NEWS: High-Tech Immigration

April 6, 2008

April 1 is the first day each year that applications for H-1B visas can be submitted. This year, as in the recent past, the number of applications quickly exceeded the quota for the year. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates used the opportunity of his March 12 testimony before the House Science and Technology Committee to call for increasing the present cap on H-1B visas, to allow high-tech companies to meet their recruiting needs. On the other side, a recent article in Business Week argues that the H-1B system holds down American wages. Perhaps more importantly, in a subsequent article, the magazine points out that eight of the ten top recipients of H-1B visas in 2007 (companies own H-1Bs, not the employees) are either headquartered in India or have most of their operations there. This raises a concern that the H-1B program strengthens foreign competition. Some H-1B critics argue that the right answer is therefore to expand permanent immigration of high tech workers by making it easier for them to obtain Green Cards.