Immigration Lawyers And The International Community
Monday, April 12, 2010 at 10:43PM People intuitively understand that immigration lawyers work with the international community but many don't understand what that means. I particularly enjoy immigration practice because the international community is vibrant and fascinating, a very engaging group of professionals, students and scholars. The international community is responsible for a very large amount of economic activity in the United States. We have a national immigration practice but let's look just at our neighborhood, Vermont. The Immigration Policy Center of the American Immigration Council recently issued a state-by-state report on immigrants in the United States. The data for Vermont offers insight into demographics of the international community in a rural state rich with higher education opportunities. The report shows that as of 2007, 36% of foreign-born individuals in Vermont age 25 and up had a bachelor's degree or a higher degree, compared to 31% of U.S. born individuals age 25 and up living in Vermont. And children of international families who are raised in Vermont assimilate well. The report shows that 83% of children ages 5-17 who live in families speaking another language at home speak English "very well" themselves. Because of the relatively high number of colleges and universities in Vermont, international students are a significant factor in our community and economy. Our firm is actively involved in NAFSA: Association of International Educators. NAFSA reports that international students contributed $28.9 million to the Vermont economy in academic year 2008-2009 in the form of tuition payments and living expenses for students including graduate students and their family members. The NAFSA report shows that international students have even more economic impact in other states, such as New Hampshire ($75.8 million), New York ($2.23 billion - yes, that's billion with a "b"), Colorado ($187 million) and California ($2.75 billion - again, with a "b") for academic year 2008-2009. The international community is a very interesting and active segment of the economy. Yet my experience suggests that when people think of "immigration" they think of illegal immigrants and farm workers, who also make a valuable contribution to the Vermont economy. The Immigration Policy Center cites data from the Vermont Farm Bureau suggesting that about half the milk produced in Vermont is produced by migrant farm labor. Taken together, the various segments of the international community add up to a major economic factor for Vermont and the U.S. as a whole.
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Nice Information about Immigration Lawyers....
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