High Skilled

The enforcement of immigration laws is a complex and hotly-debated topic. Learn more about the costs of immigration enforcement and the ways in which the U.S. can enforce our immigration laws humanely and in a manner that ensures due process.

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All High Skilled Content

  • Fact Sheet

The U.S. Economy Still Needs Highly Skilled Foreign Workers

Publication Date: 
March 30, 2011
It might seem that persistently high unemployment rates over the past few years have rendered moot the debate over whether or not the United States really “needs” the highly skilled foreign workers...
  • Special Report

Why Immigrants Can Drive the Green Economy

Publication Date: 
June 23, 2010
The 2000 Census found that immigrants, while accounting for 12 percent of the population, made up nearly half of the all scientists and engineers with doctorate degrees. Nearly 70 percent of the men...
  • Special Report

U.S. Immigration Policy in Global Perspective: International Migration in OECD Countries

Publication Date: 
January 3, 2007
The United States possesses a number of competitive assets in the global war for talent: most notably, its huge and flexible labor market and an abundance of leading-edge multinational corporations...
  • Research and Analysis

Competing for Global Talent: The Race Begins with Foreign Students

Publication Date: 
September 1, 2006
By Jeanne Batalova, Ph.D.
  • Research and Analysis

Building a Competitive Workforce: Immigration and the U.S. Manufacturing Sector

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2006
Shortages of skilled labor constitute the foremost challenge confronting U.S. manufacturers who face growing competition from manufacturers in Asia, Eastern Europe, and elsewhere. Demand for...
  • Research and Analysis

Maintaining A Competitive Edge: Foreign-Born and US Immigration Policies in Science and Engineering

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2004
Foreign-born scientists and engineers (S&Es) have long played a prominent role in U.S. technological and scientific advancement and are a critical part of the science and engineering (S&E)...
  • Research and Analysis

Putting a Cap on Competitiveness: Arbitrary Limits on H-1B Visas Undermine U.S. Science and Engineer

Publication Date: 
August 1, 2004
Arbitrary congressional limits on the number of H-1B visas that can be granted annually to highly skilled foreign professionals may undermine the international competitiveness of U.S. science and...
  • Research and Analysis

Relinquishing Excellence: Closing the Door to Foreign Professionals Undermines the U.S. Economy

Publication Date: 
May 1, 2004
According to a recent National Science Board report, restrictive U.S. visa policies are beginning to close the door to highly skilled foreign professionals who have long helped maintain U.S...
  • Research and Analysis

Beyond the High-Tech Bubble: The Changing Demand for H-1B Professionals

Publication Date: 
April 1, 2004
Contrary to popular myth, H-1B professionals represent only a tiny fraction of the total U.S. labor force and do not crowd out native-born workers in industries that are losing jobs. Rather, H-1B...
  • Fact Sheet

Labor Market Numerology: Arbitrary Congressional Limits on Temporary Worker Visas

Publication Date: 
April 1, 2004
The current numerical limits on visas for both high-skilled and seasonal workers prevent U.S. businesses from hiring the workers they need, while doing nothing to protect the jobs or wages of native...
  • FOIA

L-1B Adjudications FOIA

In May 2012, the American Immigration Council filed a FOIA request seeking records issued by USCIS and/or DHS, or used by USCIS and/or DHS, from January 2008 to the...

  • FOIA

H-1B Fraud Investigations FOIA

On behalf of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA), the Council, in cooperation with counsel at Steptoe & Johnson LLP, filed a FOIA lawsuit in July...

  • Blog

The H-1B Registration Period Has Ended. How Did the New System Handle It?

March 26, 2020

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) completed its first registration period on March 20 for H-1B petitions. The H-1B visa category allows highly educated foreign workers to...

  • Blog

Immigrant Health Care Workers Play a Vital Role in the United States’ COVID-19 Response

March 24, 2020

As the COVID-19 pandemic unfolds, the U.S. health care system will likely be pushed to its limits. During this time, it is important to remember the role that immigrant health care workers play...

  • Blog

As Trump Slashes All Immigration, Other Countries Open Their Doors

March 4, 2020

The Trump administration has worked to close the door on all types of immigrants—including people trying to come to the United States on visas. Consequently, the United States is experiencing a...

  • Blog

H-1B Registration Is Almost Here: What We Do and Don’t Know About USCIS’ New Process

February 26, 2020

For the first time, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) is requiring U.S. employers to register in order to have a chance to file an H-1B petition that is subject to the annual...

  • Blog

What We Know About USCIS’ New H-1B Cap Registration System

January 16, 2020

The new process for petitioning for highly educated H-1B workers will officially begin on March 1, 2020. For the first time, a U.S. employer who wants to file a petition that is subject to the...

  • Blog

USCIS Announces Major Change to H-1B ‘Cap’ Filing With Electronic Registration

December 12, 2019
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) recently announced that U.S. employers will have to pay a $10 fee and register to have a chance at filing an H-1B petition subject to the statutory “...
  • Blog

USCIS’ Denial Rates for H-1B Petitions Have Quadrupled

November 8, 2019

The Trump administration, acting through U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), is disrupting the process by which U.S. employers obtain work authorization for highly skilled foreign...

  • Blog

The Artificial Intelligence Industry Thrives on a Global Workforce

November 1, 2019

At a time when skills related to the burgeoning field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) are in very short supply, the U.S. government is making it harder to recruit highly trained professionals from...

  • Blog

US Visa Policies Prevent Tech Startups From Hiring Foreign Workers

September 17, 2019

Tech startups are engines of innovation, economic growth, and job creation. Yet U.S. visa policies may be preventing startups from hiring the highly skilled foreign professionals they need to...

  • Blog

Immigrants and Their Children Founded Almost Half of All US Fortune 500 Companies

July 30, 2019

From the highest levels of corporate America to virtually every level of the labor force, immigration creates new jobs in the U.S. economy. The businesses founded by immigrant entrepreneurs...

  • Practice Advisories

Litigation for Business Immigration Practitioners

June 10, 2021
This Practice Advisory has information practitioners need to assess whether filing suit in federal court is the right option for challenging an employment-based petition denial.
  • Blog

Lawsuits Challenge Change to H-1B Lottery Selection That Would Hurt Small Businesses, Start-ups

May 26, 2021

Businesses and industry organizations are among those pushing back against a rule that would change eligibility for filing an H-1B petition. The new rule would require the H-1B lottery selection...

  • Blog

Ban on J-1 Exchange and Other Employment-Based Visas Set to Expire

March 30, 2021

A ban blocking certain employment-based visas implemented and extended by former President Trump is set to expire on March 31. The ban has likely prevented hundreds of thousands of people from...

  • Blog

USCIS Begins to Reverse Course on H-1B Petitions

March 19, 2021

Employers and workers are starting to see a shift from U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) on unlawful restrictions of the H-1B specialty occupation visa category. Over the past nine...

  • Press Release

U.S. Businesses Sue USCIS for Rejecting H-1B Petitions for not Backdating the Employment Start Date

March 12, 2021
A federal lawsuit filed on behalf of seven U.S. businesses challenges USCIS arbitrary rejection of H-1B nonimmigrant employment-based petitions filed after October 1 solely because the H-1B worker’s intended employment start date falls after October 1.
  • Litigation

Challenging USCIS’ Arbitrary Rejections of H-1B Petitions Filed After October 1

This lawsuit challenges USCIS' arbitrarily rejected H-1B petitions filed after October 1 simply because the H-1B worker’s intended employment start date—naturally—also fell after October 1.
  • Practice Advisories

Court Decision Ensures Timely Adjudication of Employment Applications Filed by Initial Asylum Applicants

March 1, 2021
This Frequently Asked Questions document addresses the status of the case and explains options for first time asylum seekers applying for employment authorization.
  • Blog

The Biden Administration Is Already Supporting Employment-Based Immigration, But Uncertainty Remains

February 5, 2021

Business immigration has already benefited from the change in administrations. On January 25, President Biden issued an executive order directly replacing a Trump-era executive order that wreaked...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About the Latest Changes to the H-1B Registration Process

January 14, 2021

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) recently issued a final rule changing the way U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) selects the registrations of U.S. employers that want to...

  • Blog

Your COVID-19 Vaccine Was Likely Made by an Immigrant

December 14, 2020

The development of a COVID-19 vaccine is a global endeavor. The scientists and entrepreneurs creating the vaccine are of many nationalities and immigration statuses—as are the millions of people...

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