Global Competitiveness

The United States has long been the destination for the world’s most talented immigrants. Despite the last 50 years of technological advancement, American immigration policy has remained virtually unchanged, putting in danger America's global competitiveness. Yesterday's immigration policy no longer meets today’s economic needs. Only about 14 percent of all U.S. green cards are given for economic reasons, compared to more than 60 percent in Canada and Australia. With no dedicated visa for entrepreneurs and numerous barriers to residency in place for international students to stay after graduation, America's outdated immigration policy could allow other countries to out-compete us by attracting and keeping the best and brightest there and not here.

Myrtle Beach chamber backs expansion of Visa Waiver Program

Myrtle Beach chamber backs expansion of Visa Waiver Program

Expansion of a program that allows citizens of some countries to visit the U.S. without tourism visas could increase the state’s and the Grand Strand’s chances of capturing part of a rapidly expanding market, according to some of the state’s travel leaders. “International tourism is growing faster than domestic tourism,”… Read More

Study: improved tourist visa laws would add billions in revenue and thousands of jobs within five years

Study: improved tourist visa laws would add billions in revenue and thousands of jobs within five years

Improved tourist visa laws would add more than $7.5 billion in U.S. revenue and create 50,000 U.S. jobs within five years, according to a report released Monday by The Partnership for a New American Economy. The report, “Passport to Future Economic Growth: How Expanding the Visa… Read More

Group Touts Immigration Reform As Good For Oklahoma Tourism

Group Touts Immigration Reform As Good For Oklahoma Tourism

The Partnership for a New American Economy today released a new study showing how expanding the Visa Waiver Program to six new countries – Brazil, Hong Kong, Israel, Poland, South Africa, and Turkey – would result in $7.66 billion additional spending and 50,000 American jobs within five years. Read More

Passport to Future Economic Growth

Passport to Future Economic Growth

The Partnership for a New American Economy’s new report, “Passport to Future Economic Growth: How Expanding the Visa Waiver Program Will Strengthen the U.S. Economy and Create American Tourism Jobs,” shows that smarter tourist visa laws would add more than $7.5 billion in U.S. revenue and 50,000 U.S. jobs within 5… Read More

Study Shows Smarter Tourist Visa Laws Would Add More Than $7.5 Billion in Revenue and 50,000 Jobs within Five Years

Study Shows Smarter Tourist Visa Laws Would Add More Than $7.5 Billion in Revenue and 50,000 Jobs within Five Years

  CONTACT Ryan Williams, New American Economy, [email protected] Tourism ad to air in airports, taxicabs, movie theaters, on Facebook and Twitter Watch the ad here. New York, NY — The New American Economy (NAE) today released a new study showing how expanding… Read More

An opportunity to lead for new GOP Congress

An opportunity to lead for new GOP Congress

The president’s executive action on immigration reform should be instructive for the GOP as the leadership enacts a governing agenda in the new Congress. The lesson here is the president’s “go it alone” immigration actions do little to… Read More

Viewpoint: Immigration reform in essence an economic issue

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

Immigration fix must focus on retaining STEM grads

Immigration fix must focus on retaining STEM grads

One of the most vibrant and economically important cities in the world is more or less an accident. To be economically relevant, Georgia needed a railroad to connect the port city of Savannah with the markets in the Midwest. Topography put… Read More

Obama Immigration Order to Impact Millions, Includes Provisions for High-Skilled Workers

Obama Immigration Order to Impact Millions, Includes Provisions for High-Skilled Workers

Nov. 21 — President Barack Obama Nov. 20 unveiled a large-scale immigration plan that includes several measures designed to keep highly skilled immigrant workers in the U.S. as well as deportation protection for an estimated 5 million undocumented parents of U.S. citizens and lawful permanent residents. Read More

Immigration Reform 2014: Tech Industry Wants More Green Cards For Foreign Programmers

Immigration Reform 2014: Tech Industry Wants More Green Cards For Foreign Programmers

Microsoft is looking to fill a number of lucrative positions. The world’s largest software company is seeking individuals who can help build a next-generation system to power cloud computing for banking, health care and scientific research. “We are ready to hire developers who push the boundaries… Read More

Impending Labor Challenges

The United States is facing demographic challenges that endanger its preeminent economic position in the world. An aging workforce threatens the vitality of the labor force. At the same time, the supply of U.S.-trained engineers is lagging behind nearly all other industrialized economies. At a time when tech-heavy and innovation driven industries are driving economic growth, the United States faces the prospect of being left behind.

Table 1: Share of Population Age 65+, 1996, 2006, 2016 and projected 2030

Table 2: Share of Undergrads Studying Engineering

Prioritizing Economic Needs

Many countries have identified the link between immigration and economic growth. For many, such moves are a matter of necessity–the domestic labor force is not sufficient for an expanding economy, and aging populations and declining fertility rates are creating labor shortages. Despite facing some of the same challenges, U.S. immigration policy has not changed to reflect our economy’s evolving needs.

Table 3: Percentage of All Permanent Residency Visas Given for Economic Reasons*

Need for a Start-Up Visa

Countries around the world, from France, to Chile, to Singapore have created visas aimed at attracting promising entrepreneurs and job creators. Despite concerns about meager job creation and business growth, however, the United States has not taken a similar step, endangering our position in the global race for talent. This situation was made worse in 2017 when the administration took the first steps to kill the International Entrepreneur Rule, a measure that would have allowed entrepreneurs with outside funding to remain in the country for 2.5 years to establish their businesses.

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