“These are families that are really barely able to make ends meet,” one policy expert said. “And yet they are working, and they are working a lot.”

Immigrant founders are central to America’s innovation edge—but sustaining it will require a clearer path for them to stay, build and navigate regulated industries with confidence.

Kurtz, 49, said his finances were “already tight” this year after he also had to pay more for fertilizer and chemicals.

“These changes helped to reduce delinquencies and defaults but also made it more difficult for many Americans to qualify for a mortgage.”

Tommy Lin, had purchased the five-bedroom, three-bathroom home last year for $835,000 after it sat vacant and neglected for years.

“Even if just the U.S. and China could agree on some shared standards and testing for development of this technology, I think that’d be a wonderful accomplishment that the two of them can deliver.”