New York State Department of Labor Labor Statistics

Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90)

The Immigration Act of 1990 (IMMACT 90), effective November 29, 1991, recognizes that the world's labor market is international. This act was necessary "to help American businesses hire highly skilled, specially trained personnel to fill increasingly sophisticated jobs for which domestic personnel cannot be found." (Federal Register Vol. 56 No. 230, Friday, Nov. 29, 1991)

Making employment-related immigration easier helps U.S. employers hire more experts in such fields as science, engineering, systems analysis, computer programming, and a variety of others.

IMMACT 90 contains a provision that sets aside visas for immigrants seeking to invest money in a new business in a "targeted employment area." A targeted employment area is an area which, at the time of investment, is a rural area or an area which has experienced unemployment of at least 150 percent of the average national rate.

Based on the 2010 annual average unemployment rate for the U.S. of 9.6 percent, the minimum unemployment rate needed to qualify as a "targeted employment area" is 14.4 percent.  For the rest of 2011 and until further notice, no published areas have an annual average rate that is high enough to qualify.

A "rural area" is defined as "any area other than an area within a metropolitan statistical area or within the outer boundary of any city or town having a population of 20,000 or more."

The Governor designated the Empire State Development Corporation as the lead/contact agency for requests or inquiries concerning visas in "targeted employment areas." Please refer inquiries to: