Business and the Workforce

What role do immigrants play in American business and the American workforce? Immigrants work in a range of skilled positions in the U.S. and start businesses that boost the American economy. Learn more about immigrant entrepreneurship and workforce participation.

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Practical Guides and FAQs for the Federal STEM Initiatives

Learn how institutions, employers, or talented researchers and other highly skilled individuals in the STEM fields can take advantage of the Early Career STEM Research Initiative.

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  • Blog

Who Is in and out Under the RAISE Act

August 11, 2017

The Reforming American Immigration for a Strong Economy Act (RAISE Act) seeks to dramatically reshape American immigration by favoring youth and a narrow set of skills over family values and...

  • Blog

Administration Unveils Legislation That Cuts Legal Immigration in Half and Abandons Family Values

August 3, 2017

The administration revealed legislation this week that seeks to drastically reshape American immigration, moving away from the family based immigration tradition that has both shaped our...

  • Blog

Rule Delay Threatens New Program for International Entrepreneurs

August 1, 2017

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has abruptly delayed the effective date of an important new program which would have allowed international entrepreneurs to develop their start-up...

  • Blog

Foreign Workers Make Up 25 Percent of the Entire STEM Workforce

June 14, 2017

With the Trump administration threatening to limit the immigration of highly skilled foreign professionals to the United States, now is a good time to take stock of just how valuable those...

  • Blog

Trump Nominee for USCIS Director Testifies before Senate Committee

May 31, 2017

President Trump’s pick for the next director of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), Lee Francis Cissna, recently testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee. This was the first...

  • Blog

Training for U.S.-Educated Noncitizens Withstands Another Restrictionist Attack

May 12, 2017

Some foreign students complete their stay in the United States by gaining professional experience in their field of study. Immigration restrictionists want to end that opportunity. For the second...

  • Blog

Trump’s Latest Executive Order Targets High-Skilled Immigrants

April 19, 2017

On April 18, President Trump signed the Presidential executive order on Buy American and Hire American. Similar to the other immigration-related executive orders, this one has no immediate effect...

  • Blog

Trump Administration to Announce H-1B Visa Changes

April 17, 2017

Several media outlets have reported that on Tuesday, April 18, President Trump will sign an executive order mandating that the immigration agencies undertake a review of the H-1B visas...

  • Blog

H-1B Annual Cap Reached in First Week for Fifth Consecutive Year

April 7, 2017

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. USCIS began accepting H-1B petitions on...

  • Blog

Here’s How Immigrant Women Are Essential to Our Labor Force

March 8, 2017

International Women’s Day is an appropriate time to take stock of the many ways in which immigrant women contribute to the labor force of the United States. Some of these contributions are often...

  • Blog

Shortage of Farmworkers Threatens Americans’ Food Supply During the Coronavirus

April 7, 2020

The U.S. agricultural industry depends on seasonal guest workers to produce the food Americans eat. Since 1986, the H-2A visa program has allowed employers to fill labor shortages with temporary...

  • Blog

What You Need to Know About Public Charge and the Coronavirus

April 6, 2020

Immigrants living in the United States are eligible for unemployment benefits. But as the health and economic impacts of the coronavirus spread across the country, many are reportedly afraid to...

  • 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...

  • Amicus Briefs

Council Submits Amicus Brief Supporting Reversal of USCIS’ Misinterpretation of the First Regulatory Test for an H-1B Specialty Occupation

Publication Date: 
December 16, 2019
The American Immigration Council filed this brief in support of a U.S. employer’s challenge to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service’s denial of a computer programmer H-1B petition.
  • 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...

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