Yesterday morning in Nashville Tennessee, I participated in a panel discussion co-hosted by the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce and the Partnership for a New American Economy on the economic benefits of smart immigration policy. Nashville has become a magnet for entrepreneurs and innovation, and highly skilled immigrants play an important role in the area’s economic growth. The community and business leaders I heard from, said that we need to encourage the best and brightest foreign talent to work and remain in the United States.

As the Director of the agency that oversees our nation’s legal immigration system, I know, firsthand, the important role our immigration policy can have on our economy. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has worked hard to help realize the full potential of existing immigration laws. To do that, we need to leverage our immigration laws to make sure that the next generation of international entrepreneurs continues creating jobs right here in America.

Recently, USCIS announced a series of initiatives to encourage economic growth through our immigration policy. We are making important changes in the way we adjudicate cases in the EB-5 immigrant investor program, a program designed to create jobs in America. We launched the Entrepreneurs in Residence initiative to help ensure that our policies and processes reflect the realities of the businesses we serve by bringing industry expertise in-house. Just last week, we also began offering a new filing option for businesses filing for multiple L intracompany transferees to streamline and improve the adjudication process.

These initiatives, and our efforts to streamline our visa processes, are key components of a government-wide effort to encourage the best and brightest foreign talent to work and remain in the United States. We look forward to continuing to find opportunities to further our mission and do our part to advance American opportunity and prosperity