Employment Based Immigration
The Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing Act
New research from the American Immigration Council, Economic Benefits of the Empire State Licensing: Immigrants in New York State’s Workforce, highlights the crucial role of immigrants and refugees in New York’s workforce, as well as the need to reduce barriers to professional and occupational licenses for all New York residents. Read More
Immigrants Will Be Vital in America’s Fastest Growing Jobs Through 2030
The COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted global supply chains and kept people from going back to work at a time when the demand for goods and labor is high. This has left America contending with a labor shortage while also experiencing high levels of inflation. To investigate further, the new report… Read More
Congress Ends Months of Uncertainty for Immigrant Investors in Regional Centers
For more than 8 months, noncitizens with approved immigrant petitions for investments in regional centers have been in limbo. Congress has now ended that limbo, by reauthorizing the EB-5 regional center program. At midnight on June 30, 2021, the congressional authorization for the EB-5 regional center program investor category expired. Read More
U.S. House Moves Immigration Reform in Bill Aimed at Increasing American Competitiveness and Helping Economy
The U.S. House of Representatives passed an economic competitiveness bill focused on advancing the United States’ innovation and global competitiveness, which also proposes reforms to U.S. immigration law to help attract and retain immigrant talent. Read More
Biden Administration Actions to Attract ‘International STEM Talent’ and Increase Global Competition
The Biden administration recently announced four actions intended to improve immigration “pathways” for noncitizens in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. However, these changes are constrained by the delays at U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and congressional limits on immigrant visa numbers. These actions include: Early Career STEM… Read More
Declining Immigration Is Leaving US Jobs Unfilled
The labor shortages currently afflicting many sectors of the U.S. economy are being aggravated by the arrival of fewer and fewer workers from abroad. Although immigration has been slowing since 2016, the biggest declines have occurred since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020. According to economists… Read More
Biden’s Plan to Attract Foreign STEM Talent Recognizes Immigration’s Importance in the Global Economy
The Biden administration announced new efforts to modernize parts of our immigration system, and remove barriers to legal immigration. DHS will add 22 new fields of study in the STEM Optional Practical Training program through the Student and Exchange Visitor Program, and will implement a series of additional changes to allow foreign students, scholars, and researchers to come to the United States and make meaningful contributions to America’s scholarly, research and development, and innovation communities. Read More
Coalition Letter Calling for Implementation of the Emergency Stopgap USCIS Stabilization Act provisions
The American Immigration Council and 13 other organizations urged USCIS to expand premium processing to ensure the agency remains solvent while efficiently and effectively adjudicating all immigration benefit applications and petitions. Read More
Over 250,000 Young People Are at Risk of Deportation When They Turn 21
A lesser-known group of young people who grew up in the United States with immigration status—typically the children of noncitizens who entered the U.S. on temporary work visas—is increasingly at risk of deportation. They are known as Documented Dreamers, and when these young adults turn 21, they “age out”… Read More
Power of the Purse: Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Texas
New research from American Immigration Council underscores the crucial role the Hispanic population plays in Texas’ labor force, population growth, and economy. The new series of factsheets, Power of the Purse: Contributions of Hispanic Americans in Texas, were prepared in partnership with the Texas Association of… Read More
America's story is an immigrant story.