When people immigrate to the United States, they not only receive many benefits, but they also give back to their new country. Immigrants start businesses that create new jobs in the USA; they stimulate innovation with their fresh perspectives; immigrants become some of America’s top leaders in government, academia, business, sports, entertainment and other fields; and they make new discoveries that expand knowledge and enhance society. One of many examples that could be given of the significant contributions that immigrants make to America and to the world is in science and medicine. For example, immigrants living in the USA account for around 15% of the country’s population, yet, they have received a disproportionate amount of the Nobel Prizes awarded to Americans for chemistry, physics and medicine. From 1901 to 2020, 35% of Nobel Prizes given to Americans for chemistry, physics and medicine were awarded to immigrants living in the United States. Since 1901, immigrants have been honored with 35% of the Nobel Prizes awarded to Americans for chemistry, 36% for physics and 33% for medicine. When the Nobel Prize winners were announced in October 2020, foreign-born Americans were once again among those honored. After moving to America from Germany, Reinhard Genzel became a professor of astronomy and physics at the University of California at Berkeley. In 2020, Professor Genzel shared the Nobel Prize for Physics with American-born Professor Andrea Ghez of UCLA and British Professor Roger Penrose of Oxford University for their research related to black holes. To read more, click here!

On June 17, 2020, a special, albeit unique, ceremony was held in Detroit, Michigan, were dozens of Green Card holders took the oath to become an American citizen – without even leaving their cars! Immigrants living in the USA are still becoming American citizens despite the COVID-19 pandemic, however, US immigration judges and other officials have needed to be creative in planning ceremonies that incorporate social distancing and other safety measures. Since the federal courthouse in downtown Detroit was temporarily closed as a precaution, the American citizenship ceremony was held by “drive-thru” in the court’s parking garage. Dozens of Green Card holders from Albania, Bangladesh, Brazil, China, India, Iran, Lithuania, Mexico and Ukraine drove themselves and their family members to a certain location in the courthouse parking garage, all wearing protective masks, rolled down their window, raised their hand, and the US immigration judge, wearing a face shield, administered the oath to become an American citizen. Although having a drive-thru ceremony was not exactly how these immigrants had envisioned receiving their US citizenship, they were, nonetheless, very happy to become American citizens and now have all of the rights and benefits that naturalized US citizens are entitled to. For example, some of the newly naturalized American citizens said they look forward to voting in the November 2020 presidential election. Similar drive-thru American citizenship ceremonies have also been held in Phoenix, San Diego and other US cities so that Green Card holders who have been living in the USA at least five years and satisfied all of the criteria can receive their US citizenship, while at the same time avoid large gatherings of people as would normally occur at such events. To read more, click here!

The United States began the New Year of 2020 with very good economic news, as the Department of Labor reported that 225,000 US jobs were created during January 2020. America’s growing economy also started the New Year with an extremely low unemployment rate of just 3.6% (the lowest in five decades), according to Labor Department data. Furthermore, the average hourly wage for people working in the USA increased by a healthy 3.1% between January 2019 and January 2020. Strong economic growth has been producing new jobs in America for a record 112 months in a row (the longest economic expansion in US history) and this is expected to continue in the months ahead. More than 10 full years of US job creation, however, has resulted in a shortage of workers across the country in various business sectors, including highly-skilled workers and also low-skilled workers. To read more, click here!

Results of the 2019 InterNations Expat Insider Survey has found that the best city to live and work in America is Miami, Florida. Over 20,000 expat workers were surveyed in 187 countries and the 82 top cities in the world were identified where foreign workers were the most satisfied. The survey discovered that 75% of expats feel at home living in Miami and 70% think the locals are friendly. Houston (Texas) was rated by expats as the #2 best city to live and work in the USA, followed by #3 Chicago (Illinois), #4 Boston (Massachusetts), #5 New York City (New York), #6 Los Angeles (California), and #7 San Francisco (California). To read more, click here!

The United States is a land of opportunity for immigrants from around the world. Immigrants living in the USA not only enjoy the freedom to pursue the American Dream as they define it, but immigrants also make valuable contributions to society that help to make the United States the greatest country on Earth. For example, an immigrant from Pakistan opened a successful restaurant in Washington, DC, after moving to America and he has been contributing to society by feeding any poor or homeless person who requests his help (he gave away 16,000 free meals in 2018). A Kurdish immigrant from Turkey had the opportunity to relocate to the US and has since opened seven popular pizza restaurants in New York. This generous immigrant entrepreneur has been distributing food and clothing to those in need and is referred to with affection as the “pizza guy” by homeless people he has helped. Inspiring stories about US immigration are not limited only to newcomers. A national Gallup poll conducted in June 2019 found that 76% of the people living in the USA think that US immigration is good for the country. This overwhelming support for US immigration is demonstrated by a woman in Arizona who has provided immigrants with food and shelter in her own home. To read more, click here!

A young man from Uzbekistan had the opportunity to move to America as an international student in 2003, improve his English language skills, work at various jobs in the USA and go on to launch his own successful business that in 2019 has $20 million in revenue and 200,000 customers. He believes that his immigrant background is the secret to his success as an entrepreneur who is living the American Dream. The three reasons that he says immigrants living in the USA flourish as entrepreneurs is because they have developed patience and resilience on their journey; they are frugal with their finances; and they have an understanding of different cultures which can help them access international markets. To read more, click here!

According to a report published by the Brookings Institution think-tank on December 9, 2019, the majority of all US job growth in the innovation and technology sector is taking place in just five major metropolitan areas. During the past 14 years, 90% of US job creation in the high-tech field has taken place in the San Francisco Bay, San Jose, San Diego, Seattle and Boston metro areas. Since jobs in the US technology sector tend to have high salaries, there has also been increased prosperity in these five metro areas. Consequently, skilled foreign professionals who want to find work in the US technology field may want to search for employment in one of these top innovation hubs. To read more, click here!

Family and friends of 93 US Permanent Resident Green Card holders gathered near Chicago on December 2, 2019, to watch them take the Oath of Allegiance to become an American citizen. The immigrants had moved to the United States from 34 countries on five continents and after living in the USA at least five years and completing other criteria, they had been granted American citizenship. The ceremony was held at a high school auditorium and dozens of government and American history students from the school turned out to observe the event. The head of the high school’s social studies department was also in attendance and declared, “I really wanted our students to see that citizenship in this country isn’t tied to religion or race or ethnicity or even country of origin; that there really is a place for people from all across the world, from all different walks of life and that makes up an American citizen rather than the color of your skin, religion or ethnicity.” A supervisor with the US immigration agency said to the new American citizens, “Thank you for choosing to come to the United States, for bringing your hopes and dreams, your hard work and creative energy, your new ideas and perspectives.” He also told the 93 naturalized US citizens, “The country does long recognize that new immigrants are our life blood, constantly revitalizing America and helping to build and make us into the great nation we are today.” One of the immigrants to be granted American citizenship exclaimed, “This is my dream to be a US citizen and now the dream has come true.” To read more, click here!

On December 3, 2019, an immigrant from India, who grew up without much access to a computer, the Internet or even a telephone, was named the CEO of one of the largest technology companies in the world. Sundar Pichai, who was already serving as the CEO of Google, was appointed CEO of Alphabet, which is the parent company of Google, after Sergey Brin and Larry Page decided to allow someone else to run the global technology giant. Sundar Pichai did not own a computer until after moving to the USA to attend Stanford University in California on a scholarship. After he earned his Master’s Degree in Engineering at Stanford, he went on to receive an MBA at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton Business School and was hired by Google in 2004. He was asked if he thought the American Dream is still alive and this US immigration success story replied that the United States continues to be a “land of opportunity.” Sergey Brin is another US immigration success story who, after moving to America from the former Soviet Union with his parents when he was 6-years-old, also found opportunities in the USA made available through a university education. To read more, click here!

When people think of good-paying jobs in the USA, careers requiring a university degree often come to mind, however, a recent report shows that many “blue collar” jobs also have high salaries. An analysis of data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics identified 30 US jobs in the blue-collar sector that have median salaries above $58,000 per year. Many of these top-paying working class occupations are in the energy industry or law enforcement field. For example, there are 6,280 nuclear power plant operators working in the USA who earn a median annual salary of $94,350, while America’s 33,920 non-nuclear power plant operators make a median salary of $79,610 per year. The 103,450 criminal investigators and police detectives in the US receive a median yearly income of $81,920, while the 661,330 patrol officers working for police and sheriff departments across the country earn a median salary of $61,380 annually. The United States has 131,690 aircraft mechanics and they get paid a median yearly salary of $62,920. To read more, click here!