President Bush's recent call for more visas for skilled foreign workers increases the likelihood that relief is on the way for U.S. technology firms that say they are struggling to fill key positions.
In a Feb. 2 speech at the Minnesota headquarters of 3M, the president said it was a "mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America." He called on Congress to be "realistic" and "reasonable" and expand the quota of H-1B visas, which are used to bring in skilled workers on a temporary basis.
Paul Zulkie, a Chicago immigration attorney, said the president's statement raised the pressure on Congress to respond to a "crisis faced by American businesses." He said he gets at least two calls a week from companies desperate for help in hiring prospective foreign employees.
Silicon Valley companies are among the most vocal advocates of H-1B reform. For decades, these companies attracted engineers, computer programmers and other professionals from around the globe. Now they say they are experiencing a reverse brain drain as skilled workers flock to the booming economies of China and India.
"Every employer still faces a shortage of certain talent," said Lynda Ward Pierce, head of human resources for SVB Financial Group, the parent company of Silicon Valley Bank. "I think people going from here to there exacerbates the problem."
Though the debate in this country about outsourcing work overseas has quieted down in the United States, it remains a sensitive political issue. In December, an effort to get an H-1B visa expansion provision attached to a budget bill was defeated in Congress.
"The business community is incredulous at the congressional intransigence in refusing to raise the cap," said Zulkie, the immediate past president of the American Immigration Lawyers Assn.
In response to high demand for H-1B visas at the start of the decade, Congress expanded the annual quota to 195,000 visas for three years, then cut it back to the current 65,000.
The allotment of H-1Bs for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1 was filled by August, and companies have to wait until April to apply for next year's slots. The U.S. agreed this year to give 20,000 additional visas to foreign graduates of U.S. master's and PhD programs, but those were filled last month.
If no changes are made, immigration experts expect next year's quota to be filled even faster, given the improving economy and tightening of the job market.
