ayor Bloomberg is not the only advocate of more effective immigration policies toprovoke the country’s leaders to take action.

The debate over immigrant worker systems hasbecome heated, but many questions remain unan-swered. For example, the H -1B visa classification

system that allows highly skilled degreedworkers into the United States is a process

begging for reform.Many argue that the legislative

cap of 65,000 H -1B visas is reachedtoo quickly. In 2008, the cap was

reached by April 8, just seven days afterfiling applications began. Applications

for advanced degree exemptions, cappedat 20,000, were also filled by that date.

W ith more than 160,000 H -1B appli-cations submitted, and the program

disintegrating into whatamounts to an annual lottery, concern and irrita-tion with the program

is growing. Proponents of the system

argue that increasing the H -1Bquota would be in the vitalinterest of American principlesand values. Creating jobs

and keeping them here is a keyobjective in maintaining national

economic competitiveness on aglobal scale. The scientific,

engineering and technology communities must maintain a posi-tion of global leadership rather than abandoning the opportunityto grow and conceding the best and the brightest talent, regardlessof national origin, to other nations.

Google, eBay, Yahoo, and Sun M icrosystems, familiar powersin the IT industry, have paved the way for the United States inglobal advancement—all were founded by immigrants. Manyimmigrant workers with H -1B status have contributed greatly tothe development, design and implementation of many servicesthat enhance the daily lives of Americans.

On the Other HandOn the other side of the controversy, the H -1B visa program

has been widely criticized for pushing more mature, experienced,and higher US wage earners out the door to be replaced by cheap-er foreign workers.

Senators D ick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa)are working to revise the system to ensure that the H -1B programis not abused in this manner. They fear the program couldbecome a job killer, and worry that loopholes and abuse of thecurrent H -1B and L-1 visa programs may well be at the expenseof qualified US workers.

In a published interview, Sen. Grassley said that the bottomline is that “there are highly skilled American workers being leftbehind, searching for jobs that are being filled by H -1B visa holders. It is time to enact real reform.”

Other IssuesIt is not only the issue of H -1B visas that has caused a rift in

preserving global competitiveness. Many individuals want to leavetheir native lands for more developed and democratic countriessuch as the United States. Many come from countries, ravaged by

By Nicholas Cifuentes, CTO , Marketing Consultant

Competing Globally for Talent

The Legal Side of Immigration

…immigrants have always been, and always will be, one of our greatest economic and cultural assets.—M ichael Bloomberg, New York C ity Mayor, at 2008 University of Pennsylvania commencement exercises.

M

FACTS & FINDINGS38 AUGUST 2008

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war or civil disorder, lack of human rights,and political instability.

According to the 2007-2008 GlobalCompetitiveness Report, published by theWorld Economic Forum in May, theUnited States leads industrialized countriesin receiving new immigrants, refugees andasylum seekers every year. The cost of thisgenerosity amounts to billions of dollars tothe US economy.

The Organization for InternationalM igration, reports that more than 1.6 million people immigrate to the UnitedStates and Canada each year, with mostcoming from developing countries. W iththis influx of immigrants, many individu-als and groups assume discriminatory attitudes which negatively impact economic development.

W ith global capital on the rise, somenations (such as those in the M iddle East)can afford the capital expense and laborinvolved with new immigrants. Therefore,many immigrants in those nations arereconsidering former plans to move to US shores.

Proposed FixesSome in the immigrant worker debate

wish to overhaul the system entirely,specifically the H -1B specialty worker visaprogram. The current consensus in thisquarter is to eliminate the system entirelyand replace it with one similar to that ofthe U K , Canada and Australia.

A new system such as this would provide a more quality-selective systemallowing employers to obtain visas for professionals with specialized skills withoutquota limitations. Many people do notrealize that companies send operations offshore not only because of labor costs,but also because of a lack of qualified personnel in the United States.

Some in the debate, such as NormanMatloff, a computer science professor atthe University of California, Davis,believes the H -1B visa cap destroys national competitiveness. He claims thatthe H -1B visa program is used to avoidhiring older, but more expensive, US

workers, many of whom are first-rate talent. He stated in the November 2004issue of Communications of the ACM , that this has put a damper on the USeconomy by dumbing down the workforcewith less demand for highly educated and skilled workers.

A number of studies cited by Matloffhave found that H-1B visa holders are paidan average of 15–33 percent less than com-parable US information technology workers.

Green CardsAnother immigration system holding

back America’s global competitiveness isthe Employment-Based (EB) Green Cardprocess. Each year, 140,000 EB greencards, spread across five preference categories based on education, skills andtalent are allotted for foreign nationalsseeking permanent US residence and sponsored by employers. The spouses andchildren also count against the 140,000green card cap, which accounts for half the allotted number.

However, backlogs have resulted forindividuals from high-demand countries,even when the quota has not beenreached. This is because green cards areevenly distributed among all countrieswith a quota set for each. Once the quotais met, only those who applied before the

cut-off date are able to get green cards.Problems with the EB Green Card

program must be addressed so employerscan hire the talent necessary for theAmerican economy to remain competitive.W ith the aging of the Baby Boomers, theUnited States faces a massive shortage ofregistered nurses and physical therapists.Add to this the fact that half of all science,technology, engineering, and mathematicsgraduates of American universities are for-eign born. It is counter-productive, then,to tolerate the departure of highly skilledUS-educated foreign students, particularlyin an economic downturn.

W ith the administrative delays andmandatory statutory limits surrounding theEB green card system, Americans need toseriously take notice that if we wish tomaintain a vibrant and prosperous econo-my, the EB program urgently needs reform.

Legislative ProposalsA number of Senate bills have been

proposed to recapture unused green cardsfrom prior years, exempt spouses and chil-dren from the EB quotas, and exemptgraduates of US institutions in the fieldsof science, technology, engineering andmath (STEM occupations). For example:

The SKIL Bill (HR 1930/S 1083)—would raise the cap to 290,000 green cards

continued on page 40

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AUGUST 2008 FACTS & FINDINGS 39

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AUGUST 2008FACTS & FINDINGS40

a year and allow unused green cards to fallforward annually while recapturing unusedcards from prior fiscal years. It wouldexempt the EB cap professionals who haveearned at least a US Master’s Degree, andthose awarded a medical specialty certifica-tion based on post-doctoral training andexperience. Spouses and minor childrenwould also be exempted.

The STRIVE Act of 2007 (HR1645)—proposed the most complete sys-tem, increasing the EB green card limit to290,000 per fiscal year, exempting spousesand children, allowing unused green cardsfrom previous years to be recaptured andmaking slight increases to the per-countrylimits for employment-based green cards.

W ith approximately 192 million people living outside their countries of

origin, migration has become a definingglobal issue in the 21st Century. Economic globalization will continue to exert pressure on multinational corporations to secure the employmentand free movement of labor, especiallyskilled workers.

If we are to resolve the serious prob-lems associated with immigrant workers in a meaningful and timely manner, it isimperative that Congress examine theproblems concerning legal as well as illegal immigration. These issues should be dealt with as separate matters, andimmediate, comprehensive legislativereform implemented to reform our totalimmigration system.

Nicholas Cifuentes, a resident of Boston,MA,is Chief Technology Officer and MarketingConsultant for Immigration Solutions, a global immigration consultancy firm withheadquarters in Long Beach, CA. As head of his own Web media organization, he isproduct manager, online director, copywriter,design and development consultant, and marketing specialist for a number of high-profile clients. His MA Degree in MultimediaJournalism and Online Marketing is fromEmerson College, Boston.

Nicholas.cifuentes@gmail.comwww.immigration solution.net

continued from page 39Competing Globally for Talent

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