Ad Campaign and Research Highlight Need for High-Skilled Immigration Reform

CONTACTS
Ryan Williams, Partnership for a New American Economy, [email protected]
Emily Pochter, FWD.us, [email protected]

New data shows that high-skilled immigrants from 2010 to 2013 alone will create more than 700,000 American jobs

Watch the ad here

New York, NY — Today, on the day the high-skilled immigration visa (H-1B) application window opens, the Partnership for a New American Economy and FWD.us announced a new push for high-skilled immigration reform. As part of this new effort, the Partnership for a New American Economy will release new research and a new ad starring Pierre-Jean “PJ” Cobut, an immigrant entrepreneur from Belgium who will have to move his company and the American jobs he has created abroad if he does not get an H-1B visa. Read his op-ed in The Hill here.

“We know that high-skilled immigrants create American jobs, but we have a system with an arbitrary cap that leaves American jobs on the table.” said John Feinblatt, Chairman of New American Economy. “PJ is one of many immigrants trying to build a company and create jobs here – but he may not be able to stay. That is why we are launching the #LetPJStay campaign to draw attention to this issue and ask Congress to act now and pass high-skilled immigration reform.”

“We will reach the H-1B visa cap within the next few days, and it is absurd that we actively prohibit and cap off the best and the brightest talent from contributing to the U.S.,” said Todd Schulte, President of FWD.us. “High-skilled immigration grows our economy, expands opportunity, and creates American jobs. We should be doing everything in our power to attract and keep this type of talent in the U.S., not turn it away to then compete against us.”

“The H-1B high-skilled application window opened today and there are only 65,000 visas allowed,” said Ron Conway, Founder of SV Angel. “We know based on last year that close to 200,000 visas is the demand. We need an immigration system that matches the economic needs of the United States. We have the solution in front of us, and we need to urge Congress to act now.”

“Highly-educated immigrants generate tremendous gains for the American economy. They patent, innovate, create new technologies, and start new firms at high rates,” said Chad Sparber, Associate Professor and Chair of the Economics Department at Colgate University. “By doing so, they increase native-born American wages, employment, and productivity. As with other productive resources, it doesn’t make good economic sense to reduce the number of skilled immigrants.”

“I want to build the next great American company, but to do that I have to be able to stay in America,” said PJ Cobut, Co-founder of Echo Labs. “Without a visa, I’ll have to take my company – and its jobs – elsewhere.”

The new Partnership ad campaign is running in Washington, DC locations such as taxis and the Metro, and also digitally through national media and social media outlets. The ad is part of the #LetPJStay campaign, which also includes a petition to pass high-skilled immigration reform, op-eds, local events with tech and business leaders, and new research showing that high-skilled immigrants create American jobs.

Key findings from the new research brief include:

• By 2020, 700,000 American jobs will be created by the high-skilled foreign workers awarded H-1B visas between 2010 and 2013.
• More than 20 states will see more than 5,000 American jobs created by these H-1B workers by 2020.
• Two of the top ten states – Michigan and Pennsylvania – gaining the most jobs from recent H-1B workers are in the Rust Belt, an area hit particularly hard by the recession.

See the full brief, “The H-1B Employment Effect.”

Visit www.LetPJStay.com to learn more about the campaign, sign a petition to Congress, and share campaign content on social media.