AUSTRALIAN IMMIGRATION NEWS

US Immigration Part of a Solution

Monday, 11 February 2008

If you are considering immigration to the US, your decision could have a positive impact on the future of the US economy, says Dowell Myers, a demographer at the University of Southern California, in a recent study.

Immigration applicants and their children will help meet the US's huge costs of boomer retirement, says Myers, who directs the Population Dynamics Research Group and is author of "Immigrants and Boomers: Forging a New Social Contract for the Future of America".

Because of the looming extraordinary economic and societal demands caused by retiring US baby boomers, serious discussions about immigration to the US are currently taking place.

In two years from now, a significant shift in what is called the "old age dependency ratio" will take place. This ratio is of economically dependent seniors to the productive segment of the population, and, according to Myers' calculations, the dependency in the United States will climb sharply from 246 elderly per 1,000 working age residents in 2010 to 318 in 2020, on up to 411 in 2030 - a 67% increase in 20 years.

This means that there will be fewer and fewer workers to cover the government's growing obligations concerning the elderly. If the US would like to finance programs such as Social Security and Medicare, Myers has stressed that they'll need every worker they can get. He estimates that one-fourth of the challenge can be met by immigrants.

The study has also highlighted the fact that workers will also need greater skills to earn more money and thus more efficiently offset the costs of caring for the elderly. Though many of these workers are highly skilled immigrants to the US, the majority of them will be the children of these immigrants, i.e. those coming of age in this country over the next 20 years.

The US housing market will also be greatly influenced by immigration, as baby boomers are selling their homes in their move out of the busy urban centres. There are already more home sellers than buyers in states such as Connecticut, North Dakota, Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Recent census figures have shown that between 2000 and 2006, immigrants have already represented 40% of the growth in homebuyers all over the US. It's predicted that this trend will grow and that the children of immigrants will contribute to this.

Immigrants exceeded by far the share of new US buyers in New Jersey, California and Illinois.

If you are interested in immigration to the US, find out for which visa you qualify by completing our free online visa eligibility assessment form. Its instant results could assist you in making a life-changing decision.