Reforming Immigration Law to Allow More Foreign Student Entrepreneurs to Launch Job-Creating Ventures in the United States

Although U.S. colleges and universities are seeing increasing numbers of international students with a passion for entrepreneurship current immigration laws make it difficult for these budding innovators to establish startups while in school, or to remain in the country after graduation to grow their companies and create jobs that could bolster the U.S. economy.  

"Reforming Immigration Law to Allow More Foreign Student Entrepreneurs to Launch Job-Creating Ventures in the United States by the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation outlines measures to modify U.S. immigration law to attract and encourage talented international students to launch job-creating ventures in the United States.  

The authors point to conditions in the laws that create barriers to entrepreneurial efforts. Regulations and interpretations pertaining to the F-1 student visa, for example, allow foreign students to work as employees or in internships with companies in their field of study but appear to preclude them from being self-employed in a business venture – including active involvement in launching startups  to gain real-world experience as part of an entrepreneurship program. Similarly, the process for obtaining an H-1B visa that foreign students might seek after graduating has been unfriendly to foreign entrepreneurs seeking to launch their own businesses.  

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