The Hidden Economic Battle: How Immigration Policy Is Reshaping Global Competitiveness

A conversation with Hiba Mona Anver reveals why the world's most consequential economic strategy isn't about tariffs or interest rates, it's about who gets to work where.

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When Hiba Mona Anver, partner at Erickson Immigration Group, sat down for The Davos Interviews at this year's World Economic Forum, she didn't mince words about what's really at stake in global immigration debates.

"Innovation drives economic growth, but talent drives innovation," Anver said. "Companies that can hire the best and brightest from anywhere in the world gain a measurable advantage, more innovation, faster scaling, and stronger commercial outcomes that ultimately benefit national economies."

It's a statement that reframes immigration entirely, not as a social or cultural debate, but as the defining economic competition of our time.

What the Data Actually Shows

The interview surfaces a finding that should give pause to anyone still operating under the assumption that immigration is a zero-sum game: according to analysis of U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data by the National Foundation for American Policy, employment of U.S.-born workers in computer science and mathematical occupations increased by 141% between 2003 and 2024 even as H-1B visa numbers grew.

Read that again. The sectors most heavily populated by immigrant workers saw more jobs for native-born workers, not fewer.

This isn't an anomaly. Immigrant-founded companies in the U.S. alone Google, Tesla, Pfizer among them, have generated billions in revenue and created thousands of jobs. These aren't participants in the economy; they're architects of it.

The Real Story: A Global Talent Arms Race

Here's what Anver's insights reveal that most coverage misses: nations are now explicitly designing immigration policy as competitive economic strategy, and they're doing it in direct response to each other.

"After the U.S. implemented a new $100,000 H-1B visa fee, China introduced its K-Visa to attract global science and technology talent, while Canada announced a $1.7 billion investment to lure displaced skilled workers and expanded pathways for U.S. H-1B holders," Anver noted. "Companies pay attention to these changes."

This is a pivotal shift. Immigration policy has moved from reactive bureaucracy to proactive economic lever. Countries are now rolling out startup visas, digital nomad programs, STEM-focused pathways, and even visas designed specifically for job seekers, all competing for the same finite pool of high-skilled talent.

Reading Between the Lines

What Anver doesn't say explicitly but clearly implies: companies are already voting with their feet. When she mentions that employers "increasingly view talent pools as global opening offices in talent-friendly countries, enabling distributed teams, and competing internationally for specialized skills," she's describing a world where corporate headquarters follow talent, not the other way around.

The sectors feeling this most acutely AI, semiconductors, advanced manufacturing are precisely the ones governments have identified as essential to national security and economic leadership. The irony is stark: the same nations investing billions in domestic chip production or AI development may be undermining those efforts with restrictive talent policies.

The Generational Stakes

Perhaps the most sobering insight from the interview: "Immigration is not a short-term policy debate; it is an economic strategy with ripple effects across generations."

This is the dimension most policymakers operating on election cycles consistently underweight. The engineer denied a visa today doesn't just take their skills elsewhere; they build the company, file the patents, and train the next generation of workers in a competing nation.

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Key Takeaways

For business leaders: Geography is no longer a defensible talent strategy. If your workforce planning doesn't account for global talent mobility and competing national policies, you're operating with incomplete information.

For policymakers: Every immigration restriction is simultaneously an economic development subsidy to competing nations. China, Canada, and others are watching U.S. policy closely and responding in real time.

For workers and professionals: Talent mobility is power. The countries and companies competing for high-skilled workers are creating unprecedented opportunities for those who understand how to navigate shifting pathways.

The bottom line: As Anver frames it, the question facing leaders is whether they will "create the conditions for the future to be built at home or watch it take shape somewhere else."

In a global economy defined by AI, advanced manufacturing, and accelerating innovation, the answer to that question may determine which nations lead and which follow for generations to come.

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Hiba Mona Anver is a partner at Erickson Immigration Group, a global business immigration law firm that works with multinational companies on international talent strategy.