WASHINGTON, DC – FWD.us President Todd Schulte issued the following statement today after President Biden announced a series of immigration-related provisions in executive orders and other initiatives for Artificial Intelligence, including numerous provisions to improve and modernize existing legal immigration programs for AI experts:
“It is no secret that America’s national security and economic competitiveness will increasingly depend on our ability to lead the world in innovation, including on growing areas like Artificial Intelligence. That is why President Biden is right to invest in and leverage smart immigration policies that ensure America’s ability to attract and retain the best and the brightest from around the world.
“For years, FWD.us has called for proactive policies to allow America to win the global race for talent. That means ensuring highly skilled workers, international graduates of U.S. colleges and universities, and foreign-born entrepreneurs can more fully contribute to America's success. This also includes streamlining visa processes, modernizing outdated programs, and issuing new eligibility guidance so that experts with critical skills can quickly and reliably access existing immigration programs. Today’s executive actions include many of those policies and represent a step forward in ensuring our immigration system is an asset, not an obstacle, to attracting and retaining the best experts from around the world.
“We know immigrants are already making critical contributions across all industries in the United States, including in highly specialized fields, and it would be foolish to forfeit their contributions to our competitors at this crucial point. We urge the Administration to fully and swiftly implement these proposed changes, and call on Congress to build on today’s actions to bolster American competitiveness and drive our economic recovery by modernizing our immigration system, including through the expansion of legal immigration pathways and clearing of the green card backlogs.”