Why Immigration Is Good For America

I am often asked why I decided to become an immigration lawyer. The answer is simple: I receive tremendous satisfaction representing foreigners interested in starting a new life in the United States. These courageous people are leaving their lives behind, taking great risks, all with the dream that their children will have a better life in a new country.

But what makes immigration law even more satisfying is the knowledge that what I do is helping to  strengthen our economy.  Here are ten reasons why immigration is good for our country:

1)  Immigrants start businesses.  According to the Small Business Administration, immigrants are 30% more likely to start a business in the U.S. than non-immigrants.

2)  Immigrant owned businesses create jobs for American workers. According to the Fiscal Policy Institute, small businesses owned by immigrants employed an estimated 4.7 million people in 2007 and these small businesses generated more than $776 billion annually.

3)   Immigrants are more likely to create their own jobs. According to the U.S. Department of Labor, 7.5% of the foreign born are self-employed compared to 6.6 percent of the native born.

4)   Immigrants develop cutting-edge technologies and companies. According to the National Venture Capital Association, immigrants have started 25 percent of public U.S. companies backed by venture Capital investors. This list includes Google, eBay, Yahoo!, Sun Microsystems, and Intel.

5)   Immigrants are our engineers, scientists, and innovators. According to the Census Bureau, despite making up only 16 percent of the resident population holding a bachelor's degree or higher, immigrants represent 33% of engineers, 27% of mathematicians, statisticians and computer scientists, and 24 % of physical scientists in the U.S.

6)   Immigration boosts earnings for American workers. Between 1990 and 2004, increased immigration was correlated with increasing earnings of Americans by 0.7 percent and is expected to contribute to an increase of 1.8 percent over the long-term according to a study by the University of California at Davis.

7)   Immigrants boost demand for local consumer goods.

8)   Immigration reform legislation reduces the deficit. According to the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, under the 2010 house-passed version of the DREAM Act, the federal deficit would be reduced by $2.2 billion over ten years because of increased tax revenues.

9)   Immigration reform creates jobs. Immigration reform could support and create up to 900,000 new jobs within 3 years of reform from the increase in consumer spending, according to the Center for American Progress.

10)  Comprehensive immigration reform would increase America's GDP. The nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office found that even under the low investment assumptions, comprehensive immigration reform would increase GDP by between 0.8 percent and 1.3 percent from 2012 to 2016.


We are a nation of immigrants. Our greatness is closely linked to our diversity and the great contributions made by the immigrants permitted to legally relocate here. At Tucker & Ludin, we are proud of our work in immigration.  If you are interested in learning more about your immigration options, call me at 727-572-5000 or e-mail through our website at http://www.tuckerludin.com/practice-areas/Immigration/

Warning of New Telephone Scam

The law firm of Tucker & Ludin has learned about a new telephone scam directed at aliens. The caller will claim to be from the United State Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) and demand money be wired in order to clear up a "discrepancy".  For details about this, check out my blog at my firm's website: http://www.tuckerludin.com/2012/07/21/warning-about-new-telephone-scam-directed-to-foreigners/

Does a Playmate Have Extraordinary Ability?

If you want to be a U.S. citizen, one of the quickest ways to do it is to convince the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service (USCIS) that you have extraordinary ability, are an outstanding professor or researcher, or are a multinational manager or executive. Since it is presumed that people who fit in these classes can make a positive impact on our national economy, there is no waiting time for issuance of these visas known as EB-1. These are the first preference employment based immigration visas.  This means that if you are awarded this visa, you can enter the U.S. as an immigrant and immediately qualify for a green card which can lead to naturalization.

The EB-1 visa has traditionally been thought of as the visa for Nobel prize winners. But, you really do not need that prize to qualify.

But, before you consider applying for an EB-1 because you have extraordinary ability as a world champion hot dog eater, know that the ability must be in science, arts, education, business, or athletics through sustained national or international acclaim. I doubt the hot dog champion qualifies, but it may be worth trying.

Recently, some people have been creative with their EB-1 applications and have succeeded in convincing the USCIS of their extraordinary ability.  According to a recent Reuters column, Shera Bechard, a Canadian born Playboy magazine Miss November 2010, started an online photo-sharing rage called “Frisky Friday”.  Her work enables attractive, scantily clad women, to post pictures of themselves on Fridays, with Playboy selecting a weekly winner.  This successful venture plus her “modeling” work with Playboy and some acting work was sufficient to persuade the USCIS that Ms. Bechard qualified as person deserving of the EB-1.

The EB-1 is not necessarily for the genius. It can be a path to citizenship for anyone who has risen to the top of their field of endeavor and sustained national or international acclaim.  In some instances, the EB-1 can be awarded to someone who cannot qualify for the more popular, and limited, HB-1.

If you are interested in immigrating to the U.S., call the immigration lawyers at Tucker & Ludin law firm at 727-572-5000 or contact us through our website at www.tuckerludin.com