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IMMIGRATION

The PA Chamber supports federal immigration policies that serve as a catalyst to enhance U.S.-based companies’ international competitiveness and will help provide an adequate and predictable workforce. This includes expanding and improving administration of the programs that provide employer-sponsored green cards and temporary work visas, along with increasing the ability of highly qualified foreign students to attend American institutions of higher education and to remain in the United States following receipt of their degrees. The PA Chamber further supports efforts to improve and ensure the accuracy of the federal E-Verify system, which is intended to be a database through which employers can confirm the legal status of current or prospective employees, though not as a mandate on the business community.

Immigration policy plays a critical role in shaping Pennsylvania’s economy, especially as employers confront persistent workforce shortages while competing for talent in an increasingly interconnected and global marketplace. Improving the legal immigration system is a critical component to the PA Chamber’s workforce development agenda and we urge lawmakers to recognize how immigration policy and immigrants specifically contribute to American and Pennsylvania’s prosperity.

The PA Chamber supports federal immigration policies that serve as a catalyst to enhance U.S.-based companies’ international competitiveness and help provide the talented and predictable workforce employers need:

  • Expand and improve administration of programs that provide employer-sponsored green cards and temporary work visas made available annually for appropriately skilled workers; including allowing market conditions to help guide decisions related to caps and per-country allocations. According to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, only 85,000 H-1B visas will be granted in Fiscal Year 2026, despite American businesses seeking over 343,000 in FY2026. This antiquated cap is not conducive to economic growth.
  • Support the creation or modernization of visa programs that address year-round workforce needs in essential industries where no practical legal pathway currently exists, including construction, hospitality, retail, and other critical sectors of Pennsylvania’s economy.
  • Avoid excessive or punitive fee increases on employment-based visa programs, including H 1B visas, that raise costs on employers without improving program efficiency or integrity.
  • Expand opportunities for foreign nationals with advanced degrees and/or expertise in high demand industries and the STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics) fields to achieve legal work status.

 

Promote policies that strengthen the United States’ ability to recruit and retain top international students and provide reliable post-graduation work authorization pathways so employers can benefit from talent educated at American institutions.

 

  • Support consistency with and enforcement of federal immigration law and oppose immigration policies that call or allow for unduly punitive actions against employers, including state or local measures that conflict with or go beyond federal immigration policy.
  • Support improvements to the accuracy and administration of the federal E-Verify system and, if its use is mandated, ensure any requirement provides safe harbor protections for employers acting in good faith, applies only to new hires in a direct employer-employee relationship, includes preemption to prevent a patchwork of mandates, and allows for a reasonable implementation period.

 

Approved by the Board of Directors on April 24, 2026