Study: U.S. Immigrants Are More Likely to Start Firms, Create Jobs

“Compared to native-born citizens, immigrants are more frequently involved in founding companies at all scales.”

A new study found that immigrants are about 80% more likely to start a firm than U.S.-born citizens; and have about 1% more employees than those founded by U.S. natives.

The article Immigration and Entrepreneurship in the United States in the spring issue of the American Economic Review: Insights was authored by Pierre Azoulay, the International Programs Professor of Management at MIT Sloan; Benjamin Jones, the Gordon and Llura Gund Professor of Entrepreneurship and a professor of strategy at Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management; J. Daniel Kim PhD ’20, an assistant professor of management at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School; and Javier Miranda, a principal economist at the U.S. Census Bureau.

Immigrants and Entrepreneurship

The study also found that:

0.83% of immigrants to the U.S. founded a firm versus 0.46% of native-born U.S. citizens in the same time period
immigrants act more as “job creators” than “job takers” and play outsized roles in U.S. high-growth entrepreneurship
immigrants found more firms of every size: “they create more small firms, they create more medium-size firms, they create more large firms”

E-B5 Investor Visa

The EB-5 investor visa program allows investors, their spouses and unmarried children under 21 to apply for a green card (permanent residence) if they:

• Make the required investment in a commercial enterprise in the United States; AND
• Create or preserve 10 permanent full-time jobs for qualified U.S. workers

Learn More:

Do You Need an Illinois Business Immigration Lawyer?

Business immigration law is the practice of immigration law for employment reasons. A business immigration lawyer works with both employers who want to hire skilled foreign workers and foreign nationals who want to come to the United States to work temporarily or permanently.

At Godoy Law Office with locations in Chicago and Oak Brook, Illinois, we work with employers in many fields including health care, technology, startups, sports, business, education and finance to help identify the best way to solve your foreign worker’s needs. We also work directly with foreign nationals who want to live and work in the Chicago area.

If you have a question about immigration employment in Illinois, contact the immigration attorneys at Godoy Law Office at 630-912-0322.