It’s an iPad and smartphone world. Yet we’re stuck with an immigration system formed in the age of black-and-white TVs.

Whereas the success of yesterday’s Fortune 500 companies – like U.S. Steel and Amoco – once depended on resources, today’s Fortune 500 companies – like Google and eBay – depend on access to talent. Even so, there’s been no substantive reform of our immigration laws for nearly 50 years. It’s now more difficult than ever for foreign-born workers to come, contribute, and thrive in the United States.

For the time being, America remains the destination of choice in the global economy. But talented individuals can now also find very attractive opportunities in other countries around the world. China for example offers generous stipends, access to incubators, and other incentives to lure home top scientists and engineers.

Meanwhile, we train many of the world's leading innovators in our universities – only to send them packing once they graduate. We’re sending them away to compete against us, even as we face a massive shortage of more than 230,000 advanced degree workers in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields.

It’s simple: The more skilled labor we have in America, the more innovation we have, the better our economy performs, and the more jobs we create for all Americans. Here are the facts:

Every 100 immigrants who earn advanced degrees in the U.S. and then stay to work in STEM fields create 262 jobs for American workers.

More than 40 percent of Fortune 500 companies were founded by an immigrant or the child of an immigrant.

More than three-fourths of all patents at the top 10 U.S. patent-producing universities (including Caltech, MIT, and Stanford) in 2011 had at least one foreign-born inventor.

#### John Feinblatt ##### About John Feinblatt is chief policy adviser to New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He is also the chairman of the [Partnership for a New American Economy](http://www.renewoureconomy.org/), a bipartisan coalition of mayors and CEOs from across the country. Besides Michael Bloomberg, co-chairs include: News Corporation Chairman and CEO Rupert Murdoch; Microsoft Corporation CEO Steven Ballmer; and Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa.

But unfortunately Washington has treated immigration as a political football rather than a serious policy issue requiring reasoned debate. While Congress has spent years punting on smart immigration reforms – like a visa for enterprising people who want to come here and start new businesses – our global competitors have already enacted such measures.

Just last month, Canada announced a new startup visa to entice entrepreneurs with permanent-resident status and a path to citizenship. Why? To help it “remain competitive in the global economy,” according to Canada's minister of citizenship and immigration. Countries like Australia, Chile, Singapore, and the United Kingdom are also giving out visas and rolling out the red carpet for entrepreneurs.

And yet we continue to turn talented immigrants away. All of this amounts to what New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg calls "national suicide" – and it's no longer sustainable if we wish to remain an economic superpower.

We must create an immigration system that fits the needs of a 21st century economy. We must attract and retain the world’s brightest minds and hardest workers. But before we can do that, we need Congress to act.

Today, the Partnership for a New American Economy – a bipartisan coalition of more than 500 business leaders and mayors from all 50 states – is launching the largest ever virtual march on Washington. The March for Innovation aims to engage hundreds of thousands of people who will use Twitter, Facebook, and other online platforms to let their elected officials know that true immigration reform must include measures that attract the world’s top innovators and entrepreneurs.

So far, much of the immigration discussion in Washington has centered on shoring up border security and offering a path to citizenship for those who are here illegally. Both are important goals, but they are not enough. We must look ahead to the future by creating an immigration system that will help spur economic growth and keep us competitive.

Immigrants should be driving innovation in this country; instead, our antiquated laws are driving them away. It's time to use modern-day tools to achieve a modern-day immigration solution. The march is on.

Wired Opinion Editor: Sonal Chokshi @smc90