Heartland Visas As Powerful Solution to Revitalize America’s Struggling Regions

How a new place-based, high-skilled visa can help revive growth in the American Heartland. Heartland Visas, a groundbreaking proposal by John Lettieri, Connor O’Brien, and Adam Ozimek, offers a transformative solution to revitalize America’s struggling regions. This innovative approach to immigration policy aims to attract skilled workers and entrepreneurs to areas facing economic decline, injecting new life and opportunities into these communities.

Keep reading to discover how Heartland Visas can reshape the economic landscape of America’s heartland and create a brighter future for millions of people.

Genres

Immigration policy, economic development, regional revitalization, workforce development, entrepreneurship, population growth, international talent, place-based visas, skills-based immigration, heartland regeneration

The Heartland Visas report presents a visionary immigration policy proposal designed to address the economic challenges faced by many regions in America’s heartland. The authors argue that by creating a new visa category specifically targeted at attracting skilled workers and entrepreneurs to struggling areas, these regions can experience a much-needed economic revival. The proposal outlines a place-based visa system that would allow communities to sponsor immigrants who possess the skills and expertise needed to fill local labor shortages and contribute to economic growth. By directing immigration to areas that have experienced population loss and economic decline, Heartland Visas aim to reverse these trends and create new opportunities for residents. The report emphasizes the potential benefits of this approach, including increased job creation, business formation, and population growth, which can help revitalize communities and improve quality of life for all residents.

Review

The Heartland Visas report offers a compelling and well-researched case for a new approach to immigration policy that prioritizes the economic needs of struggling regions. The authors provide a thorough analysis of the challenges faced by many communities in America’s heartland, including population loss, labor shortages, and economic stagnation. They argue persuasively that a targeted, place-based visa system could be a powerful tool for addressing these issues and driving economic growth.

One of the strengths of the report is its emphasis on the importance of local knowledge and community engagement in the visa sponsorship process. By empowering communities to identify their own workforce needs and sponsor immigrants who can fill those needs, the Heartland Visas proposal ensures that immigration is tailored to the specific economic contexts of each region.

The report also does an excellent job of addressing potential concerns about the impact of immigration on local communities, such as the fear of job displacement or cultural disruption. The authors provide evidence to show that immigration can actually create new jobs and opportunities for native-born workers, and they emphasize the importance of integration efforts to help newcomers become part of the community fabric.

Overall, the Heartland Visas report is a valuable contribution to the ongoing debate about immigration policy and economic development in the United States. Its innovative approach and well-researched arguments make a strong case for a new way forward that prioritizes the needs of struggling regions and empowers communities to shape their own economic futures.

Recommendation

The United States has long thrived on innovation and entrepreneurship, attributes that lifted communities and provided them a better quality of life. But huge parts of the United States have stagnated from the aftereffects of globalization and technology. Economic consultants John Lettieri, Connor O’Brien, and Adam Ozimek offer suggestions to reinvigorate economic activity and address immigration issues. Their Heartland Visa program could prove a welcome alternative to the current burdensome visa application process, bringing in much-needed talent and offering areas of America opportunities for renewed prosperity.

Take-Aways

• The current US visa allocation process is cumbersome and flawed.
• Economically disadvantaged regions in the United States could benefit from an influx of highly educated and trained professionals.
• A Heartland Visa program could help these regions in many ways.

Summary

The current US visa allocation process is cumbersome and flawed.

The H-1B visa allocation system operates by lottery to distribute a limited quantity of visas. The number available to private employers has remained unchanged for nearly 20 years. Green cards, which allow immigrants to get jobs, are scarce. Additionally, America limits the distribution of green cards based on employment. Applying for them proves a time-intensive and inefficient process.

“Green card bureaucracy and scarcity is a major problem for the wider immigration system.”

The waiting list for the citizens of many countries, especially India, is quite long and expected only to increase. This sclerotic process hinders American firms’ ability to lure the most highly qualified professionals.

Economically disadvantaged regions in the United States could benefit from an influx of highly educated and trained professionals.

A number of areas in the United States have fallen on hard times due to the exodus of legacy industries. These locations lack the economic advantages that immigrants well-trained in STEM subjects have brought to cities such as Austin in Texas and New York City. As frontiers of innovation and technology, a mere 100 counties out of more than 3,000 across America accounted for almost three-quarters of utility patents in the first 15 years of the new millennium.

“The building blocks of dynamic and innovative clusters of growth can be found in lagging communities and regions across the country. Many such areas have high-quality institutions and assets and, most importantly, a workforce whose skills are not being fully tapped.”

Though they comprise less than 15% of America’s population, highly educated and trained immigrants prove a critical component of economic advancement. Learning from this demographic’s positive example could establish clear paths to permanent residency in these underdeveloped communities and boost innovation, well-being, and entrepreneurship.

A Heartland Visa program could help these communities in many ways.

Resilient communities have prospered, while others that merely reacted to negative exogenous influences have lagged. An abundance of talented human capital and business acumen have helped communities such as San Jose, California, and Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, bounce back.

“A Heartland Visa program would dramatically expand the range of communities able to benefit from the stream of scientific, technical, and entrepreneurial talent made possible through high-skilled, high-wage immigration.”

A more forward-l0oking immigration policy would allow for the introduction of talented immigrants to jumpstart lagging parts of the country. A Heartland Visa program would:

• Allow US counties undergoing population decline or low growth to become eligible to gain new, talented workers;
• Require such eligible regions to opt in, yet permit visa applicants to apply to their preferred participating region;
• Allocate visas on a quarterly basis to candidates with the greatest wage offers or compensation history;
• Require Heartland Visa holders to reside in a participating region for a fixed time period while working from a firm based anywhere;
• Afford participants satisfying a high-wage threshold during the visa term the opportunity to become permanent residents without having to navigate a confusing patchwork of labor market tests.

The benefits of such a program are many. Hitherto disadvantaged regions can advance their technology and research competencies, thus creating investment opportunities. A telling example is Taiwan’s ascent in the semiconductor business. The founders of the Taiwanese company TSMC gained extensive experience from their time working with American chip manufacturers.

“Ultimately, it is the sum of the skills, know-how, and dynamism of American communities that will make or break these initiatives.”

Local governments will reap the benefits in the form of higher tax bases and more rapid employment growth. The evidence of location-based visas — as, for example, in Canada — demonstrates that a greater percentage of participants will probably establish themselves in the cities in which they initially resided.

About the Authors

John Lettieri is President and CEO of Economic Innovation Group, an economic consultancy, where Connor O’Brien is a research and policy analyst and Adam Ozimek is Chief Economist.