HT Weasel Zippers
The President is continuing to take action, within his legal authority, to fix our broken immigration system. Today, the Administration announced a final rule that will allow spouses of certain high-skilled workers to contribute to the economy while they wait to obtain lawful permanent residence status (or a "green card") through their employer. America needs a 21st century immigration system that lives up to our heritage as a nation of laws and a nation of immigrants--and that grows our economy. This change, as well as the other actions announced by the President this past November, will do just that.
The President's Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) has also released an updated report on the economic impact of the President's executive actions, which are now estimated to boost the nation's GDP by as much as $250 billion over ten years, due in part to increases in the size of the American workforce and to increased innovation from high-skill workers. These actions will also increase the productivity and wages of all American workers, not just immigrants, as evidenced by a large body of academic work cited in the CEA report. [...]
DHS estimates that in the first year, there may be nearly 180,000 spouses eligible to apply for employment authorization under this rule, with as many as 55,000 eligible annually in following years. These women and men are Americans-in-waiting, whose families are often stuck for years in lengthy green card backlogs as a result of our broken immigration system. Allowing them to put their skills to use will reduce the strain on their families during that waiting time, and will yield significant benefits for our economy as well.
Unlocking the talents of more highly-skilled Americans-in-waiting by providing a portable employment authorization for those workers stuck in the green card backlog, allowing them to accept promotions, change positions or employers, or start new companies. |
