, check out our dedicated page on the topic. Also, check out my latest video in which I discuss the evidence required for demonstrating that a foreign entrepreneur qualifies for parole under the proposed International Entrepreneur Rule.