Business and the Workforce
Immigrants not only bring diverse skills and perspectives to the U.S. workforce, they often fill employment gaps in crucial fields. We advocate for expanded work visas and related programs so our labor force can continue to benefit from immigrant workers and remain competitive in the global economy
The W Visa: Why the Economy Benefits from A Robust New Worker Program
The Senate Judiciary Committee returns to its task of marking up S. 744 tomorrow, taking up, among other things, possible amendments to the W visa program for new nonimmigrant workers. This new program, blessed by both business and labor, is an effort to acknowledge the need for a more flexible system for meeting the demand for workers in certain occupations and industries that require less-skilled workers. At Tuesday’s hearing, several Senators challenged the idea that the American workforce needed to be supplemented with immigrant labor, but the evidence is overwhelming that there is both a need and an economic benefit to having a flexible and responsive program in place to bring in new workers where they are most needed. Read More
Facts About H-1B Workers and the Innovation Economy
While widespread research documents a critical need for skilled workers in the United States to maintain and strengthen our innovation industry, myths exist in opposition to programs designed to help alleviate that shortage. In particular, the H-1B visa program for high-skilled foreign-born workers, primarily used for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, is a routine recipient of critical ire. As the Senate Judiciary Committee discusses H-1B reforms in Title IV of S.744, here we dispel some of the common myths associated with the H-1B high-skilled visa program. Read More
Fueling the Recovery
How High-Skilled Immigrants Create Jobs and Help Build the U.S. Economy With the U.S. economy still recovering, it may seem counterintuitive to believe that any industry would benefit from having more workers. But that is precisely the case when it comes to those industries which depend upon highly skilled workers. The United States has long faced a dilemma in this respect: the U.S. economy is, in general, absorbing more high-skilled professionals than the U.S. educational system produces or that are available in our workforce. That is one reason so many highly skilled workers in the United States are immigrants. For instance, in “STEM” occupations (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics), the foreign-born account for 26.1 percent of workers with PhDs and 17.7 percent of those with master’s degrees. However, arbitrary limits imposed by the U.S. immigration system, particularly the inadequate supply of green cards and H-1B visas, have restricted the ability of the U.S. to compete in the global battle for talent and ideas. Given that highly skilled professionals tend to create jobs through their innovative work, such limits are economically self-defeating. High-skilled immigrant workers create new jobs. Read More
Rebuilding Local Economies
Innovation, Skilled Immigration, and H-1B Visas in U.S. Metropolitan Areas Although immigration policy is debated at the national level, its impact is most often felt in local and regional communities. This is certainly true for the H-1B program, which is routinely studied at the national level, but cannot be fully understood without driving down to examine the role of H-1B workers at the metropolitan and local levels. New research at this more specific level of analysis suggests that current H-1B policies must be made both flexible and nuanced. There is no “one size fits all” approach to the recruitment, hiring, and retention of high-skilled foreign workers. As lawmakers consider changes to the H-1B program, including the creation of a High Skilled Jobs Demand Index, it is essential to remember that demand for H-1B workers in many metropolitan areas is high, varies by industry, and has ripple effects throughout a regional economy. Thus, predicting and calculating the need for H-1B workers requires an understanding of the dynamics at the metropolitan level. Metropolitan Area Demand for High-Skilled Workers is High, Especially in Innovation Industries Innovation-intensive metropolitan areas tend to have higher rates of patenting, lower unemployment rates, and higher demand for high-skilled workers since patenting growth is correlated with job growth, population growth, and increases in educational attainment. Read More
The Important Role of Immigrants in America’s Innovation Economy
This week, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation weighed in on immigration reform with a hearing on the role of immigrants in America’s innovation economy. Remarks from Sens. Rockefeller (D-WV) and Thune (R-SD) noted the contributions of immigrant innovators and entrepreneurs. Immigrants in the United States were named as inventors or co-inventors on 25.6 percent of international patent applications filed from the U.S. in 2006. Furthermore, temporary workers and permanent residents made contributions to over half of the international patents filed by several large, multi-national companies. Temporary and permanent foreign-born workers represent at least 24 percent of the nation’s scientists and 47 percent of engineers with doctoral degrees. Read More
New Heritage Report Ignores Broad Consensus on Economic Benefits of Reform
Today, the Heritage Foundation released a report that attempts to assess the fiscal costs associated with legalizing the 11 million unauthorized individuals living in the United States. The new report is similar to a 2007 study, which was widely criticized at the time of publication and continues to be refuted today by conservatives like Republican budget hawk Paul Ryan, former head of the Congressional Budget Office under President Bush, Douglas Holtz-Eaken, anti-tax activist Grover Norquist and the libertarian Cato Institute. In addition, the Bi-Partisan Policy Institute’s Immigration Task Force (which includes Condoleeza Rice and Haley Barbour) remarked on the report after its release noting, “we strongly believe that this study’s modeling and assumptions are fundamentally flawed because they do not account for the many contributions that an appropriately reformed immigration system can afford our economy and our country.” Read More
Keeping U.S. High-Skilled Temporary Worker Visa Programs Workable
When analyzing higher-skilled guest worker visa programs, such as the H-1B and L-1 programs, critics often fail to acknowledge the very different and important purposes that these programs were designed to serve, and the complicated requirements already in place to protect against abuse or exploitation. There is no denying that we can and should improve these programs and the strategies used to enforce them. However, given the well-established economic benefits of these programs, and the challenges employers face finding highly skilled workers, particularly in technical fields, it is essential that any proposed reforms not impose restrictions that may make these programs completely unworkable. Read More
Why There Are Not Enough STEM Workers in the U.S. Labor Market
Occasional research, such as a report released last week by the Economic Policy Institute, suggests the U.S. has a sufficient supply of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates and workers. However, these conclusions are at odds with a growing number of expert analyses that find the U.S. does in fact face significant challenges in meeting the growing needs of our expanding knowledge-based economy. Here is a sampling of the evidence: Read More
Why There Are Not Enough STEM Workers in the U.S. Labor Market
Occasional research, such as a report released last week by the Economic Policy Institute, suggests the U.S. has a sufficient supply of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) graduates and workers. However, these conclusions are at odds with a growing number of expert analyses that find the U.S. does in fact face significant challenges in meeting the growing needs of our expanding knowledge-based economy. Here is a sampling of the evidence: Read More
High-Skilled Immigration and Entrepreneurship in the Senate’s Immigration Bill
On the road to reform, the Senate’s Border Security, Economic Opportunity, and Immigration Modernization Act contains several changes and new provisions for skilled immigration and entrepreneurship. Specifically, the bill provides balanced reforms to the H-1B nonimmigrant visa for high-skilled individuals, various provisions for highly skilled individuals through permanent employment-based immigration, and a new INVEST visa for entrepreneurs. Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
