The Heartland Visa would provide a clear path to American citizenship for skilled workers, entrepreneurs, and inventors from across the globe.
This bipartisan, U.S. The Conference of Mayors endorsed visas that would seek to attract skilled immigrants into the economically distressed heartland areas in the United States. The EIG, the Economic Innovation Group, designed the Heartland Visa for areas hit hard by de-industrialization and looks to bring new life and opportunity into those areas.
Skilled immigrants further drive the economy by providing jobs, creating new technology, and fixing challenging problems. They help the country maintain its position as the world’s largest and most advanced economy. According to an EIG report, immigrants start businesses at twice the rate of native born Americans, thus creating more jobs.
The proposed resolution urges Congress to create a new pathway for highly skilled workers to immigrate to parts of America that are commonly passed over for U.S. immigration policy the creation of a Heartland Visa. While there is little denying that skilled immigrants who start one in four new firms and make up 44 percent of Fortune 500 companies really gain the country, their gains from skill-based immigration are unevenly distributed, with most skilled immigrants clustering in a few urban areas.
The Heartland Visa is a new approach that empowers communities to choose to participate and attracts some of the world’s best workers, entrepreneurs, and innovators. Applications would be fast tracked for applicants who have high wage job offers and a direct connection to local areas in which they can help revitalize participating communities.
Principal features of the Heartland Visa:
Dual Opt-In: Counties on the decline can opt in, as can the applicants in choosing their destination.
High-Wage Priority: The program shall prioritize those applicants who have the highest available job offer or earnings history, adjusted for age and local connections.
Pathway to Permanent Residency: Heartland Visa holders who live in a participating community for six consecutive years shall have an expedited process under which they would earn a green card.
Economic Impact: The size of the Heartland Visa program will have a significant and positive impact on the economic trajectory of participating communities.
