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and numerous barriers to residency in place for international students to stay after graduation, America's outdated immigration policy could allow other countries to out-compete us by attracting and keeping the best and brightest there and not here.
More Than A Third Of The Top US Tech Companies Were Founded By People Born Outside The Country
In this year’s “state of the internet” presentation, Kleiner Perkins partner Mary Meeker noted that more than a third of the top tech companies in the U.S. were founded by foreigners. According to a report from the … Read More
Florida needs immigration reform
The U.S. immigration system is broken and failing our economy. Meaningful immigration reform will ensure our nation’s security and drive economic growth. This is why Florida business leaders, many of them conservatives, are asking Congress to tackle immigration reform this year. In the state of Florida, 3.6 million residents are… Read More
CEO of Melaleuca works to pass immigration-reform legislation
IDAHO FALLS, Idaho – Melaleuca CEO Frank VanderSloot is working with Republicans and Democrats to try to get immigration-reform legislation passed. VanderSloot said the United States should allow immigrants to work, cross the border freely and pay taxes. One way to do that is with good legislation. Read the… Read More
Tech Leaders Join the Fight for Immigration Reform
For decades, immigrants from all parts of the world have come to the United States, bringing with them their unsurpassed talents and ground breaking innovations. This entrepreneurial spirit was first fostered by our founding fathers and later matched by such brilliant minds as, telecommunications magnate Alexander Graham, Google founder and… Read More
Congress needs to act with urgency to fix badly broken immigration system
Everyone in Congress agrees that we have an unsustainable immigration crisis. This crisis includes porous borders, poor visa expiration controls, and a labor quota system that does not respond to the labor and production needs of our economy and is, in fact, detrimental to our country in its current state. Read More
Tea Party Express Co-Founder Backs Immigration Overhaul Efforts
The co-founder of and chief strategist for one of the biggest tea party organizations is coming out in support of overhauling the nation’s immigration laws, a bold statement that could energize advocates and alienate conservatives. Sal Russo of the Tea Party Express broke the news in an op-ed titled… Read More
Conservatives Need to to Fix the Broken U.S. Immigration System
Sal Russo is the co-founder of the Tea Party Express. The U.S. immigration system is flawed and broken. Conservatives should be at the forefront of reform so the law reflects the just interests of the United States, not misty-eyed ideals of some of the liberal do-gooder reformers. What is good… Read More
It’s Time for Immigration Reform
Simply stated, immigration reform is about economic growth. In Washington state alone, if undocumented immigrants followed a path to legal citizenship it would generate more than 12,700 jobs and more than $1.1 billion for the state, according to Regional Economic Models, Inc. Vital industries are facing substantial labor… Read More
The case for a more immigrant-friendly, diverse Cincinnati
This month, the Brandery, a nationally top-10 ranked accelerator located in Over-the-Rhine, hosted a fast-paced roundtable discussion on global talent attraction, immigration reform and the need for a more diverse Cincinnati. The event was part of a national series called #iCodeImmigration: Acceleration Immigration Reform brought together locally by… Read More
Guest Opinion: Reform necessary to encourage immigrant entrepreneurs
Meaningful immigration reform will have a significant impact on job growth and the economy. According to the Kauffman Foundation, immigrants are twice as likely to start a new business as native-born Americans. Unfortunately, our current immigration policies make it exceptionally difficult for foreign entrepreneurs to establish these new businesses. We… 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.
