On August 13, 2026, President Trump signed a presidential memorandum titled “Rebuilding the United States Navy and America’s Shipbuilding Industrial Base.” This memorandum directs the Department of War, the federal department that runs the U.S. military, to strengthen the country’s shipbuilding industrial base. That base is the network of shipyards, workers, and suppliers that design, build, and repair Navy ships. 

The memorandum builds on an earlier order, Executive Order 14269: “Restoring America’s Maritime Dominance”, signed in April 2025. It does not create new visas or change immigration law. It sets a clear federal priority: the United States wants more shipbuilding capacity at home, and it is willing to invite foreign shipbuilders to help build it. 

This article explains what the memorandum does, which companies and professionals it may impact, how it benefits prospective applicants in the shipbuilding industry, and how several immigration paths fit the private, commercial side of this work.  

Why This Matters for Immigration in 2026 

A push to expand U.S. shipbuilding capacity means a push to bring in the people, companies, and technology to build it, and that is where existing immigration pathways come in to support this goal.  

The memorandum’s primary focus, the “Finland Model,” requires foreign shipbuilders investing in U.S. yards to license their technology and expertise here, which is the kind of corporate relationship the L-1 visa is built around. Executives and specialized-knowledge employees at those companies may fit the L-1A or L-1B visas. Accomplished engineers and technical leaders may fit the O-1A visa or EB-1A green card. And the memorandum’s stated national priorities, shipbuilding capacity, supplier strength, repair readiness, can add useful context to an EB-2 National Interest Waiver green card case.  

None of this changes visa law or guarantees a particular outcome; it adds a current, documented policy backdrop to strengthen petitions, which still have to meet their own requirements. The sections below walk through what the memorandum actually does, then each pathway in more detail.

What the August 2026 Navy Shipbuilding Memorandum Does 

The memorandum gives the Department of War six main assignments: 

• Change the next aircraft carrier. Within 60 days, officials must plan to replace two systems on the carrier CVN-81 with older, proven alternatives, to avoid the delays and costs the newer systems have caused. 

• Invite private and foreign investment through the “Finland Model,” the memorandum’s signature idea.  

• Open shipbuilding to more builders. Within 90 days, officials must design a more competitive way to buy certain warships and support vessels. 

• Stop mid-build design changes. The Navy must stick with proven ship designs during construction unless a senior official approves a change. 

• Add repair capacity. The memorandum calls for two new pieces of infrastructure: a fifth public Navy shipyard, and a separate center to repair and rebuild submarine parts. 
• Reform the Navy’s engineering command. Within 120 days, officials must review Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the command that oversees ship design and construction, and recommend changes to speed up delivery.  

The “Finland Model”: Foreign Investment, U.S. Yards, and Technology Transfer 

The Finland Model, named for a 2025 arrangement in which Finland helped build U.S. Coast Guard icebreakers, lets a foreign shipbuilder build a few ships abroad now in exchange for building up American shipyards for the long run. 

A federal law usually bars the military from building its ships in foreign-owned yards. The order uses a legal exception to that rule. Under the Finland Model, the Navy can buy ships in up to three categories from a foreign builder, but only if that builder accepts four conditions: 

• Build in America. The foreign builder must either build a brand-new shipyard in the United States or buy a majority stake in an existing one. After the first two ships, every ship must be built in the U.S. yard. 

• Hire American citizens. The builder must hire and train an American-citizen workforce at those U.S. shipyards.  

• Share the technology. The parent company must license its proprietary shipbuilding methods and technology, in plain terms, its “secret ingredient” to the U.S. yard. 

• Buy American parts. The builder must source the parts and materials for building and maintaining the ships from U.S. suppliers. 

These four conditions aim to move real capability onto American soil: a working yard, trained workers, shared know-how, and a home-grown supply chain, even where hands-on construction jobs remain closed to non-citizens.  

The Private, Commercial Side of Expansion 

A shipbuilding push involves more than just naval architects and marine engineers. Because the Finland Model requires building or buying a U.S. yard, training a workforce, licensing technology, and sourcing domestic parts, the work also reaches the private, commercial side of the maritime economy, in areas such as advanced manufacturing, supply chain and procurement, facility and repair operations, and technology transfer. Immigrant workers and foreign companies are well positioned to support this push. The task is matching the right person or business to the right immigration pathway, and the sections below walk through the options that fit this work. 

The Key Limitation: The American-Citizen Workforce Requirement 

The Finland Model requires the foreign builder to hire and train an American-citizen workforce at the U.S. shipyards it covers.  

Permission to work in the United States and eligibility for a particular job are two different considerations. Some jobs in the Navy and Defense require U.S. citizenship. Some require a security clearance, which is a government background check for access to sensitive information.  

The clearest immigration opportunities sit on the private, commercial side of the maritime economy: companies expanding into the United States, parts suppliers, commercial (non-defense) shipbuilding, and other roles that an employer can lawfully fill. Anyone considering a specific job should ask the employer and an attorney about citizenship, clearance, and export rules, because those questions sit outside immigration law. 

Immigration Pathways for the Private-Sector Shipbuilding Expansion 

The memorandum does not create a visa or change immigration law. It sets a federal priority, and that priority can add current, real-world context to a petition that already meets the existing eligibility requirements.  

EB-2 National Interest Waiver (NIW) 

The EB-2 NIW is a green card path for people whose work serves the U.S. national interest, evaluated under a well-established three-prong framework, and the first prong asks whether the work has substantial merit and national importance. That is where this memorandum can help: it names shipbuilding capacity, supplier strength, repair readiness, and technology transfer as national priorities, which can serve as current, documented context for that prong. Whether a given petition benefits from this memorandum still depends on how the person’s specific work advances one of those priorities.  

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EB-1A Extraordinary Ability Green Card 

The EB-1A is a green card for professionals at the very top of their field, the kind of record that others in the field widely recognize. Like the EB-2 NIW, it lets a person self-petition without an employer. It sets a high evidence bar, and federal policy support does not lower that bar. For this industry, the EB-1A can fit a globally recognized engineer, scientist, or executive whose work is central to advanced shipbuilding, manufacturing, or technology.  

The memorandum does not lower the EB-1A evidence bar or change the criteria. Where it can help is the statutory requirement that the applicant’s entry substantially benefit the United States prospectively, and the expectation that they will continue working in their field once here. The current federal policy identifying shipbuilding capacity, supplier strength, and technology transfer as national priorities is documented evidence that there is sustained U.S. demand for exactly this expertise, which supports both points. 

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L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa 

The L-1 Intracompany Transfer Visa lets a multinational company move an employee from a foreign office to a U.S. one. It comes in two forms: L-1A for managers and executives, and L-1B for employees with specialized knowledge of the company’s own products, methods, or technology. 

The Finland Model asks foreign shipbuilders to open a new U.S. shipyard or buy a majority stake in an existing one, which supports exactly the parent-and-subsidiary company relationship the L-1 is built around.  

The Finland Model also requires the parent company to license its proprietary methods and technology to the U.S. yard, and the people who carry that specialized knowledge are the kind of employees the L-1B is designed for. So as a foreign shipbuilder stands up its U.S. operation, its executives and managers may fit the L-1A, and its specialized engineers and technicians may fit the L-1B. 

The general L-1 rules still apply. The company must have a qualifying relationship between its foreign and U.S. offices, and the employee generally must have worked for the foreign company for at least one continuous year during the past three. What the memorandum adds is not a change to those rules, but a clear, documented business reason for the transfer. 

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O-1A Extraordinary Ability Visa 

The O-1A is a temporary work visa for people with extraordinary ability in fields such as science, engineering, or business. The memorandum could be relevant for accomplished engineers, technical leaders, and founders who can document a strong record, for example, someone brought in to lead a technology transfer or to stand up advanced manufacturing at a new U.S. yard. 

Unlike the EB-1A and EB-2 NIW, the O-1A requires a U.S. employer or agent to petition, so the practical question is usually who will sponsor. That is where this build-out matters: new and expanded U.S. yards, licensed foreign technology, and a growing supplier base are the kind of activity that creates sponsoring employers with a documented need for senior technical talent. The O-1A also recognizes a person employed in a critical or essential capacity for an organization with a distinguished reputation, which can fit someone brought in to lead a technology transfer or stand up advanced manufacturing at a new U.S. yard.

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What We’re Seeing in Our Own Maritime and Industrial Cases 

Colombo & Hurd has seen defense-built engineering records approved under the EB-2 NIW once the work was mapped onto a civilian need, records built around a business plan and documented demand approved under the same category, and a record resting on recognition already earned approved under the EB-1A. What the files share is a record documented specifically enough for the standard it was measured against. 

EB-2 NIW: Marine Engineer Modernizing Smaller U.S. Shipyards 

Colombo & Hurd secured an EB-2 NIW approval for a marine engineer with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering and two master’s degrees, in project management and international relations, with close to 30 years in maritime security and naval technology. His record was built almost entirely inside defense programs, and his proposed U.S. work was civilian: helping smaller American shipyards modernize how they design, build, and repair. USCIS approved the EB-2 NIW petition without a Request for Evidence. Read the full marine engineer EB-2 NIW case study here. 

Why it is useful: The memorandum’s repair agenda, a fifth public shipyard and a submarine parts facility, is a capacity problem, and capacity means yards plus people who know how to modernize them. If your own experience sits inside military, state-owned, or defense programs, this is the shape of a record that met the EB-2 NIW standard once it was mapped onto a civilian need. 

EB-2 NIW: Supply Chain Professional Serving Small and Mid-Sized Businesses 

In another EB-2 NIW approval, Colombo & Hurd’s client was a supply chain and data science professional with a master’s degree in supply chain management and a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering. He had more than a decade of experience across consulting and senior data science roles at global consumer goods and retail companies. He proposed to establish a U.S. consulting firm bringing predictive modeling and supply chain strategy to small and mid-sized businesses. The I-140 was approved in 21 days under premium processing. He later became a permanent resident. Read the full supply chain EB-2 NIW case study here. 

Why it is useful: The Finland Model requires foreign builders to source parts and materials from U.S. suppliers, and that supplier base is largely small and mid-sized manufacturers and distributors. This record was built around a business plan and documented demand rather than a publication list, which is a common position for supply chain professionals weighing the EB-2 NIW. 

EB-2 NIW: Industrial Engineer in Supply Chain Analytics 

Colombo & Hurd also secured an EB-2 NIW approval for an industrial engineer with a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering for management and spent years building digital and analytics tools that help American companies run their supply chains, finding bottlenecks and documenting what the fixes were worth. USCIS approved the petition based on the petition’s federal priorities and paired published economic data with measurable results from her own projects. Read the full industrial engineer EB-2 NIW case study here. 

Why it is useful: The memorandum’s complaints about shipbuilding are process complaints: schedule slippage, cost growth, and design changes made mid-construction. Those are industrial engineering problems. This case also shows that a field USCIS does not automatically read as nationally important can still meet the standard when the work is tied to a priority the government has already named. 

EB-1A: Energy Project Manager Delivering Complex Infrastructure 

Colombo & Hurd’s secured an EB-1A approval for an energy project manager for a civil engineer with a professional certificate in project management. He led oil and gas pipeline projects running through multiple countries and built a patented AI system that estimates where a project is most likely to slip, weighing geography, distance, weather, staffing, and ground conditions. His record included published work, patents, media coverage, and compensation in the top 2 to 3% of his field globally. USCIS approved the EB-1A petition in 12 business days under premium processing, without a Request for Evidence. 

Why it is useful : Much of what the memorandum directs the Navy to fix is schedule and cost discipline on enormous, technically complex builds. This approval also rested on sustained recognition rather than a proposed endeavor.  Read the full project manager EB-1A case study here.  

Frequently Asked Questions 

What did President Trump’s August 2026 Navy shipbuilding memorandum do? 

The memorandum directed the Department of War to rebuild the U.S. Navy shipbuilding industrial base. The order sets deadlines of 60, 90, and 120 days for written plans. It introduces the Finland Model for foreign investment in U.S. yards, calls for a fifth public Navy shipyard and a submarine parts repair center, opens up how the Navy buys certain ships, and orders a review of the Navy’s engineering command. Most items are plans that officials must still write. 

What is the Finland Model for U.S. shipbuilding? 

The Finland Model is a way to buy ships from a foreign builder while shifting real shipbuilding to the United States. A foreign builder may build the first two ships in up to three categories in its home yard. In return, it must build or buy a U.S. shipyard, hire and train U.S.-citizen workers, share its methods and technology, and buy from U.S. suppliers. The builder must construct every ship after the first two in the United States. 

Is the United States building a fifth Navy shipyard? 

Not yet, at least not in any confirmed sense. The memorandum orders officials to deliver a 120-day plan that includes establishing a fifth public Navy yard, with a preference for locations near the Pacific Fleet, including the continental United States, Alaska, Hawaii, or U.S. territories. As of this writing, no site, budget, or construction timeline has been announced. A required plan is not the same as an operating shipyard, so this is worth checking again closer to publication or whenever you’re citing it. 

Can foreign shipbuilders invest in or operate U.S. shipyards under the new policy? 

Yes, under the Finland Model. The order lets the Navy work with a foreign builder that agrees to build or take a controlling share of a U.S. yard, staff it with U.S. citizens, license its technology, and source U.S. suppliers. Each contract still needs a legal step and a 30-day notice to Congress. Whether any specific deal happens depends on later government decisions. 

Does the memorandum create U.S. jobs for foreign shipbuilding professionals? 

Not directly. The Finland Model requires the foreign builder’s U.S. shipyard to hire and train an American-citizen workforce, which limits direct, hands-on production jobs for foreign nationals at those specific yards. The clearer immigration opportunities sit one step removed, in private-sector roles like corporate leadership, supplier development, and technology transfer, rather than in citizen-only shipyard positions. 

Can a foreign shipbuilding executive or specialist move to a U.S. office on an L-1 visa? 

Yes, if the company and the employee meet the L-1 rules. The L-1 visa lets a multinational company move a manager, executive, or specialized-knowledge employee to a U.S. office. Because the order encourages foreign shipbuilders to invest in U.S. yards, the L-1 fits this setting well. The L-1 does not, on its own, grant access to restricted defense projects. 

Can shipbuilding or maritime professionals still qualify for an EB-2 NIW? 

Yes, if they meet the EB-2 NIW requirements on their own. The 2026 order may add current policy context for a proposed project tied to shipbuilding, suppliers, or repair, but it does not decide any case. Our maritime EB-2 NIW article walks through how maritime professionals build these petitions. 

What should maritime companies and professionals watch next? 

Watch for the 60-, 90-, and 120-day plans, any notice to Congress about a foreign-yard contract, and any foreign shipbuilder that announces a U.S. investment or yard purchase. Also watch for funding, contracts, and rules that turn plans into active work. Each of these moves the policy from direction toward reality. 

The Bottom Line 

The August 2026 memorandum adds concrete tools to the Administration’s broader shipbuilding push: foreign investment in U.S. yards, technology transfer, domestic sourcing, new repair capacity, and a more competitive way to buy ships. It does not create a visa or override citizenship and security rules. But for companies and skilled professionals working in the lawful, private-sector parts of this industry, it can add real, current context to an immigration strategy that already stands on its own. 

If you work in shipbuilding, marine manufacturing, supply chain, engineering, or a related field, and you are weighing a move to the United States or a longer-term immigration plan, Colombo & Hurd can help you find the path that fits your situation.