Business and the Workforce
Immigrants not only bring diverse skills and perspectives to the U.S. workforce, they often fill employment gaps in crucial fields. We advocate for expanded work visas and related programs so our labor force can continue to benefit from immigrant workers and remain competitive in the global economy
Is USCIS Exceeding Its Authority as It Attempts to Restrict “Specialty Occupation” Workers?
As U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) begins adjudicating H-1B petitions subject to the Fiscal Year (FY) 2019 “cap,”—the annual limit on the number of visas that will be made available for newly-hired foreign workers in “specialty occupations”—employers can expect attacks on this popular category to continue. Congress… Read More
Delays in the Increase of Seasonal Worker Visas May Prove Too Late for Certain Industries
Failure to get H-2B (seasonal worker) visas approved has put Maryland’s seafood industry in jeopardy. Almost half of the Eastern Shore’s crab houses do not have workers they need to pick the meat as the crab season begins. The government’s inability to meet employers’ growing seasonal labor demands will not only have a detrimental impact on Maryland’s economy, but on other states with industries that heavily rely on seasonal workers. Read More
Immigrants Are Founding a Quarter of New Businesses in the United States
National Small Business Week, which runs from April 29 to May 5, highlights the hard work of the United States’ business owners, entrepreneurs, and innovators. America’s small businesses—nearly 30 million in total—employ almost half of all U.S. workers. In order to fully celebrate the contributions of businesses both large and… Read More
Iowa Governor Signs Seal of Biliteracy Legislation to Address Increased Demand for Bilingual Talent
Des Moines, Iowa – Today, Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds signed Senate File 475 into law, which contains a Seal of Biliteracy program to recognize high school graduates with proficiency in a second language other than English. The important legislation highlights the need to leverage language skills as Iowa is faced with… Read More
Fewer Foreign Doctors Could Spell Disaster for America’s Most Underserved Communities
The United States has long been the country of choice for international physicians seeking a graduate medical education. But for the second year in a row, the number of foreign doctors who applied to graduate residency programs in the United States has declined. This has triggered concern that the… Read More
H-1B Cap Has Been Reached in First Week for Sixth Consecutive Year, USCIS Announces
Demonstrating a critical demand for educated foreign workers in the United States, the annual H-1B cap has been reached within 5 business days. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting H-1B petitions on April 2, and on April 6, USCIS announced that it had… Read More
Multilingual Immigrant Uses Her Skills to Advise Corpus Christi Business Community
Growing up under a dictatorial regime in Panama, Lorena Parada-Valdes longed to live in a democratic country. In 1979, she had her chance. That year, she was one of just four Panamanian college students to receive a merit-based scholarship to study in the United States. After graduating from Bates… Read More
Allowing Spouses of H-1B’s to Work Makes America More Competitive
As part of the April 2017 “Buy American and Hire American” executive order, the Trump administration announced that it intends to revoke the employment eligibility of the spouses of foreign workers with H-1B visas. These changes, if implemented, could have distressing effects on many of these workers, their… Read More
The Invisible Wall That President Trump Has Already Built
Legal immigration and the number of foreigners visiting the United States has taken a serious hit within the last year, as the Trump administration makes changes to policies and procedures without any Congressional action or approval. These actions have already had a disturbing, cumulative effect as the administration begins to… Read More
Pioneering Latina Aviator Tells the Stories of Other Latinos
A child of Mexican immigrants, Graciela Tiscareño-Sato grew up in small, north Colorado towns dominated by meatpacking plants. Her mother worked on the assembly line, her father in high-end men’s clothing stores as a tailor. Together they raised five children. It was stable, honest work, says Tiscareño-Sato, but she aspired… Read More
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