In 2024, foreign-born workers made up 27.4% of the U.S. labor force, contributing across industries from high-tech and healthcare to construction and agriculture.
At the same time, more than 1.5 million international students on F-1, J-1, and OPT/CPT programs generated an estimated $46.2 billion in direct economic activity—supporting nearly 400,000 U.S. jobs in housing, education, services, and transportation.
Despite their enormous economic footprint, these sectors operate in a regulatory blind spot, lacking the clear classification and oversight that defines traditional industries like finance, logistics, or manufacturing.
Under the banner of On Shoring America, the Industry Framework Paper puts forward a bold but pragmatic solution: formally classifying foreign labor and international student enrollment as stand-alone U.S. industries under the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS).
This shift enables structured oversight, transparent reporting, and economically grounded taxation policies—without altering immigration status or restricting legal participation.
Two new NAICS codes have been proposed:
- NAICS 561399 – Foreign Labor Placement and Management Services
Captures the placement, management, and payroll handling of 16.7 million documented non-citizen workers—including H-1B, H-2A/B, EAD, OPT/CPT, green card holders, and offshore labor.
- NAICS 611319 – International Student Enrollment and Compliance Services
Recognizes the recruitment, admissions processing, SEVIS reporting, and visa compliance oversight for more than 1.5 million international students across U.S. universities.
By embedding these pipelines within formal NAICS classification, the U.S. can track the economic value, apply appropriate levies, ensure national security vetting, and incentivize reinvestment in American students and workers.
This approach sidesteps immigration politics and focuses on economic accountability—ensuring that foreign labor and enrollment systems serve U.S. interests in education, labor equity, and national security.
It also leverages existing infrastructure (SEVIS, IRS, E-Verify) to minimize new bureaucratic costs while maximizing transparency and efficiency.
Bottom line:
Foreign labor and international student enrollment aren’t just immigration issues—they are multi-billion-dollar industries. The time has come to recognize and regulate them as such.