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 Immigration policy is an issue that causes much debate in this country, particularly on the West Coast. It is a complex subject that has many component parts that tend to be lumped together. I’d like to focus upon one aspect of U.S. policy that needs to be looked at in isolation: H-1B visas. H1-B’s are temporary visas of up to 6 years in duration primarily used by U.S. corporations to hire skilled foreign nationals. Prior to 1990, Congress placed no limitations on the hiring of skilled foreign nationals. The Immigration Act of 1990 changed the rules entirely with the establishment of a new H-1B visa category and created an annual cap of 65,000. Recently the cap was raised to an additional 20,000 for foreign nationals who graduated from a U.S. university with an advanced degree.
Why is this an issue? Here are some interesting facts that shine a light on it:
- 1. 25% of U.S. venture–backed public companies have been started by immigrant entrepreneurs;
- 2. These companies represent over $500 billion in market capitalization and employ over 200,000 people;
- 3. The vast majority of these companies are in the leading-edge sectors of IT and life sciences;
- 4. According to an NVCA (National Venture Capital Association), survey nearly half (47%) of the founders of private technology-based businesses are foreign nationals.
Given these facts, why is the government trying to limit the ability of the world’s best and brightest to find employment in the U.S.? Imagine our technology economy without the likes of Intel, Sun Microsystems, eBay, Yahoo, Google and WebEx to name but a few. Many of the founders of these and other companies initially came to the U.S. to pursue an advanced technical degree at one of our many fine universities. Thanks goodness they were able to stay.
Today, because of the shortage of H-1B’s, many graduates with advanced degrees don’t have the option of staying in the U.S., and thus return home with their new technical degree to create value somewhere else. A classic (and local) example of how this shortage can affect our economy is Microsoft’s recent opening of a new technology center in Vancouver, BC. Canada’s more rational immigration policy allows Microsoft greater capability in hiring and retaining foreign nationals.
In this ever increasingly competitive and “flat” world, shouldn’t we be stapling a green card or an H-1B to the diploma of every single foreign-born Ph.D?
I think so!
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