A report by the Immigration Policy Center reveals that immigrants are essential to the economy of California, our nation’s most populous state. Immigrant entrepreneurs invest money, create jobs, and bring innovation to the state. Some of California’s most famous and important companies – including Yahoo!, eBay, Google, and Qualcomm – were founded by immigrants.
The 2013 report found the following:
* “From 1995 to 2005, over 52 % of startup companies in Silicon Valley had at least one immigrant founder.”
* “From 2007 to 2011, immigrants in California founded around 45 percent of all new businesses in the state, while 36.6c% of business owners in California in 2011 were immigrants.”
* “In 2011, the U.S. Department of Labor certified 57,033 H-1B labor certification application in California, with an average annual wage of $79,093”