Debates on immigration policy often discuss calibrating immigration levels to meet the labor needs of the nation’s economy. Indeed, it is clear that immigration strongly affects U.S. labor markets – over the past thirty years, foreign-born workers have grown to record numbers.

This report explores the complex issues surrounding temporary worker programs by looking at the ways in which the United States has responded to domestic labor shortages from the 1940s through the present. It examines the intent and structure of both historical and existing temporary worker programs, and raises salient policy questions that result from the analysis.

This policy brief examines the United States’ complex employment-based immigration system, which admits foreign workers through five permanent immigration categories and dozens of nonimmigrant visa categories for temporary workers. It evaluates the strengths and weaknesses of the current demand-driven system and offers recommendations for improvement based on this analysis.