US startup visa in 2026: International Entrepreneur Parole

Status in September 2026: the program is open but costs more

In short: International Entrepreneur Parole is working in 2026. The International Entrepreneur Rule is codified in federal regulation 8 CFR 212.19, the American immigration service accepts Form I-941 (current edition dated January 20, 2025; the form page was updated on June 1, 2026), and the immigration service fee schedule dated September 9, 2026 lists its fee. No proposal to remove the program was published in the Federal Register in 2025-2026.

But it is no longer the program that older articles describe. Since October 1, 2024 the thresholds are higher: $311,071 from investors instead of $250,000, and $124,429 in grants instead of $100,000. Since October 16, 2025 the $1,200 filing fee comes with a mandatory parole fee under H.R. 1 (Pub. L. 119-21), which has been $1,020 per person since January 1, 2026. A spouse pays a separate surcharge for a work permit, which is now issued for one year.

The program has had a rocky history. The rule was adopted on January 17, 2017, the first Trump administration delayed its effective date, and in December 2017 a court ruled the delay unlawful in a case brought by the National Venture Capital Association. On May 29, 2018 the Department of Homeland Security proposed removing the program, and that proposal was withdrawn only on May 11, 2021.

What the program is and who it suits

The United States has no startup visa in the European sense. The closest equivalent is International Entrepreneur Parole: the Department of Homeland Security lets a founder live in the country and run an American company if its growth will provide a significant public benefit. That benefit is proven not with a business plan but with money that American investors or government bodies have already put into the company.

The program suits you if:

• you have an American company no more than five years old and own at least 10% of it;
• in the last 18 months the company has raised a round from qualified American investors or received government grants of the required size;
• you are a key person in day-to-day management, not a passive shareholder;
• other routes are closed: you lack the external recognition for an O-1 so far, the H-1B lottery did not work out, and your country has no treaty with the United States for an E-2 visa.

The program does not suit you if the startup is at the idea stage, if the money in the company is your own or comes from a non-American fund, if what you really need is a green card, or if you want to live in the United States while running the business somewhere else. The permission is tied to a specific company and your role in it.

Requirements for the startup and the founder

All the conditions are set out in 8 CFR 212.19. A summary in 2026:

The household income requirement is often overlooked. The poverty line is revised every year, and a founder living on savings without a salary should work out in advance how to show income at four times that line.

How much money you need: thresholds after the 2024 adjustment

The amounts in the rule are adjusted for inflation every three years. The current thresholds took effect on October 1, 2024; the next adjustment is expected on October 1, 2027.

If someone quotes $250,000, the information is two adjustment cycles out of date. The $264,147 figure has also been obsolete since October 2024.

If the round is below the threshold, the door is not fully closed. The immigration service accepts alternative evidence of potential: numbers of users and customers, revenue, a successful crowdfunding campaign, participation in an accelerator, patents, the founder's past startup success. But there is more officer discretion here, and building a plan on this route without strong numbers is risky.

Who counts as a qualified investor

This is where many founders from outside the United States stumble. The money has to come not from any investor, but from a qualified one:

• an American citizen, a green card holder, or an organization majority owned and controlled by American citizens or green card holders;
• over the previous five years the investor has put at least $746,571 into startups;
• at least two companies in its portfolio, after the investment, each created at least five full-time jobs or reached revenue of $622,142 or more with average annual growth of at least 20%.

The investment itself must be in equity or convertible debt, from lawfully derived capital, and made within the 18 months before filing. Money from the founder, the founder's relatives and entities the founder controls does not count.

The practical conclusion: a round from a European or Asian fund, from angels without American citizenship or from the founder's friends does not meet the threshold. Such money only works as supporting evidence of potential. That is why International Entrepreneur Parole usually makes sense after a round from an American fund or angel, not instead of one.

Government fees and real costs in 2026

All the amounts below come from the current immigration service fee schedule (Form G-1055, edition dated September 9, 2026). The H.R. 1 parole fee is adjusted every year, and the exceptions listed in the law do not cover this program.

An example for a founder with a spouse and one child for the first period: $1,200 for the I-941, $1,260 for two I-131 forms, $3,060 in parole fees for three people and $1,080 for the spouse's first work permit. That is about $6,600 in government payments alone. Under H.R. 1 the spouse's work permit is issued for one year, so every annual renewal adds another $800.

On top of that come costs the government does not set: support from Murblz specialists together with partner American attorneys, financial statements, the trip to a consulate for biometrics. The cost of support depends on how complex the case is, so we quote it after reviewing the documents.

Step-by-step process and timeline

There is a separate scenario for people already in the United States in another status. If you asked for the document to be delivered inside the country, after approval the immigration service mails a multi-use I-512L travel document. But the final parole decision is made only at the border: you have to leave the United States and come back through a port of entry.

On realistic timelines: the program page does not give a guaranteed processing time for the I-941, and private immigration services cite several months as a rough guide. The consular stage comes on top of that. Russian citizens should find out in advance which consulate will take their biometrics: services at the American embassy in Moscow are severely limited.

Documents for Form I-941

The evidence depends on which criterion you file under, but the core is the same:

• the company's certificate of incorporation and documents showing it was formed within five years before filing and does real business;
• the cap table, share purchase agreements and other documents proving you own at least 10%;
• evidence of your central role: employment agreement, appointment resolutions, a description of your functions;
• round documents: equity or convertible debt agreements, proof the money arrived, deal dates within 18 months;
• proof the investor is qualified: citizenship or green card, the fund's ownership structure, its investments over five years and the results of portfolio companies;
• when filing on grants: grant and award decisions from American federal, state or local government bodies;
• the company's financial statements, audited if possible;
• for partial compliance: user and revenue metrics, crowdfunding data, accelerator documents, patents, the history of past startups;
• passport, photos and, for the family, marriage and birth certificates.

Documents in other languages are filed with a full English translation and the translator's statement of accuracy. The main weakness of packages is usually not missing papers but unclear links between them: the officer should see at once who the investor is, why they qualify, how much they invested and when, and why the company will not grow without you.

Family: spouse and children

A spouse and unmarried children under 21 can be paroled together with the founder. Each files Form I-131, either with the I-941 or later, and each pays the parole fee on entry.

• The spouse can get a work permit after entry on Form I-765 under category (c)(34). The first permit costs $1,080 including the H.R. 1 surcharge and is issued for one year; a renewal costs $800.
• Children cannot get a work permit under this program.
• The family's status derives from the founder's: if the founder's parole ends, the family's basis for staying under this program ends too.

A family increases not only the government fees but also the income requirement: the 400% poverty line threshold applies to the whole household and rises with each member.

Taxes for a founder on parole

Immigration status and American tax residence are different things. Parolees are not among the categories exempt from the substantial presence test, so days in the country count in the usual way. You become a tax resident if you spent at least 31 days in the United States in the current year and the formula reaches 183 days: all days of the current year plus a third of the days of the previous year and a sixth of the year before that.

For a founder who moved to work for the startup, this almost always means tax residence in the first full year. The consequences:

• federal income tax at rates from 10% to 37% on worldwide income, plus state tax where there is one;
• reporting of foreign accounts if their combined balance exceeded $10,000 at any point in the year;
• separate reporting on stakes in foreign companies, which is critical for anyone keeping a business at home;
• the startup itself, as a corporation, pays 21% federal corporate income tax.

It is better to build the tax model before the move. More on this on the American taxes page.

Re-parole, green card and American citizenship

The initial parole period is up to 30 months from the date of entry. Re-parole is possible once, for another 30 months, for a maximum of five years. To be re-paroled you must keep a stake of at least 5% and a central role, and show that during the first period the company met at least one condition:

• raised at least another $622,142 from qualified investors, grants or a combination;
• created at least five qualified jobs: full-time in the United States, filled for at least a year, held by someone other than you or your family members;
• reached annual revenue of $622,142 or more with average growth of at least 20% a year.

With partial compliance you can again add other compelling evidence. The new I-941 must be filed before the first period ends.

The program does not give a green card. The immigration service states it plainly: because parole is not an admission, the holder may be ineligible to change status or adjust to a green card without leaving the United States. The idea is that within five years the founder moves to a more durable basis. The main options:

• EB-2 NIW - a national interest green card, which the founder self-petitions for without an employer;
• EB-1A - for people of extraordinary ability, if the founder has recognition at the level of awards, publications and press;
• EB-5 - a green card through investment from $800,000;
• family-based grounds, if they exist.

Because parole is not an admission, the way you obtain a green card, inside the United States or through a consulate, is planned in advance by Murblz specialists together with a partner American immigration attorney, before you even file the I-941.

Time on parole does not count toward citizenship. The clock starts on the green card date: you can apply for American citizenship by naturalization after 5 years with a green card, or after 3 years if married to an American citizen. A realistic path from first entry on International Entrepreneur Parole to a American passport is well over five years.

What changed in 2025-2026

The rule itself has not been rewritten in these years, but the money and the environment around it have changed. The timeline from official publications:

The bottom line: formally the program is the same, but entry for a solo founder costs almost twice as much, and the environment around parole has become tougher.

Risks, denials and the uncomfortable truth

It is a discretionary decision. Even if every threshold is met, the Department of Homeland Security can refuse if it concludes that a significant public benefit has not been shown. Immigration service approval does not oblige the border service to let you in at the border.

No direct path to a green card. Five years is a ceiling, not a stepping stone. If a move to EB-2 NIW, EB-1 or EB-5 is not prepared by then, you will have to leave.

Parole can end early. The Department of Homeland Security terminates it if the facts in the application were inaccurate, you failed to report material changes, lost your central role, left the company, or parole was granted in error. A failed startup, a sale of the company or dilution below 5% removes the basis for staying under this program.

You can only work for your own startup. Side consulting, a second company or a job with another employer are not allowed on this basis.

American money is mandatory. A round from non-American investors does not meet the threshold. For a founder from Russia or Belarus this means first convincing an American fund and only then thinking about immigration, and such investors and banks should be expected to run enhanced source-of-funds and sanctions checks.

Political risk. The program already survived a removal attempt in 2018. In 2025-2026 everything connected with parole has been tightened step by step: new fees, short work permits, proposals to limit employment. The rule is in force, but there is no guarantee the terms will not change in the middle of your five-year period.

A narrow program. There is far less practice with International Entrepreneur Parole than with O-1 or EB-2 NIW.

Where applications break down, given how the rule is built:

• the investor does not meet the qualified investor definition, for example the fund is not controlled by American citizens;
• the round closed more than 18 months before filing;
• after the round the founder's stake is below 10%;
• the founder's role is described in general terms, without evidence that the company's growth depends on them;
• there is no clear way to show household income above 400% of the poverty line.

Alternatives for founders: what to choose

International Entrepreneur Parole is rarely the only option. A comparison of the routes founders most often consider in 2026:

Many founders consider a combination: O-1A as a fast way in, with an EB-2 NIW green card petition in parallel. International Entrepreneur Parole makes sense when there is not yet enough external recognition for an O-1 but a round from an American fund is already in place. A detailed look at the O-1 is in our article on the O-1 visa in 2026, recent visa policy changes are in the review of new American visa rules from September 2026, and European options are in our roundup of European startup visas. All programs for professionals and founders are collected under talent visas, and general information about the country is on the United States page.

Every way to get residency in the United States

This is one route. All the other grounds for residency in the United States, with conditions, amounts in dollars and timelines, are compared on How to get residency in the United States in 2026: every route.

What International Entrepreneur Parole gives you

How to get International Entrepreneur Parole: step by step

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