Skilled Immigrants: A Film Analysis

There has been a strong focus on the topic of immigration in the United States as it has become a theme in policy debates for recent years. But the group of immigrants that seem to be overlooked in this topic of discussion are skilled immigrants who are becoming in large part, entrepreneurs especially in the Silicon Valley. I am interested in finding out how skilled immigrant entrepreneurs are favorable in numerous aspects such as economic growth, innovation, public policy and societal changes. I want to explore what challenges and opportunities these immigrants face and how their involvement within Silicon Valley provide a beneficial influence for growth. One primary source of my research will be the documentary film Starting-Up in America …show more content…
A short documentary titled “America’s Great Job Creators” by the Kaufmann foundation interviews successful U.S. company founders and entrepreneurs from Korea, Russia, India and other countries who express the impending benefits of increasing the amount of green cards, improving the chances of immigrant entrepreneurs to create companies and jobs in the United States. These same entrepreneurs express concern in the lack of visas being granted which are forcing high-skilled immigrants to return to their home countries. Through the testimonials by Vivek Wadhwa and Eldar Sadikov, founder of Qwhisper, in this documentary I am able to better understand how guidelines on immigration, conditional visas and requirements to enter the country can be detrimental for immigrant entrepreneurs and Silicon Valley’s competitiveness. The interviews done in this documentary help understand what type of influences immigrant entrepreneurs have on the economy and the differences across ethnic groups and their entrepreneurial success. Immigrant entrepreneurs are not a uniform group and therefore their experiences and contributions differ across ethnic and source country groups. As a result, these testimonials dig deeper into how the contributions of immigrant entrepreneurs rely on their opportunity to stay in the country. It is becoming evident that there are many …show more content…
Immigration has been a fundamental part of the United States’ overall success and the country’s economy. Over the years, immigrants influence the aspect of American life by shifting economic, political, and social policies due to their contributions socially, politically and economically. Through the American Studies program I have gained a deeper developed sense in what is now the United States, understanding "American culture". American studies considers politics, economy, business and sociology. The goal of my research in relevance to American Studies is to formulate substantial investigation, painting a vivid picture of how integral immigrant entrepreneurs are to “American culture.” In doing so, I hope to build a strong examination of America as part of an increasingly globalized world. I hope to critically analyze the intersections between American studies and the politics, policy, history, society and culture of immigration and