Despite the slump of the U.S. economy, “STEM” careers and companies (science, technology, engineering, and math) are always in demand because the US economy is in need of more of these workers than the US education system can produce.
Eighteen percent of all Fortune 500 companies were founded by immigrants, according to a 2011 report by the Partnership for a New American Economy. These companies generate $1.7 trillion and employ 3.6 million workers.
One quarter of all engineering and technology-related companies founded in the United States from 1995-2005 had at least one founder who was an immigrant, according to a study by researchers at Duke and Harvard Universities.
Many of these workers depend on the extremely limited H1-B visas, which is a main concern in the immigration reform debate. However, there is a different approach a STEM worker can take: open their own business and obtain an E-2 investors visa.
Source: Immigration Policy
