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.
Mahira Patkovich: A Refugee Rises
Meet Mahira Patkovich. Mahira’s family fled Bosnia and resettled in Utica, NY, which experienced a major slump in the 80s and 90s. Today Mahira is helping to revitalize downtown as a successful business owner. She’s also working towards her MBA and expecting her first child to be born in Utica,… Read More
Des Moines Register Opinion: For millennials, immigration policy is personal and drives political activism
Last spring, after graduating from Drake University, I spent months canvassing my congressional district for Progressive Turnout Project, an organization designed to get out the vote for Democrats. Like many millennials in the state, I was inspired by progressive candidates like Cindy… Read More
Immigrants Accounted for One-Third of Chicago’s Entrepreneurs in 2016
CHICAGO, IL – Immigrants represented 36 percent of Chicago’s entrepreneurs and generated $659 million in business income in 2016, according to a new report by New American Economy (NAE), produced in partnership with the Chicago Mayor’s Office of New Americans. The report also shows that immigrants also held nearly… Read More
Steve Rao’s December 2018 Interview with NAE Executive Director Jeremy Robbins for “Leaders and Legends”
Listen to the interview below from Saturday, December 1. https://www.americanimmigrationcouncil.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/01122018.mp3… Read More
Lancaster Online: Refugees, immigrants vital to local economy
Last week’s Sunday LNP did a nice job laying out the tension surrounding the issue of immigration and refugee resettlement and, more specifically, demonstrating its local impact on both people and organizations like Church World Service. The very next day, that tension escalated when the Trump administration announced that it… Read More
The Dallas Morning News: Think Dallas is immigrant-friendly? It has room to grow, according to a new analysis
Immigrants in Dallas are steadily employed and play a strong role in the city’s entrepreneurship landscape, but their quality of life, trust in law enforcement and civic participation levels lag those of the U.S.-born population, according to a new analysis. The Cities Index analyzed the inclusiveness of city policies and socio-economic outcomes… Read More
Thai Immigrant Brings Years of Restaurant Experience to St. Paul
Yuwadee Poophakumpanart first visited the United States in 2005. Her brother, also from Thailand, had married an American woman and was living in St. Paul, as was her sister. She liked the city, and, after spending some time walking neighborhoods peppered with immigrant businesses, decided that not only did she… Read More
Grand Rapids Business Journal: Report documents immigrant contributions
Grand Rapids community leaders agreed making immigrants feel like they belong in Kent County not only is right but is economically smart. Foreign-born residents of Kent County contributed $3.3 billion to the county’s GDP in 2016, according to a report presented Sept. 12 by the local Gateways for Growth Project,… Read More
Foreign-Born Residents Contributed $3.3 Billion to Kent County GDP in 2016
GRAND RAPIDS, MI – Immigrants in Kent County contributed $3.3 billion to the county’s GDP in 2016 and paid $214 million in federal taxes and $102 million in state and local taxes, according to a new report by New American Economy (NAE), in partnership with Samaritas, the City of… Read More
Filipino Immigrant Brings High Fashion to Grand Rapids
When pressed, Romel “RC” Caylan, a rising design star, may describe himself as a kind of fashion ambassador for Grand Rapids. Truth be told, he simply loves the city, and honors the journey that brought him to this corner of Michigan. Caylan was born in Iligan City and raised in… 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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Make a direct impact on the lives of immigrants.
