Innovation is key in any industry. It is of particular importance in technology industries. A recent study indicates that immigrants are a major driving force of innovation in the U.S. tech industry.
The study looked at responses received from over 900 individuals who were identified as being behind high-value and high-impact innovations in technology industries. From a review of these responses, the study concluded that, when it comes to technology-related industries, 35.5 percent of the individuals in the U.S. that are responsible for innovations that are marketable and meaningful are immigrants.
This underscores how important of a role immigrants play in the country’s tech industries. Given this, one of the important types of legal issues that can come before tech companies are immigration issues related to their workforce, such as issues connected to trying to get visas or green cards for foreign-born innovators that they want to bring into their U.S. operations. Experienced immigration attorneys can help tech companies with immigration issues related to foreign talent and with staying in compliance with immigration-related laws.
There are also many important immigration issues that can arise for foreign-born workers who are in the U.S. in relation to work in the tech industry. In addition to immigration issues related to their employment, such workers may have other immigration-related concerns: like a desire to have family members be with them in the U.S. or a desire to eventually become a U.S. citizen. Foreign-born tech workers who have immigration-related questions should consider consulting with an experienced immigration lawyer.
Source: phys.org, “One-third of US tech ‘innovators’ are immigrants: study,” Feb. 24, 2016