Entrepreneurship
Entrepreneurship and business creation is fundamental to a healthy economy. Companies less than five years old create an average of 1.5 million new jobs for Americans each year.† Immigrants in particular play an important role in creating jobs as they are more likely to start a new business than the rest of the population. Despite this, the United States lacks a startup visa to welcome immigrant entrepreneurs with a proven idea and solid investment. This results in many business owners struggling to stay—at a cost to our economy and its workers.
† Jason Wiens and Chris Jackson, “The Importance of Young Firms for Economic Growth,” September 13, 2015. Available online.
Child of Immigrant Shopkeepers is a Powerful Force for Small Businesses
Ron Kim grew up working in his parents’ small grocery store in New York City. The family had immigrated to the United States from South Korea in 1987, when Kim was 7 years old. “I saw my parents, both of them, work nonstop,” he says, noting that the store was… Read More
After Decade in U.S., Still No Visa for Successful Startup Founder
Chris Choi has a bachelor’s degree in economics and mathematics from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, and a master’s degree in investments and securities from Pace University. He also co-founded a growing company called Spryfit, a reward-based fitness app that uses cash prizes and other rewards to… Read More
Local Businessman Says, Even with U.S. Citizenship, He’s “Worried”
Mauricio Roca, is an U.S. citizen. His wife is American, and they have two American children. However, with so much negative rhetoric around immigrants these days, the Mexican-born Roca feels nervous whenever he sees a police officer. “Most Hispanics I know who are living in the United States right now… Read More
After Rising From Tragedy, an Ethiopian Entrepreneur Feeds the Economy — and Her Community
In 1995, Menbere “Menbe” Aklilu came to the United States with her 11-year-old son, moved to Oakland, California, and became a hostess at the Richmond Italian restaurant Salute e Vita. It may not sound like an auspicious beginning. But by age 10 in Gojjam, Ethiopia, Aklilu had witnessed her… Read More
Hi-Tech Innovator Wants to Expand Into U.S. — Immigration Policy Makes That Difficult
After suffering long-term shoulder pain, serial entrepreneur Mark Yu started a company — U-Gym Technology — to solve the problem of chronic pain. The Taiwanese-American founder, who was born in Honolulu but raised in Taiwan, developed an app-controlled device that make the muscles contract and release using transcutaneous electrical nerve… Read More
Missourian: For high-skilled immigrants, policy shifts complicate path to entrepreneurship
Sitting in his company’s 6,000-square-foot facility in an industrial part of northeast Columbia, Hao Li, the chief executive officer of Nanova Biomaterials, recounted his journey to becoming an entrepreneur. Li, who grew up in China, said he always knew he wanted to start a business and make products to help… Read More
In America, Rwandan Refugee Gains a Voice and Creates Jobs
From 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., Rubens Mukunzi runs a Buffalo-based newspaper, where he writes, edits, and meets with advertisers. After a one-hour break for dinner, the Rwandan refugee starts his shift at a cleaning company, where he works until midnight. The hours are long, but Mukunzi… Read More
Giving up ‘Not an Option’ For Child Farmworker Turned Entrepreneur
As the daughter of Mexican immigrants who came to America in 1963, Frances Prado started picking onions in the California fields alongside her parents and six siblings at age 6. At one point, her family was homeless. She remembers sleeping in the trunk of a car. Today, nearly five decades… Read More
Business Owner: Immigrants Boost the Economy, Revitalize Alabama Town
Robert Hester has owned Hester Printing & Graphics, Inc. in Russellville since 1976. For much of that time, he’s relied on Hispanic immigrants and first-generation customers. “Their business has really helped me,” says Hester. “The invitations for quinceañeras and weddings and things like that are really big. Other people here… Read More
May Day 2017: Why immigrant labor is more important now than ever
On Monday, tens of thousands were expected to walk out of their jobs and take to the streets for a national Day Without Immigrants strike. The strike was predicted by organizers to be the largest single-day labor strike in over a decade. The message of Monday’s protest was… Read More
Immigrants Create American Jobs
How many jobs do immigrant entrepreneurs create? The data shows that firms owned by immigrants provide millions of jobs for U.S. workers and generate billions of dollars in annual income. With new business formation slowing in the United States, immigrant entrepreneurs have a critical role in many parts of the country, creating jobs for all Americans.
What percent of businesses are owned by immigrants?
The act of moving to another country is inherently courageous and risky. So, it comes as no surprise that immigrants tend to be more entrepreneurial than the rest of the population. In 2019, immigrant entrepreneurs made up 21.7 percent of all business owners in the United States, despite making up just over 13.6 percent of the population and 17.1 percent of the U.S. labor force.
Where Immigrants Are Most Entrepreneurial, 2019
Immigrants and the Recovery from the Great Recession
Foreign-born entrepreneurs and the jobs they created were instrumental in the recovery from the Great Recession. Between 2007 and 2011, immigrant entrepreneurs founded a large share of new businesses across the country and in several key states.
Share of New Businesses Founded by Immigrants in Select States, 2007-2011
Which Industries Are Immigrant Businesses Most Prevalent?
As important as the frequency with which immigrants start businesses is the diversity of fields in which they start them. Immigrants start more than 25 percent of all businesses in seven of the eight sectors that the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects to grow the fastest over the next decade. They also play a large role in founding both Main Street businesses1 and high-tech firms.2
Sources:
1 David Dyssegaard Kallick, “Bringing Vitality to Main Street: How Immigrant Small Businesses Help Local Economies Grow,” New York: Fiscal Policy Institute and Americas Society/Council of the Americas, 2015. Available online.
2 Vivek Wadhwa et al., “America’s New Immigrant Entrepreneurs: Part I,” SSRN Scholarly Paper (Rochester, NY: Social Science Research Network, 2007). Available online.
Share of Businesses Started by Immigrant Entrepreneurs in Seven Key Sectors, 2007-2011
Immigrants Found both Main Street Businesses and High-Tech Firms
Business Ownership Among Immigrant Groups
Looking at specific ethnic and national origin groups within the immigrant population, we find that many exhibit entrepreneurship rates higher than the native-born. At right we highlight the particular contributions of Middle Eastern business owners in Detroit, a group frequently credited with helping to spur the city’s recent economic comeback.
Sources:
3 Steve Tobocman, “Guide to Immigrant Economic Development,” Welcoming America, accessed July 5, 2016. Available online.
4 New American Economy, "Reason for Reform: Entrepreneurship," October 2016. Available online.
Entrepreneurship Rates for Immigrant Subgroups, 2014
Immigrants and the Fortune 500
Consistent with past NAE research, a significant number of firms on the most recent Fortune 500 list were founded by immigrants or their children. These companies make enormous contributions to both the U.S. and global economy. They also live on beyond their founders, generating jobs and revenue long after their visionaries retire or move on.
Visa Obstacles
Currently, there is no visa for those who want to come to the United States, start a company, and create jobs for U.S. workers. To access a visa, many immigrant entrepreneurs choose to sell a majority stake in their company and then apply for a visa as a high-skilled worker rather than as the owner of the firm. Our broken H-1B visa system, however, means that many entrepreneurs cannot get a visa before the cap is exhausted each year. In 2016, the White House proposed a rule that would make it easier for entrepreneurs to remain in the country, but it is clear a more permanent, legislative fix is needed.5
Sources:
5 Issie Lapowski, “White House Proposes a New Immigration Rule for Entrepreneurs,” WIRED, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
6“USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016,” USCIS, accessed December 14, 2016. Available online.
Low-Skilled Entrepreneurship
Immigrant entrepreneurs are hardly a monolithic group. While much of the attention is focused on high-skilled foreign-born entrepreneurs that drive innovation in Silicon Valley, immigrant entrepreneurs with humbler backgrounds continue to play critical roles in the U.S. economy. Founding retail shops, restaurants, and personal service businesses, these immigrant entrepreneurs help towns and cities across the United States stay vibrant. In sum, the over 2.1 million immigrant entrepreneurs with less than a college degree have a significant economic impact, creating billions of dollars in economic activity and providing jobs to thousands of Americans.
Top Industries Among Immigrant Entrepreneurs with Less than a Bachelor’s Degree, 2015
Entrepreneurship Rates of Workers in Various Demographic Groups, 2015
Business Income of Less-Skilled Immigrant Entrepreneurs, 2015
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