DHS/LEGAL/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “A group representing U.S. venture-capital investors is leading a lawsuit against the Trump administration, claiming it took illegal steps to prevent an immigration policy that would have helped foreign-born founders stay in the U.S. to build startups.
In a legal complaint filed Tuesday [9-19-17], the National Venture Capital Association, along with other plaintiffs, claims the Department of Homeland Security violated rules around administrative procedures when it delayed the start of the International Entrepreneur Rule one week before the regulation was scheduled to go into effect in July, according to a copy of the complaint reviewed by The Wall Street Journal.
The rule, enacted in the final days of the Obama administration, would have let foreign entrepreneurs apply to work in the U.S. if their startup raised $250,000 from established U.S. investors, or showed other compelling evidence of potential for rapid growth. The DHS said July 10 that it would delay the effective date of the program by eight months, a period in which it said it would obtain public comment ‘regarding a proposal to rescind the rule.’
The venture-capital association’s lawsuit, filed in the District Court of Washington, D.C., argues that the administration violated the Administrative Procedure Act by failing to solicit public comments before deciding to delay the foreign-founder rule. The group seeks to reverse the delay and permit all entrepreneurs meeting the rule’s requirements to start applying for temporary work status to build startups in the U.S.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security declined to comment on the pending litigation.”
-Douglas MacMillan, “Venture-Capital Group Sues Trump Administration Over Immigration Rule,” The Wall Street Journal online, Sept. 19, 2017 08:14am