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Immigrants are the backbone of innovation in USA
Immigrants make up 16% of inventors, directly contribute to 23% of innovation and, aggregate to contribute to 36% of innovation through positive influence
Abhishek Gutgutia
January 07, 2023
Wishing you all a happy and successful 2023! After a relaxing but not-so-relaxing (the weather anyone?) holiday break, the Zeno team is back and hard at work building content and products for you. We expect January to be a packed month with more podcast episodes, several product releases, and more.
[Thank you to all of you who are meeting me to provide input on products that Zeno should build. If you would like to still participate, simply book a meeting here.]
What we have in store for you this week:
Immigrants are the backbone of innovation in the US
USCIS can issue employment authorization to approved I-140 workers
Laid off tech workers quickly find jobs in a tight labor market
Canada continues to set records in legal immigration
USCIS proposes fees increase to fund asylum programs
Visa wait times starting to impact US tourism
Immigrants are the backbone of innovation in the US
Immigrants are vital to innovation in the United States, according to a paper from the National Bureau of Economic Research. The study found that while immigrants make up 16% of inventors, they directly contribute to 23% of innovation and, through their positive influence on native-born collaborators, they aggregate to contribute to 36% of innovation. This research highlights the significant role that immigrants play in driving innovation and the importance of their contributions to the US economy. Given this, the US should welcome immigrants with open arms, recognizing their value and contributions to the country.
USCIS can issue employment authorization to approved I-140 workers
Did you know that a 2015 leaked memo concluded that USCIS has the authority to issue employment authorization to all I-140 approved workers? The memo was leaked to Greg Siskind who discusses the memo again in his recent tweet.
Stuart Anderson discusses a @USCIS memo leaked to me that would allow the agency to issue work cards to all people with I-140 approvals. 1x
Leaked USCIS Memo Points Way To Fix Employment-Based Immigration via @Forbesforbes.com/sites/stuartan…
— Greg Siskind (@gsiskind)
Jan 5, 2023
Laid off tech workers quickly find jobs in a tight labor market
The labor market is tight with unemployment rate falling to 3.5% in the December payroll data. This is reflected in the report that laid-off tech workers are finding jobs pretty quickly after getting laid off.
According to a survey by ZipRecruiter, 79% of tech workers recently hired after being laid off or terminated found a new job within three months of beginning their search. The survey also found that nearly 40% laid off tech workers found jobs less than a month after they began searching.
Our advice to those still looking is to continue pressing on and look for jobs in other sectors that are lesser hit, especially healthcare. See Robert Webber's post below. Not only is Healthcare a "safe haven" for laid-off tech workers it is also a fantastic option for those on H4 and last months of F1 OPT to get a cap-exempt H1B visa.
Canada continues to set records in legal immigration
Canada admitted more than 431,000 new permanent residents in 2022, a record-high annual increase. This exceeded the previous year's record of about 401,000 newcomers and met the target set by the Canadian government. The government has consistently raised its annual immigration goals in recent years, with a current plan to admit 465,000 new permanent residents in 2023 and half a million in 2025. Immigration accounts for nearly all of Canada's labor-force growth and about 75% of its population growth. During the 2021 Census, almost one in four people counted were or had been a landed immigrant or permanent resident in Canada, the highest proportion among the Group of Seven economies. By 2036, immigrants are expected to represent almost a third of Canada's population, compared to about 21% in 2011.
USCIS proposes fees increase to fund asylum programs
The Biden administration has proposed increasing fees for employment-based visas and other immigration programs to fund the adjudication of increasing numbers of asylum claims along the US-Mexico border. The proposed changes include significant fee increases for various employment-related immigration applications. For example, the -
Application fee for H-1B visas would increase by 70% to $780
Application fee for EB-5 Investor Visa would increase by 204% to $11,160.
Filing fee for requests to obtain US citizenship would increase by 19% to $120
Fee for applications from immigrants already in the US for a green card would increase by 35% to $1,540.
Visa wait times starting to impact US tourism
India is the 10th biggest tourism market for USA in 2019 and the fifth largest spender. According to a recent study by the USTA, US is potentially missing out on $1.6 billion in tourism revenue from Indian tourists who opt to go elsewhere in 2023. Fears are mounting that these travelers once lost may be lost forever: "The visitor you deter today is also the visitor who chooses not to come tomorrow," USTA's president and CEO, Geoff Freeman he says.
Quick Bites
Conversations
Upcoming conversations
On Jan 17, we are speaking with Danielle Goldman to discuss cap exempt H1B visas and her to work to help F1 OPT students continue to work should they not get selected in the H1B lottery. In addition to F1 students, this episode is a must-listen for H4 visa holders who don't have work authorization. Sign up and listen in at the link below.
Past conversations
In Ep. 9, we sat down with Nupur Dave to discuss the myths and realities of moving back to India, and her advice to those thinking about. This was a fun conversation and Nupur's advice is not what you would expect. Listen in at the link below:
iMemes
