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
Change to National Interest Waiver Standard Gives More Entrepreneurs a Path to Permanent Residence
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), recently issued Matter of Dhanasar, which changes the standard that USCIS officers must follow when deciding whether to approve a “national interest waiver” for an immigrant visa petition. This waiver is granted when the foreign national’s work… Read More
Five Things to Look for on Immigration in the 115th Congress
When President-elect Donald Trump is sworn in later this month, for the first time in a decade, the Republican Party will have control of the House of Representatives, U.S. Senate, and the Presidency. In theory, this control allows the Congress to pass and help implement many of the incoming… Read More
Department of Justice Issues Final Rule About Unfair Immigration-Related Employment Practices
The U.S. Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Civil Rights Division recently issued a final rule, effective January 18, to update regulations that the agency uses to enforce employment-related anti-discrimination provisions that Congress included in the “unfair immigration-related employment practices” section of the Immigration and Nationality Act (INA). The agency maintains… Read More
Immigrants Vital to Help Tech Startups Become Multibillion Dollar Companies Here in the U.S.
From the moment he was offered a job at a tech startup in San Mateo, Calif. in 2013, Brazilian-born software engineer Rocir Santiago, worried that U.S. immigration policy would create unnecessary obstacles for his family and career. “The visa process is complex and uncertain. It discourages people from moving to… Read More
Real Estate Tycoon, Philanthropist, Immigrant: America Would Be Crazy to Refuse People Like Him
The night before Sunil Puri’s father passed away, at the age of 94, he called his son to say goodbye. Speaking by phone from Mumbai, India, the retired yarn-trader offered a few final words of advice to his son, a multimillionaire property developer and business owner. Puri’s father urged him to embrace the United States and… Read More
This Immigrant Researcher is Changing the Future of Cancer Treatment, But Immigration Slowed his Progress
Radiology researcher Anthony Chang came to the United States from Taiwan in the 1990s to study at Vanderbilt and Yale, earned a PhD in experimental physics from the University of Texas, and was hired to direct the imaging laboratory at the Van Andel Institute in Grand Rapids, where he researched… Read More
He Won the Lottery: One Congolese Man’s Incredible Diversity Visa Story
Bozi Kiekie grew up in a poor farming community in the war-torn Democratic Republic of The Congo, helping his family work the land while also selling bread, gasoline, and fish in order to scrape together enough money to pay for his studies. “I struggled, as everyone in the country did,”… Read More
Immigrant Potential Is an Expensive Thing to Waste
High-skilled new Americans often face obstacles in obtaining jobs appropriate to their skill level. There are many reasons for this. Those who are educated outside the U.S. may fail to have their foreign training recognized by U.S. employers and licensing bureaus. Some lack proficiency in English and race and ethnicity… Read More
New Study Shows the Multiple Forms of Skilled Immigrant Labor
It is well known that immigrants make enormous contributions to the U.S. economy as workers, consumers, taxpayers, and entrepreneurs. As part of the labor force, immigrants are employed in a wide range of industries but tend to be concentrated in some occupations at both ends of the occupational spectrum. At… Read More
When the Local Steel Mill Closed, This Mexican Immigrant Started a Business and Hired Americans
When Racine Steel Castings laid off its workers in the 1990s, welder Lauro Davalos found himself better prepared than many. Long determined to give his children something he’d never had — a good education — Davalos had already started a business in downtown Racine, the Southeast Wisconsin town… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.
