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.
Reddit cofounder: The next Google is one visa away from leaving U.S.
Antiquated visa policies could be the downfall of the U.S. tech boom. That’s the warning that Reddit founder Alexis Ohanian is sounding. “Although America leads the world right now, we’ve led the world in plenty of other industries before and seen that evaporate,” said Ohanian, who recently… Read More
Viewpoint: Immigration reform in essence an economic issue
If every time you tried to follow a process you came out with a terrible result, you’d probably figure that there was something wrong with the process. It doesn’t matter whether that process is a recipe for making chili, a set of instructions for assembling a piece of furniture, or… Read More
Time for Republicans to address immigration
One of the greatest challenges currently facing our country is a broken immigration system. Designed decades ago, these outdated policies have far outlived their effectiveness. The legal path to American citizenship is plagued with high costs, excessive administrative burdens, and can actually take three to ten years. The… Read More
Report Finds Foreign-born Minnesotans Contribute Billions in Purchasing Power and Taxes, Strengthen State Housing Market
CONTACTS Sarah Radosevich, Minnesota Chamber of Commerce, [email protected] Angie Zeitlin, New American Economy, [email protected] Adriana La Rotta, Americas Society/Council of the Americas, [email protected] 40% of Minnesota’s Fortune 500 Companies founded by immigrants or their children Average home value in… Read More
Loss of high-skilled immigrants hurts growth, wages
Deepthi Valli is weighing choices she’d rather not have to make: Return to India or enroll in graduate school. It doesn’t appear she can keep working at Cerner Corp. Valli, 26, is one of thousands of highly skilled foreign-born employees whose U.S. employers can’t get the work visas needed to… Read More
Letter: Immigration policy reform necessary
Our American colleges and universities have a proud tradition of educating the world’s best and brightest. Parents from all over the world send their kids here for their education. Guess what happens after they graduate? Our broken immigration system gives them six months to get out of our country. Many… Read More
6 things you need to know about STEM
STEM — the acronym for science, technology, engineering and math — has sparked a nationwide debate about education, gender, immigration and the future of the U.S. economy. Here are six things you need to know about STEM: Kids… Read More
Nashville opens office for immigrant ‘new Americans’
Immigrants in Nashville have found a vocal ally in Mayor Karl Dean in recent years, and on Monday he announced the creation of a new Metro office focused exclusively on helping them. By executive order, Dean created the Mayor’s Office of New Americans, or MONA, a city office tasked with… Read More
10 Reasons the Tech Industry Will Break Down without Immigration Reform
America will face a shortage of more than 220,000 workers with STEM degrees by 2018. More than a quarter of science and engineering firms already report difficulty hiring. In recent years, more than half of the post doctorates in science and engineering at U.S. Read More
Reed: Atlanta Will Welcome Immigrants
Immigrants are welcome in Atlanta. That’s the message Mayor Kasim Reed sent Wednesday when he announced the recommendations of the Welcoming Atlanta Working Group he appointed in April. Standing in front of the Center for Civil and Human Rights downtown, Mayor Reed said the group submitted … 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
Make a contribution
Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
