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
Venezuelan Drives Business Growth in Rural Indiana
Had it not been for a dramatic kidnapping, Daniela Vidal might never have left Venezuela. A trained chemical engineer, she had a good job in product development for Procter & Gamble. But when her fiancé was taken by guerrillas during a fishing trip on the Colombian border and held in… Read More
H-1B Annual Cap Reached in First Week for Fifth Consecutive Year
U.S. employers are vying for the chance to hire skilled foreign workers, but once again, the annual H-1B cap has been reached within five business days. United States Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting H-1B petitions on April 3, 2017 and, on April 7, USCIS announced that it had… Read More
Think Policy Not Politics for Smart Immigration Reform, Says Professor
University of Houston political science professor Jeronimo Cortina is very optimistic about the future of race relations in this country — an outlook he says was inspired by his students. “Everyone sees themselves as equals,” says Cortina, who immigrated to the United States from Mexico in 2001. “They are used… Read More
New Jersey Union Boss: America Doesn’t Function Without Immigrants
Walk through any Atlantic City casino and you’ll see immigrant dealers, bartenders, waiters, and more, says Bob McDevitt, president of UNITE HERE Local 54. The city’s largest union for casino workers. Local 54 has 10,000 members, two-thirds of whom are either Hispanic or Asian Americans. “If you take away immigrant… Read More
International Students Generate Millions for Oklahoma University — and Town
Kyle McMichael is the international student advisor at Southeastern Oklahoma State University, located in the small town of Durant, 150 miles southeast of Oklahoma City. The mere presence of foreign students not only guarantees his job, it also represents roughly $3 million for the university in out-of-state tuition revenue. “They… Read More
Somali Asylee Now Creates Dozens of U.S. Jobs
Abdirahman Kahin came to the United States from Africa in 1996 seeking asylum. Today, he is a successful entrepreneur and the CEO of Afro Deli, a fast, casual restaurant with two locations in Minneapolis. “We’re about to open a third location at the airport,” he says, “and we’re approaching $2… Read More
An Immigrant Helps Entrepreneurs, They Help the Economy
For Karla Boldery, a Mexican immigrant and business coach, how to make business development easier for immigrants is the million-dollar question. How to improve immigration reform, she says, is “the twenty-million-dollar question.” For the past seven years, Boldery has worked in innovation and technology business development. She received a… Read More
University Advisor Fears Effect on U.S. Students as Foreign Applications Drop
Alpona Stamboldjiev, an Indian native who advises engineering students at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, fears that some of the school’s most promising graduates won’t invest their skills in the United States economy. “We have a very large population of international students, especially in engineering,” she says. “Now, because of the… Read More
‘We’re Working, Staying out of Trouble,’ Says DACA Recipient
When Radi finished high school, she longed to go to college. But as an undocumented immigrant, she didn’t have the same opportunities as her friends, and for years she waited tables at a local restaurant. Things finally changed with the implementation of Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), a 2012… Read More
An Indian in Kansas Brings Hundreds of Jobs and Free Healthcare
Abdul Arif grew up in a middle-class family in Hyderabad, India, and came to Wichita, Kansas, at 17 to join his brother, who was a naturalized citizen. He’d hoped to get an education in America, but things didn’t go as planned: Arif dropped out of high school, got married, and… Read More
All gifts are matched dollar for dollar
No one should face the immigration system alone
