restrictions on legal migration and employment. It’s been long-known that immigrants drive entrepreneurship and innovation in tech in the country. Over half of all Silicon Valley startups have one immigrant co-founder, 50% of startups worth at least $1 billion have one immigrant co-founder, and 45% of Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants or their children.
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The end of the public charge rule
Biden’s reviewing the public charge rule, which makes it possible for immigration officials to reject green card applicants who’ve previously used or potentially will use public benefits. Not only does the public charge rule put low-income immigrants at risk, but it also makes the application process more difficult for everyone. All applicants need to prove they won’t need government aid, whether it’s food stamps, Medicaid, or Section 8 housing.
“Even if the employee is eligible to work for your company, if they’re spending their nights and weekends trying to put together this 400-Notto-900 page application, it’s detrimental to their mindshare,” said Xiao Wang, CEO of Boundless Immigration, a software startup helping immigrants apply for green cards and citizenship. “There’s definitely a practical purpose where rolling back the public charge rule will help with employee productivity, morale, and other things that are good for the company,” he said. Boundless has already rallied over 100 tech companies — including Twitter, Microsoft, Reddit and Redfin — to sign an amicus brief criticizing the public charge rule as a threat to innovation.
Immigrant tech workforce
Businesses immigration law in the US is complex, and employers need to work to stay abreast of the ever-changing policies. For example, reputable news sites and blogs are a reliable source for breaking stories and information. Additionally, an immigration law podcast can keep employers updated with the latest relevant political and business matters. As for now, tech companies are benefiting from the recent reversal of the previous plan to block H-4 visa holders from the country. The H-1B visa allows companies (particularly Microsoft and Amazon) to hire highly-skilled foreign-born workers for temporary US jobs. The H-4 employment authorization permits these visa holders’ spouses to also work in the US. Nevertheless, the future for H-1B holders remains unclear, as the way the visas are awarded may potentially change. Currently, a lottery system is used. In January, the Department of Homeland Security issued a rule to instead give visas to the highest-paid positions first.
Additionally, the Department of Labor issued a rule to increase the minimum wage companies must pay H-1B applicants to qualify for the visa. “These two changes, if they end up still going into effect, will have a huge impact on the tech industry and will disproportionately hurt smaller companies and startups as well as new grads out of American schools with engineering programs,” said Wang. He also pointed out tech giants will have less difficulty complying than other companies.
Nevertheless, employers are seeing hope in the situation. “For tech leaders, it sends a signal that America’s open for business and that we’re going to do what’s right for our country and continue to do what’s right for immigrants that are building a lot of the products that we all enjoy,” said Matt Oppenheimer, CEO of Remitly, a startup helping immigrants send money to their relatives abroad. His statement represents a widespread view amongst business owners.
