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USCIS Fact Sheet - Foreign-Born STEM Workers in the United States (June 2022)

Updated: Author: Alina Kanametova

Form Guides 17 pages Anonymized

Official USCIS fact sheet on the economic significance of foreign-born STEM workers. Useful as supporting background evidence for original-contribution and...

O-1 EB-1A EB-2 NIW Original contribution Engineering / STEM Science / research

Official source of the document ↗verified 2026-09-09

About this document

A June 2022 USCIS-related fact sheet on foreign-born STEM workers in the United States, using American Community Survey data to profile their size, country of birth, education, and occupational mix. It reports that immigrants were 23.1% of all STEM workers in 2019, up from 16.4% in 2000, and breaks the workforce into major STEM groups and tables. The sheet also links STEM labor demand to innovation, job growth, and visa limits.

Key points

  • Uses 2000, 2010, and 2019 ACS microdata to compare the STEM workforce over time.
  • Immigrants were 23.1% of all U.S. STEM workers in 2019, up from 16.4% in 2000.
  • Total STEM workers rose from 7.5 million in 2000 to 10.8 million in 2019.
  • Foreign-born STEM workers increased from 1.2 million to about 2.5 million between 2000 and 2019.
  • India was the largest birth country group among immigrant STEM workers in 2019, at 28.9%.
  • Computer and math occupations had the biggest rise in foreign-born share, from 17.7% to 26.1%.
  • In 2019, 86.5% of immigrant STEM workers held at least a bachelor's degree, and 49.3% held an advanced degree.
  • The sheet says STEM jobs are projected to grow 10.5% from 2020 to 2030, compared with 7.7% for all occupations.

When it helps

This fact sheet serves as country-level background evidence on STEM labor demand, foreign-born participation, and education levels. It also provides quantitative context for arguments about workforce need, innovation, and visa constraints in STEM-related immigration cases.

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Source: USCIS / official source. The material opens on the site. Reference material, not legal advice.

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