Immigration News | Live & Work in America

The office of Foreign Labor Certification is part of the US Department of Labor and the source a good proportion of Employers use when sponsoring Green Card PERM Applications under EB-1, EB-2 or EB-3 or non-immigrant visas like H-1B, E-3 and H-2B. This is for the purposes of the Prevailing Wage portion of the application which specifies the role under which the foreign is being considered and that it meets all necessary requirements. The data covers the full year of 2011.

Now while this is not the only official source for Prevailing Wage determination it is a significant source and thus provides great direction data as to where in the US and what types of classifications are most popular. Thus you can see where most foreigners are working around the US (and potentially what areas are most conducive and/or competitive for foreigners to work for US visa employer sponsors) as well as what classifications are most popular.

Below is a full table and we will highlight some of the major points to note in summary. It is important to note as to why you see far more Green Card certifications below (i.e. PERM) vs. H-1B or E-3 work visa certification requests is because the annual cap quotas on work visa are far more restrictive and the Green Card certification can be done at any time, however in most cases under current law it will be many, many years before the foreigner is eligible.

California has 21% of all foreign workers and 24% of the Green Card Applicants
Texas has the most non-immmigrant workers under H-1B and E-3 visa
The Top 5 States (CA, NY, TX, NJ, FL) have about 50% of all foreign workers
New Jersey is only the 11st biggest state by population in US but had 4th most foreign works
Puerto Rico, a US territory, has more foreign works than 4 actual US States (MT, HI, AK, WY)

STATE	Total	PERM	H-1B/E3	H-2B
All	97,541	80,041	12,879	4,621
California	19,774	18,563	1,076	135
New York	8,912	7,933	652	327
Texas	8,491	6,967	1,079	445
New Jersey	6,279	5,933	197	149
Florida	4,908	3,567	919	422
Illinois	4,693	3,632	1,014	47
Washington	3,863	3,550	273	40
Virginia	3,719	3,226	359	134
Massachusetts	3,614	2,886	378	350
Georgia	2,929	2,372	508	49
Michigan	2,859	2,185	557	117
Maryland	2,729	1,855	750	124
Pennsylvania	2,547	2,094	254	199
North Carolina	1,981	1,275	588	118
Ohio	1,850	1,451	316	83
Connecticut	1,433	1,020	379	34
Arizona	1,303	950	260	93
Indiana	1,064	633	405	26
Colorado	970	703	107	160
Missouri	936	654	193	89
Minnesota	875	713	124	38
Wisconsin	791	569	210	12
DC	770	630	137	3
Kansas	710	349	332	29
Tennessee	686	492	172	22
Oregon	683	551	122	10
Louisiana	645	332	102	211
Delaware	567	508	19	40
South Carolina	558	356	131	71
Alabama	549	350	130	69
Kentucky	492	328	86	78
Iowa	480	388	74	18
Utah	409	261	65	83
Oklahoma	389	298	26	65
Arkansas	370	268	68	34
Mississippi	342	133	161	48
Idaho	329	121	162	46
Maine	298	88	23	187
Nevada	291	240	39	12
Vermont	280	254	1	25
Nebraska	266	215	29	22
New Hampshire	250	192	29	29
New Mexico	236	172	43	21
South Dakota	218	65	66	87
North Dakota	202	105	59	38
West Virginia	181	111	59	11
Rhode Island	165	133	9	23
Puerto Rico	137	82	50	5
Hawaii	114	97	15	2
Alaska	98	37	11	50
Wyoming	98	32	14	52
Montana	78	33	17	28
Guam	76	73	3	0
Nthn Mariana Isl.	45	9	26	10
Virgin Islands	9	7	1	1

Earlier this year we outlined the 13 Major Areas in US Immigration that needed to be addressed if real immigration reform can have been said to take place. Since then the major US Immigration bill has been submitted to the US Senate for Debate and currently there are about 300 amendments and counting filed to committee in relation to that bill.

Many of these amendments are peripheral like small quota number changes, fee amounts and slight procedural changes but many of them are loony, insulting, sure to cause those might otherwise vote for to vote against and generally not actually addressing the fundamental need for reform. Senator Chuck Grassley form Iowa, who has previously submitted anti-immigration bills to the US senate, alone has submitted 77 amendments along with a desire to hold off debate until all the Boston Marathon Senate inquires are completed which essentially is a ploy to kill the bill entirely. Senator Ted Cruz of Texas wants to block any chance of illegal immigrants to gain permanent legal status in US and Senator Mike Lee of Utah has proposed that current undocumented immigrants in the US can only work in servitude roles likes babysitters, house-servants, cooks, etc. Senator Patrick Leahy of Vermont who general sides with the Democrats wants same sex couples to be recognized which is sure to mean most Republican support for the bill is lost and thus no Immigration reform at all.

Funnily enough all this comes at the same time as New York City’s council in considering a proposal that will allow all tax-paying residents for 6 months and longer in NYC be they US Citizen, Permanent Resident or Legal Visa holder will have the right to vote in Mayoral and Council elections in NYC.

It would help if all relevant stakeholders bore these 11 charts and points in mind when debating as to the fundamental need for immigration reform for the US economy and thus all Americans. (from Business Insider)

1. Foreigners Start More Business Than US Born Citizens Every Month