Michigan Immigrant Guide: Jobs, Universities, Licenses and Help

Most of Michigan's immigrants live in metro Detroit. India is the largest country of origin, followed by Mexico, Iraq, Canada, China, and Lebanon. Dearborn has one of the largest Arab American communities in the US, with many Lebanese, Iraqi, and Yemeni families, and Hamtramck has large Yemeni and Bangladeshi communities. Chaldean Iraqi Christians are concentrated in Sterling Heights and other northern suburbs, Indian professionals live in Troy, Novi, and Canton, and southwest Detroit has a long-established Mexican community. West Michigan has growing Latin American and refugee communities.

Main areas:

• Metro Detroit (Detroit, Dearborn, Hamtramck, Troy, Sterling Heights)
• Ann Arbor, home of the University of Michigan
• Grand Rapids and West Michigan
• Lansing and Kalamazoo

If you are still choosing a route to the US, start with how US immigration works and the USA overview.

• Automotive: General Motors, Ford, Stellantis, and hundreds of suppliers run engineering and technical centers in metro Detroit. They hire mechanical, electrical, and software engineers, and many use the H-1B.
• Health care: Henry Ford Health, Corewell Health, Michigan Medicine, and others hire foreign-trained nurses and doctors.
• Universities: the University of Michigan, Michigan State, and Wayne State hire researchers and faculty.
• Agriculture: cherries, apples, blueberries, and asparagus farms use H-2A seasonal workers.
• Manufacturing and IT: furniture, medical devices, and IT consulting firms across the state.

Many Canadians commute across the border from Windsor and Sarnia on TN status.

Common visa routes: the H-1B for degree-level jobs (universities and nonprofit research employers are exempt from the lottery), the TN for Canadians and Mexicans, the H-2A and H-2B for seasonal work, and EB-3 or EB-2 green cards through PERM labor certification. The $100,000 payment on some new H-1B petitions is not being collected while a court order is in place, but the legal fight continues (current status). More options: working in the USA.

• University of Michigan (Ann Arbor)
• Michigan State University (East Lansing)
• Wayne State University (Detroit)
• Michigan Technological University (Houghton)
• Western Michigan University (Kalamazoo) and Grand Valley State University (Allendale)

Michigan's large public universities enroll many international students in engineering and computer science.

You need admission to a school certified by the Student and Exchange Visitor Program (SEVP) and an F-1 visa (check a school on Study in the States). After graduation, many F-1 students work on OPT or STEM OPT. A rule to replace "duration of status" with fixed admission periods was blocked by a federal court on September 14, 2026, so duration of status continues for now (latest update). See studying in the USA.

In Michigan, driver's licenses and state ID cards are issued by the Michigan Secretary of State (official site). In Michigan, licenses come from Secretary of State offices, not a DMV. Many visits require an appointment.

Since May 7, 2025, you need a REAL ID-compliant card (marked with a star), a passport, a green card, or another accepted ID to board domestic flights (TSA REAL ID page). Bring:

• Passport with your US visa, or your green card
• I-94 record and status papers (EAD, I-20, DS-2019, or I-797 approval notice)
• Social Security number, or proof you are not eligible (SSN and ITIN guide)
• Two proofs of your Michigan address

On a temporary visa, your card usually expires when your authorized stay ends, and a status check in the federal SAVE system can add days or weeks. Visitors can usually drive for a limited time on a valid home license (an International Driving Permit helps as a translation). After you move, plan to get your Michigan license: expect vision and knowledge tests and often a road test. Ask the Secretary of State office whether any agreement with your country waives tests.

Licenses are issued by each state, so a foreign license does not let you practice in Michigan by itself. Most boards want a credential evaluation, proof of English, and US exams.

Nurses

Registered nurses are licensed by the Michigan Board of Nursing (through the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs, LARA). Foreign-educated nurses usually need a credential review (often by CGFNS International), the NCLEX-RN exam, and sometimes an English test. For a work visa or green card you also need a VisaScreen certificate or approved equivalent. Many hospitals sponsor nurses for an EB-3 green card (employer guide).

Doctors

Physicians are licensed by the Michigan Board of Medicine (through LARA). The usual route is ECFMG certification, the USMLE exams, and US residency training.

Alternative pathway: not as of September 2026. Michigan is not on the 2026 list of states that have enacted an alternative licensing pathway for internationally trained physicians. A bill to create temporary and limited licenses for internationally trained doctors was still pending as of the June 2026 national tracker. For now, international graduates generally need US residency training.

Conrad 30 waivers (lapsed): doctors who trained in the US on a J-1 visa usually must spend two years in their home country unless they get a waiver. Under Conrad 30, each state could recommend up to 30 waivers a year for doctors who agreed to work full time for three years in an underserved area. The program has lapsed: USCIS says doctors admitted in or acquiring J-1 status on or after October 1, 2025, cannot get a Conrad 30 waiver unless Congress reauthorizes it, and reauthorization is pending. In Michigan, the state program has been run by the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS). Check with the state health department and the USCIS Conrad 30 page for the current status.

Teachers

The Michigan Department of Education certifies teachers, and most certificates require the Michigan Test for Teacher Certification (MTTC). Expect a credential evaluation, tests, and a background check. Some schools hire teachers from abroad on the J-1 teacher program or the H-1B.

Engineers

Many engineers work under a licensed Professional Engineer (PE). To sign plans for public work, you need a PE license from the Michigan Board of Professional Engineers (through LARA), which uses the NCEES exams (FE and PE) and may ask for an evaluation of your foreign degree.

The state Medicaid program is Michigan Medicaid (low-income adults are covered through the Healthy Michigan Plan), and children's coverage is also covered through Michigan Medicaid. Michigan has expanded Medicaid, so low-income adults can qualify, not only children, pregnant people, older adults, and people with disabilities (immigrant rules below still apply). Apply through MI Bridges. Private plans are sold on HealthCare.gov.

Federal rules (as of September 2026):

• Green card holders usually wait 5 years before federal Medicaid or CHIP (the Children's Health Insurance Program) covers them. Former refugees and some others are exempt.
• From October 1, 2026, a 2025 federal law (H.R. 1) limits federal Medicaid and CHIP to green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and COFA migrants (citizens of Micronesia, the Marshall Islands, and Palau). Refugees, asylees, and other lawfully present people without a green card lose federal eligibility. States can still cover lawfully residing children and pregnant people if they chose that option.
• Marketplace plans: most lawfully present immigrants, including visa holders, can buy one. Since January 1, 2026, those with income below the poverty line get no premium tax credits, and from January 1, 2027, credits are limited to green card holders, Cuban and Haitian entrants, and COFA migrants.
• Students: universities usually require international students to buy the school plan, and J-1 visitors must carry insurance that meets State Department rules.

Benefits can matter in immigration cases, and a new public charge rule took effect on September 18, 2026. Read our public charge guide and what changed before you apply.

Michigan's Office of Global Michigan (OGM) is the state office for immigrants and refugees. It runs the state's refugee programs and offers programs that help skilled immigrants return to their professions.

National resettlement agencies have local offices in metro Detroit, Grand Rapids, and Lansing. The US refugee ceiling for fiscal year 2026 is 17,500 (7,500 set in 2025 plus 10,000 added in May 2026, all for Afrikaners) (details), so few new refugees arrive, but agencies still help refugees and asylees already here with jobs, English classes, and case management (humanitarian options).

Free legal help: only licensed attorneys and accredited representatives at recognized nonprofits can give immigration legal advice. The Justice Department's Executive Office for Immigration Review (EOIR) publishes a roster of recognized organizations and accredited representatives, with a list by state, and a list of pro bono providers. Avoid notarios (how to spot notario fraud, how to check a lawyer). If you have a criminal record, a past refusal, an overstay, or a pending asylum case, talk to a licensed immigration lawyer before you file anything.

USCIS has a field office in Detroit that serves Michigan. Residents of the Upper Peninsula and northern Michigan may face a long trip, so plan ahead.

Field offices hold interviews for adjustment of status and naturalization; fingerprints are taken at Application Support Centers. A May 2026 USCIS policy memo says people in temporary (nonimmigrant) status should get green cards through adjustment of status only in "extraordinary circumstances," so talk to a lawyer before you file. There are no walk-ins, and offices are assigned by ZIP code (USCIS field office locator). Nationals of travel-ban countries should expect delays, because USCIS is holding many of their pending cases (travel ban status).

Michigan's living costs are below the national average. Ann Arbor and some Detroit suburbs cost more, but much of the state is affordable. Winters are cold.

• State income tax: yes, at a flat rate.
• City income taxes: Detroit and several other cities charge their own income tax on residents and on people who work there.
• Sales tax: a single statewide rate.
• Property tax: moderate to high, with a lower rate for your primary residence.

Everyone with US income files a federal return. Many F-1 and J-1 students count as nonresident aliens for tax purposes in their first years, which changes the forms they use (SSN and ITIN guide).