The following statement is attributed to Gary Shapiro, president and CEO, Consumer Technology Association (CTA)®, on the U.S. Citizenship Act of 2021 introduced today.  

“The U.S. Citizenship Act is a welcome and big step to modernize our nation’s immigration system. While this bill would create a justified and ethical pathway for hardworking immigrants to earn their U.S. citizenship and support dependents of H-1B visa holders, we need to do much more if we want the U.S. to stay on top in innovation. The Biden Administration can better attract the world’s best and brightest by increasing the number of H-1B visas, supporting the International Entrepreneur Rule and instituting a startup visa program to allow foreign nationals to work in the U.S. if they create jobs.    

“Our nation’s competitiveness and status as a global tech leader depend on high-skilled immigration, especially with the increased demand for STEM workers. During the pandemic, America’s technology leaders and innovators are providing solutions from digital health to remote work and education to keep us safe, productive and connected. Access to high-skilled immigrants is crucial to our continued recovery from COVID-19 as 75% of technology companies are facing difficulty finding candidates with the needed skills.   

“Immigrants and children of immigrants play an important role in our economy as essential workers to founders of fast-growing companies. Immigrants create jobs and launch companies at disproportionately high rates. In fact, immigrants have founded over half of America’s billion-dollar startups. By making America a magnet for the world’s technologists and entrepreneurs, we’ll speed our nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic.   

“We will continue to work with policymakers to promote bipartisan reforms that welcome immigrants to contribute to our economy and support our nation of innovators.”