The Economic Case for Welcoming Immigrant Entrepreneurs

Bottom Line: Immigrants are disproportionately entrepreneurial and responsible for founding many of the major companies in the country. A specialized start-up immigrant visa should be created to fuel this immigrant entrepreneurship and create jobs, opportunity, and economic growth for Americans. 

Immigrants start businesses at a disproportionately higher rate than native-born Americans. They have a long history of starting successful businesses in the United States, with more than 40 percent of the Fortune 500 companies founded by an immigrant or child of an immigrant. Yet in contrast to many developed world countries, U.S. law provides no dedicated means for immigrant entrepreneurs to launch companies in the U.S.

An entrepreneurial visa, which would allow immigrant entrepreneurs to start a U.S. business after satisfying requirements such as funding and employment, would boost U.S. economic growth and create American jobs.

Such a visa could turbocharge the positive impact that immigrant entrepreneurs are already having on Americans: 

1. Immigrants are almost twice as likely to start businesses as native-born Americans. 

2. Immigrant founded engineering and technology firms employed approximately 560,000 workers and generated $63 billion in sales in 2012. 

3. Immigrant founders from top venture-backed firms have created an average of approximately 150 jobs per company in the United States. 

Recognizing that it takes time for a new business to become profitable, eligibility requirements for a start-up visa could center on employment creation, so long as the requirement is not overly restrictive. And recognizing that most immigrants come to the U.S. to work or study, a startup visa should allow them to smoothly transition from school or employment to entrepreneurship. 

Read the full report here.