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Iigraion for InnoaionHow to Attract the Worlds Best Talent While Ensuring America
Remains the Land o Opportunity or All
Marshall Fitz January 2012
www.americanprogress.o
The ith report in a series on U.S. science and economic competitiveness rom the
Doing What Works and Science Progress projects at the Center or American Progress
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About this series on U.S. scienceand economic competitiveness
Te U.S. Congress in lae 2010 asked he Deparmen o Commerce o complee wo sudies as paro he reauhorizaion o he America COMPEES Ac. Te rs, which was released on January 6h,
2012, a he Cener or American Progress, ocuses on U.S. compeiiveness and innovaion. Te sec-
ond, due o Congress in early 2013, oers specic recommendaions or developing a 10-year naional
innovaion and compeiiveness sraegy.
We applaud he commissioning o hese repors bu believe we canno aord o wai ha long o ake
acion. Tas why we convened in he spring o 2011 he group o expers lised on he ollowing page.
We spen wo days in wide-ranging discussion abou he compeiive srenghs and weaknesses o our
naions scienic endeavors and our economy, beore setling upon he opics ha consiue he series
o repors we publish here. Each paper in he series looks a a dieren pillar supporing U.S. scienceand economic compeiiveness in a globally compeiive economy:
Rewiring he Federal Governmen or
Compeiiveness Economic Inelligence Universiies in Innovaion Neworks
Manuacurers in Innovaion Neworks Building a echnically Skilled Workorce Immigraion or Innovaion
Te end resul, we believe, is a se o recommendaions ha he Obama adminisraion and Congress
can adop o help he Unied Saes reain is economic and innovaion leadership and ensure ha all
Americans have he opporuniy o prosper and ourish now and well ino he 21s cenury.
Many o our recommendaions are sure o spark deep resisance in Washingon, no leas our proposal
o reorm a number o ederal agencies so ha our governmen works more eecively and ecienly in
he service o greaer U.S. economic compeiveness and innovaion. Tis and oher proposals are sure
o mee resisance on Capiol Hill, where dieren congressional commitees hold sway over dier-
en ederal agencies and heir policy mandaes. Tas why we open each o our repors wih his one
overarching recommendaion: Congress and Presiden Obama should appoin a special commission o
recommend reorms ha are packaged ogeher or a single up-or-down voe in Congress. In his way,
horough-going reorm is assured.
Tis new commission may no adop some o he proposals pu orh in his series on science and
economic compeiiveness. Bu we look orward o sharing our vision wih policymakers as well as he
American people. Presiden Obama ges i righ when he says, o win he uure, we will have o ou-
innovae, ou-educae, and ou-build our compeior naions. We need o sar now.
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Coordinating editors for the series on U.S. science and economic competitiveness
Ed Paisley, Vice Presiden, Ediorial, American Progress
Gadi Dechter, Associae Direcor, Governmen Reorm, Doing Wha Works
Sean Pool, Assisan Edior, Science Progress
American Progress taskforce on U.S. science and economic competitiveness
John Alic, science, echnology, and economic policy
consulan and ormer sa member o he Congressional
Oce o echnology.
Joseph Bartlett, o counsel in Sullivan & Worcesers
corporae deparmen and ormer undersecreary o
commerce a he U.S. Deparmen o Commerce.
Maryann Feldman, S.K. Heninger disinguished chair in
public policy a he Universiy o Norh Carolina, Chapel Hill.
Kate Gordon, VP or Energy Policy a he Cener or
American Progress.
Michael Gurau, presiden, Clear Innovaion Parners, a
venure capial invesmen rm.
David Hart, direcor o he Cener or Science and
echnology Policy a George Mason Universiy School
o Public Policy.
Christopher Hill, proessor o public policy and echnol-
ogy a George Mason Universiy School o Public Policy
and ormer vice provos or research a George Mason.
Neal Lane, senior ellow or science and echnologypolicy a Rice Universiy and ormer advisor o he
presiden on science and echnology policy.
Rachel Levinson, direcor o Naional Research Iniiaives
a Arizona Sae Universiy and ormer assisan direcor
or lie sciences a he Whie House Oce o Science and
echnology Policy.
Jonathan Moreno, Edior-In-Chie o Science Progre
and Senior Fellow a he Cener or American Progre
Arti Rai, Elvin R . Laty Proessor o Law a Duke
Universiy and ormer Adminisraor or Exernal
Aairs, USPO.
Andrew Reamer, research proessor a he George
Washingon Universiy Insiue o Public Policy and
non-residen senior ellow a he Brookings Insiuio
RoseAnn B. Rosenthal, presiden and CEO, Ben
Franklin echnology Parners o Souheasern
Pennsylvania.
Jonathan Sallet, parner in he law rm o OMelven
& Myers LLP, Science Progress advisor, and ormer
direcor o he Oce o Policy and Sraegic Plannin
o he U.S. Deparmen o Commerce.
Daniel Sarewiz, direcor o he Consorium or
Science, Policy, and Oucomes a Arizona Sae
Universiy.
James Turner, Senior Counsel or Innovaion &
echnology, and Direcor o Energy programs a heAssociaion o Public and Land-Gran Universiies
and ormer proessional sa and chie counsel or h
House Commitee on Science and echnology.
William A. Wulf, proessor o compuer science a he
Universiy o Virginia and ormer presiden o he
Naional Academy o Engineering.
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Iigraion for InnoaionHow to Attract the Worlds Best Talent While Ensuring
America Remains the Land o Opportunity or All
Marshall Fitz January 2012
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Contents 1 Inroucion an suary
5 Bacgroun
9 Coeing globally in he 21s cenury
10 Problem: Fraud and gaming the system
12 Problem: Labor mobility restrictions
16 Problem: H-1B visa caps
19 Problem: Employment-based green card backlogs
21 Problem: Limited immigration channels for foreign job creators with new id
23 Problem: Workarounds
28 Conclusion
29 Abou he auhor an acnolegeens
30 Ennoes
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2 cee ae pe | i iv
Bu reorms o our high-skilled immigraion sysem are no only imporan o
enhance he coherence and inegriy o our immigraion policies, hey are also an
imporan componen o any naional sraegy o oser innovaion and compei-
iveness.1 Science, echnology, and innovaion have beenand will coninue o
bekeys o U.S. economic growh. Te Unied Saes mus remain on he cuting
edge o echnological innovaion i we are o coninue driving he mos dynamiceconomic engine in he world,2 and U.S. companies mus be able o recrui iner-
naional alen o eecively compee in he inernaional innovaion arena.
o be cerain, liberalizing our high-skill immigraion policies should no be a sub-
siue or invesing in our homegrown workorce. Educaing and raining a 21s
cenury U.S. workorce is a paramoun naional prioriy and he cornersone o
progressive growh. Improving access o op-igh educaion or everyone in his
counry will be he oundaion or our coninued global leadership and prosper-
iy.3 Bu while our universiy sysem atracs he bes and brighes minds rom
around he world, immigran sudens are aced wih a ough choice upon gradua-iongo home or nd an employer o sponsor heir enry ino wha amouns o a
lotery ha migh allow hem o say and work. W hile we subsidize he educaion
and raining o hese oreign-born sudens, our immigraion sysem prevens us
rom capializing on heir collecive genius.
We mus coninue o inves in educaion here a home, bu i is shorsighed in a glo-
balized economy o expec ha we can ll all o our labor needs wih a homegrown
workorce alone. In ac, our curren educaional demographics poin o growing
shoralls in some o he skills needed in odays economy.4 And as global economic
inegraion deepens, he source poins or skill ses will spreadsuch as green
engineering in Holland or nanoechnology in Israelhe breadh o skills needed o
drive innovaion will expand, and global labor pools mus become more mobile.
Reorming our high-skilled immigraion sysem will simulae innovaion,
enhance compeiiveness, and help culivae a ex ible, highly-skilled U.S. work-
orce while proecing U.S. workers rom globalizaions desabilizing eecs.
Our economy has beneed enormously rom being able o ap he inernaional
pool o human capial.5
Even in odays sressed economic climae and agging job marke here is a need o
access ha capial. Tis is a counerinuiive asserion agains he backdrop o he
ongoing jobs crisis aicing he counry. Bu i bears remembering ha we have
dual unemploymen raes in he Unied Saes: For people wih a college degree or
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3 cee ae pe | i iv
higher, he unemploymen rae is under 4.5 percen, and in he inormaion echnol-
ogy proessions, i is approximaely 4 percen.6 Tis is no o downplay he severe
hardships acing unemployed Americans wih college degrees. Te naions op
prioriy or he oreseeable uure mus be creaing jobs a all skill levels.
Bu aciliaing access o inernaional alen and puting Americans back o workare no muually exclusive goals. Te purpose o harnessing ha alen is o uel
economic growh in indusries ha will creae jobs. For example, a 2010 sudy
by he Universiy o Washingons Economic Policy Research Cener ound ha
every job a Microsof suppored 5.81 jobs elsewhere in he saes economy.7
Arbirary limiaions on our abiliy o access skill ses rom across he globe are
clearly sel-deeaing. Companies will lose ou o heir compeiors making hem
less proable, less producive, and less able o grow; or hey will move heir
operaions abroad wih all he atendan negaive economic consequences. And
he ederal reasury loses ens o billions o dollars in ax revenues by resricinghe opporuniies or high-skilled oreign workers o remain in he Unied Saes
and conribue o he naional economy.8
Georgia Insiue o echnologys Sephen Fleming, execuive direcor o he
universiys Enerprise Innovaion Insiue, has demonsraed ha access o high-
skilled oreign workers and budding enrepreneurs is a criical prioriy or many
as-growing and innovaive businesses, as well as or our economic compeiive-
ness and growh.9 Bu aciliaing such access riggers equally criical ip-side
consideraions, in paricular he poenial or employers o direcly or indirecly
leverage oreign workers ineress agains he naive workorce.
Curren enorcemen mechanisms are oo weak o adequaely preven raud and
gaming o he sysem.10 And curren regulaions ie oreign workers oo ighly o
a single employer, which empowers employers wih disproporionae conrol over
one class o workers. Ta conrol enables unscrupulous employers o deliberaely
pi one group o workers agains anoher o depress wage growh.11 Even when
here is no malicious employer inen or worker misreamen, he resricion o
labor mobiliy inherenly aecs he labor marke by prevening workers rom
pursuing income maximizing opporuniies.
Te end goal mus be a sysem ha inherenly preerences he hiring o U.S. work-
ers, bu sreamlines access o oreign workers wih needed skills, welcomes enre-
preneurs who can garner nancial backing, and reas all workers employed in he
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4 cee ae pe | i iv
Unied Saes on a level plane. Reorms ha enhance legal immigraion channels
or high-skilled immigrans and enrepreneurs mus be complemened wih
reorms o ensure ha a workers immigraion saus canno be used o manipulae
wages and working condiions.
Tis paper digs deeper ino he srucural deciencies and enorcemen shorcom-ings in our high-skilled immigraion sysem and oers a number o legislaive
soluions designed o:
arge employer raud and abuse o immigran laborers. Enhance worker mobiliy or immigrans. Esablish marke-based mechanism o se H-1B levels or high-skilled immigrans. Raise green card caps and sreamline process or all immigrans. Promoe enrepreneurship wih new visa program. Srenghen recruimen requiremens or companies. Resric job shops ha impor emporary immigran rainees and hen expor
American jobs.
Te recommendaions deailed in his repor will enhance labor marke mobil-
iy and promoe economic growh while advancing workorce sabiliy hrough
enorceable labor sandards and proecions.
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5 cee ae pe | i iv
Background
Te Unied Saes is he home o many o he worlds nes colleges and universi-
ies, and atracs a signican number o oreign naionals who come on emporary
visas o pursue Bachelors and advanced degrees. In some academic elds like
compuer and inormaion sysems, oreign sudens receive he bulk o advanced
degrees issued rom U.S. universiies.12
Foreignborn U.S. ciien Nobel Laureaes
Nae Year Fiel Counry of origin
Charles Kao 2009 Physics China
Venkatraman Ramakrish-
nan2009 Chemistry India
Elizabeth Blackburn 2009 Physiology or Medicine Australia
Jack Szostak 2009 Physiology or Medicine United Kingdom
Yoichiro Nambu 2008 Physics Japan
Mario Capecchi 2007 Physiology or Medicine Italy
Oliver Smithies 2007 Physiology or Medicine United Kingdom
Anthony Leggett 2003 Physics United Kingdom
Riccardo Giacconi 2002 Physics Italy
Herbert Kroemer 2000 Physics Germany
Eric Kandel 2000 Physiology or Medicine Austria
Ahmed Zewail 1999 Chemistry Egypt
Gunter Blobel 1999 Physiology or Medicine Germany
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6 cee ae pe | i iv
Our immigration system is a Byzantine patchwork o dierent visas
designed to address specic needs or interests. Broadly speaking,
our system is divided into temporary and permanent immigration
categories. We have 70-plus dierent temporary visa categories and a
couple dozen permanent resident categories.13 Excluding temporary
visas issued or people traveling to the United States on business trips
and vacations, the Department o State issued around 1.8 million
nonimmigrant visas in 2010.14 And around 1.0 million oreign nation-
als obtained permanent resident statuscolloquially reerred to as
green card statusin that year.15
The various types o employment visa categories makes any generic
denition o high-skilled immigration inexact. For purposes o this
report, high-skilled immigration encompasses programs authorizing
individuals to work in the United States based on qualications that
include at least a bachelors degree or equivalent experience. Only214,672 o the 6.4 million nonimmigrant visas issued in 2010 were
issued to high-skilled proessionals.16 That number includes individu-
als who had already been admitted and were obtaining a new travel
visa, as well as individuals who never entered. Only around 70,000
o the permanent employment-based visas issued in 2010 went to
sponsored workers. In addition, 10,000 are set aside or low-skilled
workers so the total number o high-skilled immigrants that were
granted permanent residence in 2010 was around 60,000.17
An employer typically sponsors a worker or temporary employment
in one o the many categories. Several o the most common examples
or high-skilled workers include
H-1B visas used to hire proessionals
L-1 visas or intracompany transerees
O-1 visas or individuals with extraordinary ability
J-1 visas or doctors, scholars, trainees, and researchers.18
Each category serves discreet interests, imposes separate requi
ments, and creates unique obligations and limitations on the v
holder (the worker) and the sponsor (the employer). Some o th
categoriessuch as H-1B and L-1authorize the employer to
the process o sponsoring the visa holder or permanent reside
When an employer sponsors their oreign national employee o
permanent residence, this normally involves rst testing the U.
labor market to assess whether there are qualied U.S. workers
perorm the position in question. The employer cannot proceed
the green card process or a oreign national worker i they can
a qualied U.S. worker. It is not a requirement to rst test the la
market in a limited number o cases, such as transers o high-le
managerial personnel rom operations abroad.
The employment-based green card process is subject to strict ncal limits that lead to lengthy, multi-year backlogs or applicant
annual numeric caps limit the overall number o employment-
green cards as well as the number o green cards that can go to
employees in certain types o jobs, with certain types o backgr
and rom any one country.
Our current system requires Congress to create new channels e
time a new need emerges, or restrict old channels i abuse is pe
ceived. Congress, o course, is less than nimble, and it is no easy
to legislate new visa categories into or out o existence. The con
quence is an immigration system that responds glacially to cha
national interest and economic needs.
This piecemeal mishmash o visa categories lacks a uniying vis
Multiplicity, rather than exibility, is the hallmark o our system
Uncoordinated multiplicity leads to silos, which leads to rigidity
incoherence. Think tax code and you start to appreciate the im
gration systems complexity.
Highsille iigraion basics
Many o hese oreign sudens reurn abroad ollowing compleion o heir sudies,
bu ohers wan o remain in he Unied Saes and seek a work-auhorized visa ol-
lowing graduaion. Indeed, hese sudens ofen choose o sudy in he Unied Saes
based in large par on he abiliy o pursue proessional opporuniies in his counry
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7 cee ae pe | i iv
afer graduaion. Ye annual numeric limis on he number o available employmen
visas creae roadblocks or sudens seeking o remain in he Unied Saes. As he
Presiden o Sanord Universiy John L. Hennessy has recenly argued:
More than 50 percent o our PhDs in engineering come om outside the U.S.
Now 38 percent o our PhDs in the physical sciences come om outside the U.S.We spend between a quarter and a hal a million dollars per student to educate
somebody to the level o a PhD, and then you want to send them out aer weve
made this investment? Tis is a silly thing to do. We need to keep them in.19
Tese roadblocks have creaed openings or universiies and employers in oher
counries o recrui hem. A number o compeior counries have sreamlined
heir immigraion policies o make i easier or heir companies o recrui inerna-
ional alen.20 Ta has, in urn, led some prospecive sudens o pursue educa-
ional opporuniies in oher counries.
Foreign suden ineres in U.S. colleges and universiies peaked in 2005 and has
no reached hose levels since hen alhough applicaions and admissions are
climbing again.21 A Council o Graduae Schools repor ound ha problems wih
obaining work-auhorized visas ollowing graduaion was one o he reasons or
he decline in inernaional enrollmen.22
Any decrease in oreign suden enroll-
men, paricularly in advanced degree
programs in he SEM elds, raises
concerns because o he eec ha
high-skilled oreign naionals have
had on innovaion and job creaion.
A 2007 sudy by Duke Universiy and
Universiy o Caliornia, Berkeley
proessors ound ha 25 percen
o he echnology and engineering
companies sared in he Unied Saes
rom 1995 o 2005 had a leas one
key ounder who was oreign-born.23
Te sudy urher repored ha in
2005 hese immigran-ounded companies produced $52 billion in sales and
employed 450,000 workers naionwide.
FIGURE 1
Yearoyear ercen change in inernaional alicaions
an offers of aission2003 to 2004 through 2010 to 2011
Applications
Offers of admission
20%
10%
0%
-10%
-20%
-30%
-40%2003
to 20042004
to 20052005
to 20062006
to 20072007
to 20082008
to 20092009
to 201020
to 2
Oers o admission data or 2011 are preliother data points reect fnal fgures.
Source: CGS International Graduate Admis
Survey, Phases II and III, 2004 to 2011
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Te legiimae objecive behind limiing he supply o high-skilled visas is o pre-
ven employers rom using unetered access o oreign workers o deleverage U.S.
workers. Bu resricing he supply o such visas poenially undermines anoher
imporan goal: maximizing opporuniies or economic growh by enhancing our
compeiiveness. Tis aricle proposes argeed reorms o ensure ha our high-skilled immigraion policies lif up economic growh and worker proecion as
win goals raher han compeing alernaives.
Iigranfoune coanies
Coany Nae Reenue Nuber of eole eloye
Comcast Corporation $37.94 billion 102,000
Intel Corporation $43.62 billion 82,500
Google Inc. $29.32 billion 24,400
Lie Time Fitness, Inc. $912.84 million 19,000
eBay Inc. $9.15 billion 17,700
Yahoo! Inc $6.32 billion 13,600
Source: The Wall Street Journal - Market Watch http://www.marketwatch.com
http://www.marketwatch.com/http://www.marketwatch.com/8/3/2019 Immigration for Innovation
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9 cee ae pe | i iv
Competing globally
in the 21st century
Our high-skilled immigraion policies ail o adequaely promoe and proec
imporan naional ineress. Resoring he sysems inegriy and uncionaliy
hrough a combinaion o srong enorcemen and srucural reorms is a neces-
sary componen o our innovaion agenda.
Arbirary numeric limiaions and oher programmaic resricions diminish
economic eciency and symie growh while prevening labor mobiliy. Tey also
lead companies o pursue workarounds ha can warp business pracices, precipi-ae oshoring, and limi he abiliy o U.S. workers o compee. Layered on op o
a weak enorcemen regime, hese problems undermine he benes provided by a
robus and exible high-skilled immigraion sysem.
Te recommendaions in he ollowing pages will help realign our high-skilled
immigraion policies wih our responsibiliy o U.S. workers and our naional
ineres in global compeiiveness. Tey are designed o resore he inegriy o he
sysem while enhancing mobiliy or workers and exibiliy or employers. Te
goal is o make he sysem more ecien, enable employers o be more compei-
ive and producive, and empower workers o compee on a level playing eld
raher han being pited agains one anoher in a race o he botom.
Several basic premises underlie he ollowing recommendaions. Tey are:
Global economic inegraion will coninue o deepen. Tis inegraion can have desabilizing eecs on cerain secors o he workorce. Susainable economic growh depends on our abiliy o remain on he cuting
edge o echnology and innovaion.
Te global markeplace or inernaional alen is expanding, no shrinking, and wereuse o shop here a our compeiive peril.
We mus help our home grown workorce develop 21s cenury skills so changes o
immigraion policy are only one small response o he economic challenges we ace.
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10 cee ae pe | i iv
Bearing hese premises in mind, les examine he problems and he soluions o
our high-skilled immigraion needs.
Problem: Fraud and gaming the system
As wih any highly regulaed governmen program, some paricipans seek o
game he immigraion sysem or compeiive advanage. Given he complexiy
o he regulaory scheme, some employers run aoul o rules inadverenly, ohers
nd loopholes ha make hem complian wih he leter bu no he spiri o he
rules, and sill ohers commi ourigh raud.
Fraud is a serious problem in he sysem, even i he incidence is airly low. Willul
violaions ha go undeeced and unpunished clearly undermine boh he ineg-
riy and he policy objecives o our immigraion programs or he highly-skilled.
Workers are no provided he proecions required by law, and legiimae employ-ers mus compee on an uneven playing eld. Fraud undermines public con-
dence in visa programs whose proper uncioning is a crucial componen o he
counrys economic srengh. And public and poliical revulsion a visa program
abuses can lead o policy proposals ha exceed he scope o he problem and run
couner o naional ineress.
Te Deparmen o Homeland Securiy deermined in an assessmen o he H-1B
program ha violaions are predominanly commited by small, new companies,
raher han well-esablished companies.24 I concluded ha many o he idenied
violaions are in areas where enorcemen o exising rules could curb abuses, or
where small changes o he rules would allow proper enorcemen.
Unsurprisingly, mos employers (80 percen) ully comply wih program require-
mens.25 And many o hose who are no in complee compliance have commi-
ed only minor and uninended violaions o complex rules ha do no reec an
inenion o game he sysem (7 percen). Ye an evaluaion o hose employers
(13 percen) who were idenied as willul violaors makes clear ha more delib-
erae seps are necessary o resore he inegriy o he sysem.26
For example, visa raud by a small company in Iowa highlighs he kinds o
abuses ha can occur and ha need o be sopped.27Te I services rmVisions Sysems Group was indiced on 10 ederal couns involving submiting
alsied documens in suppor o heir workers visa applicaions.28 In addi-
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ion, H-1B visa workers were allegedly placed in locaions on he Eas and Wes
coass while claiming employmen in Iowa where wage minimums would be
lower, hereby violaing exising wage laws. Vision Sysems pleaded guily o a
elony charge and paid resiuion o $236,250.29
Te prosecuion o several recruiing companies in 2004 highlighed anohervein o raud and abuse. Saring in 2001, hundreds o eachers recruied rom
he Philippines on H-1B visas were alsely old hey had jobs waiing or hem
and could gain permanen residence in he U.S. Te recruiers allegedly cons-
caed heir documenaion and housed hem in subsandard housing, required
hem o seek permission o leave he premises, and barred hem rom having
heir own ransporaion. In spie o hese circumsances, he mos serious
charges were dropped in a plea bargain and he companies were only senenced
o hree monhs probaion. We clearly need o preven his y pe o raud and
abuse wih more serious penalies or v iolaors.30
More recenly, one o he bigges users o H-1B visas, Inosys, is accused o
misusing B-1 visas in order o ge around H-1B limiaions and o increasing he
value o heir sock by charging cusomers he higher H-1B pay rae or he labor
cos o B-1 holders.31
Solution: Target fraud and abuse
Te governmen has already iniiaed and dedicaed subsanial resources oward a
number o raud deecion iniiaives.32 Te resuls o hose eors can help poin
he way oward a more robus and eecive enorcemen regime.
U.S. Ciizenship and Immigraion Services made public an H-1B Bene Fraud
and Compliance Assessmen over a year ago. Tis assessmen idenied clear
rends o raud and oher program violaions, ypied by such problems as:
Nonexisen or shell peiioning employers. Employers no paying salaries hey had promisedand been requiredo pay.
Employees no having he promised degrees or oher qualicaions. Employees no perorming qualiying responsibiliies.
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Te assessmen concluded ha violaions were more common among smaller
more recenmore poorly capialized employers. And i indicaed ha hese
violaions were overwhelmingly suscepible o deecion hrough sie visisa
airly sraighorward and easily available orm o invesigaion and enorcemen.
In response o he assessmen, USCIS has begun a more robus sie visi pro-gram,33 issued clariying memoranda relaed o some o he ndings, held a
number o sakeholder meeings, and iniiaed raining sessions.34 Bu clearly here
mus be coninued ocus on he issue designed o resul in beter, more argeed
enorcemen policies.35
Enorcemen policy reorm should be based on lessons already learned. I
should be orceul and argeed as closely as possible a idenied problems so
ha i does no undermine responsible and careul program users. Congress can
help proec all workers agains abuse and good-aih employers agains unair
compeiion. I should:
Provide auhoriy or he Deparmen o Labor o do a more horough, bu sill
imely, review o he labor condiion applicaion ha employers submi o
iniiae an H-1B peiion.Eliminae unnecessary resricions on DOL invesigaive auhoriy and increase
DOL enorcemen resources.Require DOL o conduc invesigaions o employers whose workorce is made
up o more han 15 percen H-1B workers.Require proo o paymen o required wages beore a visa can be renewed.Faciliae improved coordinaion among he relevan agencies, especially DHS
and DOL, so ha inormaion provided o one agency in he process can be
checked agains ha provided o anoher.Srenghen agency auhoriy o impose eecive penalies agains violaors.
Problem: Labor mobility restrictions
Oher elemens o he employmen-based immigraion sysem can also warp he
labor marke. A primary concern ress in he poenial or a sponsoring employero exer disproporionae leverage over oreign workers. When a worker is bound
o a single employer, i aecs oher similarly siuaed workers employed by he
same employer or compeiors. Says chairman o he Whie House Council o
Economic Advisers Alan Krueger:
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Job shopping is an essential protection against exploitation and inecient
allocation o-re sourceI [temporary workers] do not have the opportunity to
change jobs with minimal administrative burden, other workers in the United
States will potentially sufer because employers will have some scope to exploit
guest workers and lower labor conditions more generally.36
I an employer is able o signicanly consrain a worker rom exercising his or
her righs or compeing or he bes job opporuniy, i creaes an advanage or
he employer.
As noed above, he dieren visa caegories carry dieren resricions. Some
employmen visas permi more job mobiliy han ohers, bu or he mos par, a
oreign worker is ied o a single employer unil he or she receives legal permanen
residence. For insance, an employer mus sponsor a oreign worker on an H-1B
visa o work in a specic posiion a a specic salary. In order or ha worker o
change jobs wihin he company, he employer mus le a new H-1B peiion wihhe governmen auhorizing he change o posiion. In order or ha worker o
change employers, he or she mus wai unil he new employer les a peiion on
his or her behal.
wo acors diminish he oreign workers mobiliy. Firs is he requiremen ha
visa holders mainain heir immigraion saus or be subjec o long-erm repercus-
sions, including in some cases bars on re-enering he Unied Saes. An H-1B visa
holder who quis his or her job or is erminaed mus secure immediae sponsor-
ship rom a new employer or risk alling ou o saus. I he or she ails o secure
such sponsorship and does no leave in imely ashion, a subsequen peiion led
by a new employer will be denied and oher consequences may atach. In shor,
H-1B visa holders remain ied o heir employers unless and unil a new employer
les a peiion. Tis diminishes visa holders abiliy o asser heir righs by walk-
ing away rom an abusive employer.
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ON-CAmpUS RECRUItING
Attend school with F-1 visa, which provides lim-
ited employment and o-campus opportunities
Time: Two to our years
OptIONAL pRACtICAL tRAINING
Participate in International student program,
which provides ull employment authorization
Time: One year or 29 months or STEM workers
pOSSIBLE BREAk IN EmpLOYmENt
AUtHORIzAtION dUE tO H-1B CAp
EmpLOYER FILES H-1B pEtItION wItH USCIS
Time: Up to six months
EmpLOYEE AppLIES FOR H-1B vISA At U.S.
CONSULAtE ABROAd ANd ENtERS tHE COUNtRY
tO StARt wORk
Time: A ew days to six months
EmpLOYER FILES H-1B CHANGE OFEmpLOYER pEtItION wItH USCIS
Time: Approximately one month;
can begin work with proo o ling a
non-rivolous petition
ALREAdY EmpLOYEd IN tHE UNItEd St
Typically already hold H-1B status
OvERSEAS RECRUItING
Iigraion ses for os highsille orers
H-1B SpECIALtY OCCUpAtION wORkE R StAtUS
Time: Three years with one extension o three more
years, plus additional yearly extensions in limited
circumstances
LABOR CERtIFICAtION wItH
dEpARtmENt OF LABOR
Test o U.S. job market to determine nonqualied
and available U.S. workers.
Time: Eight months to two years o preparation and
DOL processing
ImmIGRANt vISA pEtItION (I-140)
Based on approved labor certication application
Time: 10 to 18 months
wAIt FOR ImmIGRANt vISA NUmBER
Time: May be seven years or more depending on the
occupation and country o birth
FILE AdjUStmENt AppLICAtION (I-485)
Time: One to two years
tOtAL tImE tO OBtAIN A GREEN CARd ONCE
SpONSORSHIp BEGINS: 2.5 tO 12.5 YEARS
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Tis is no a problem in mos circumsances because mos employers are no abu-
sive and mos workers will no leave a curren job unil a new one is lined up. Bu
he exra seps ha are required o obain new sponsorship and he inerim limia-
ions on mobiliy do esablish a dynamic in which employers possess greaer inu-
ence over heir employees han in radiional a will employmen siuaions. Ta
dynamic in urn hurs all workers and undermines employer compeiiveness.
Te second eaure o he curren sysem ha diminishes worker mobiliy is
he general requiremen ha an employer sponsor a oreign worker or perma-
nen residence. Te sponsorship process can ake years because o he dispariy
beween he number o emporary and permanen visas available annually. And in
mos cases, i he worker leaves o join anoher employer, he or she mus sar he
green card process all over again.
Tis lenghy process accords he employer anoher axis o leverage over he
worker. Te mos obvious concern is ha an unscrupulous employer can exerexcessive conrol over he visa holder by lording permanen residence over his or
her head. Bu even in he normal course, he inabiliy o reely change employ-
ersor even jobs wih he same employerand maximize earning poenial
during ha ime can have a depressing wage eec.
The solution: Enhance worker mobility
Workers abiliy o change employers a will promoes eciency in he labor mar-
ke and helps preven employer abuse. I employers underpay, overwork, or oh-
erwise misrea workers, he workers can leave and he employers evenually lose
heir workorce or cease heir unscrupulous pracices. Te corollary, o course, is
ha when workers are no ree o change jobs, heir employers have undue lever-
age over wages and working condiions.
A cenral problem wih curren high-skilled immigraion programs is ha hey
bind workers oo ighly o a single employer. Even hough mos employers do
no inenionally misuse heir leverage over hese workers, he power dierenial i
creaes can aec boh oreign workers and similarly siuaed U.S. workers. Te neresul can be a sligh depression o wages. 37
Enhancing he porabiliy o oreign workers should be relaively unconroversial
or employers ha hire based on who is bes or he job and no based on who
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hey can exer he mos conrol over. I is rue ha he employers have invesed in
he worker by paying he coss o sponsorship, bu ha should be considered par
o he cos o hiring oreign workers, no a premium ha allows he employer o
exer special conrol over he worker.
o balance he playing eld or workers and employers, Congress should:
Esablish a sauory grace period or red workers o nd a new job raher han
mainaining he curren rules, which make hem immediaely deporable and
subjec o addiional penalies or unlawul presence. Revise he rules regarding he permanen residence process o allow sponsored
workers o change o a dieren employer earlier in he process. Permi expanded caegories o high-skilled emporary workers o sel-peiion
or permanen residence. One possibiliy ha Congress should consider is o auhorize sel-peiioning
afer a cerain ime, such as 18 monhs.38 Anoher possibiliy is o auhorizesel-peiioning or individuals working in high-employmen indusries wih, or
example less han 2 percen unemploymen.
Problem: H-1B visa caps
Te mos widely used high-skilled immigraion classicaion or emporary workers
is he H-1B visa. Te availabiliy o H-1B visas in our curren sysem is regulaed by
a congressionally esablished annual numeric ceilingor cap as i is commonly
called. Te curren annual allomen o new H-1B visas is se a approximaely
85,000, including 20,000 ha are reserved or individuals wih an advanced degree
rom a U.S. college or universiy.39 Ta number was drawn rom he poliical eher,
no rom any concree policy analysis or any specic economic indicaors. And he
las decade has clearly demonsraed jus how arbirary hese numbers are.
We have repeaedly seen over he las decade ha demand in he H-1B program
racks he business cycle, and no in a way ha would indicae ha employers
rely on he program o hire cheap labor. When he economy is humming and job
growh is robus, demand or high-skilled oreign workers rises despie he addi-ional coss and he ime i akes o hire a worker permanenly.
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When he economy is in rerea and losing jobs, he demand or such workers
declines signicanly. I employers hough hese workers were a good source o
cheap labor, one would expec usage o rise during bel-ighening periods. Te
opposie appears o be rue.
Te curren cap has clearly proven insucien o mee employer demand in a
booming economy. When he economy ran ho in recen years, here was so much
demand or hese oreign proessionals ha he cap was exceeded on he rs day
o he ling period.40 For scal year 2008, some 150,000 peiions were led on
he rs day, April 1, 2007, or 85,000 slos.
Tis supply-demand mismach creaes wo problems, each economically sel
deeaing. Firs, when he H-1B supply is exhaused in April, no peiions can be
led or sudens who will receive bachelors degrees in May or June. Tis excludes
an enire years worh o graduaes rom access o visas afer our years o U.S. edu-
caion. 41 We have invesed in heir educaion. We should a leas have he opportu-
nity o see a reurn on ha invesmen.
Second, he immigraion service had o creae a lotery sysem o deermine whocan receive a visa due o he surge o peiions ha were led on he rs day. Te
erms sound economic planning and lotery rarely well ogeher. Requiring
employers o organize heir ofen-complex recruimen and hiring processes in
order o le a peiion on a specic day each yearsix monhs in advance o a
Fro eorary orer o green car
Fees Cos o eloyer
H-1B petition or FY 2010 $2,320
H-1B application cost $131
Visa petition led with USCIS $475
H-1B extension $1,820
AC21 extension $320
Spouses work authorization and visa application $262
Applications to adjust status to that o permanent resident $2,020
Extend H-1B status $320
Legal ees $10,000
toal $17,668
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poenial hire, wih no guaranee ha hey will acually be able o hire he per-
soncreaes obvious and enormous ineciency. Tis aricial imeline and
he atendan uncerainy o he lotery process render employers unable o hire
oreign workers in real ime o respond o real and changing needs.42 Ta in urn
may sall or kill business projecs ha could creae jobs and economic opporuni-
ies, which is plainly conrary o our naional ineres.43
Weakness in he economy appears o serve as a reasonably eecive governor on
H-1B lings. As in prior economic downurns, here has been a precipious drop
o in H-1B lings during he recen recession. Nearly double he annual allomen
o applicaions was led on April 1, 2008, he rs day o he scal year 2009 ling
period. While he scal year 2010 cap44 was no reached unil eigh monhs afer
he ling period opened up. I ook even longer or he cap o be me in scal year
2011.45 Sill, even wih signicanly decreased demand, he annual allomen o visas
has been reached well beore he end o he scal year. Ta means ha employers
are barred rom hiring new H-1B workers during an exended period, suggesingha he 85,000 gure may be insucien o mee he needs o U.S. employers.
O course, he linkage beween demand or H-1B workers and he ebb and ow o
he business cycle does no in isel prove he exisence o skills shorages or ha
H-1B workers are no someimes used o deleverage U.S. workers. I does, how-
ever, rebu he narraive ha employers are only looking o hese oreign workers
as a source o cheap labor. I is undoubedly rue ha some employers view he
hiring o H-1B workers as a less permanen human resource invesmen and hus
a preerable, less cosly alernaive even in a down economy. Bu i is equally rue
ha many employers sponsor a large percenage o heir H-1B employees or per-
manen residence,46 layering subsanial addiional coss ono long-erm worker
invesmen and negaing he cheaper alernaive argumen.
In shor, while here is clearly a supply-demand disconnec, no general conclu-
sions abou he moivaion or hiring H-1B workers can be elucidaed rom
demand cycles. I appears more likely ha employers pursue such workers or
a mulipliciy o reasons, some more consisen wih our naional ineres han
ohers. Insead o using an arbirary annual cap ha limis boh good and bad
program usage, we recommend a baske o reorms o ensure ha employers usinghe program hire high-skilled oreign workers because hey are he bes recruis
or heir enerprise, no because hey are a cheaper alernaive.
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er how long ago hey sared he green card process.49 Even individuals wih
advanced degrees ace muliyear backlogs i hey hail rom cerain counries.50
Tese backlogs mean ha sponsored workers can be suck in he same job or
yearsin some cases as many as eigh or nine years. ied o a single sponsor-
ing employer, hese workers are prevened rom assering heir righ o pursueincome-maximizing opporuniies. Ta sagnaion creaes a depressing eec on
he labor marke, huring all workers. Moreover, spouses o he sponsored princi-
pal are prohibied rom working hroughou he enire period. Ta obviously cre-
aes an unhealhy dynamic in which one spouses career mus remain in abeyance
unil he proraced green card process concludes.
Legiimae employers eel he eec as well. Because sponsored workers mus
ypically remain in he posiion or which hey were sponsored, employers are no
able o move workers ino more producive capaciies.
Personal, company, and governmen resources are wased as emporary visas,
ravel documens, and oher similar iems mus be consanly renewed. And work-
ers and heir amilies ace remendous diculies in securing loans o purchase
homes, enrolling in universiies as in-sae residens, and pursuing career opporu-
niies or spouses.
Wha his increasingly means is ha highly alened, highly producive proession-
als who have been educaed in U.S. schools ake heir brainpower elsewhere.51 Tis
ulimaely harms he U.S. economy and he American worker.
The solution: Raise caps and streamline the process
Te annual allocaion o permanen residence visas should be realigned o reec
he realiy ha many workers on emporary visas inend o remain in he counry
permanenly. Enabling hem o become permanen residens more quickly and
wih ewer atachmens o a single employer enhances heir produciviy and mini-
mizes heir abiliy o be unairly leveraged agains U.S. workers. Congress should:
Increase overall green card numbers o clear he exising muliyear backlog o
high-skilled proessionals awaiing permanen residence.
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elds: indusrial engineering, civil engineering, mechanical engineering, maerials
engineering, chemical engineering, economics, physics, and compuer science.52
More o he poin, individuals wih hese SEM backgrounds are he primary driv-
ers o echnological innovaion.53 Ta innovaion is he oundaion or new business
enerprises and a cenral ingredien in job creaion sraegies. Tis means ha henex grea idea, he nex grea scienic breakhrough ha could evenually produce
housands o new jobs is likely o come rom hese young graduaes. Bu when
he holder o ha idea is a oreign suden or a oreign naional who would like o
develop he produc or echnology in he Unied Saes, here is no obvious way or
hem o do so. Tey may be able o nd employmen wih a universiy or research
aciliy ha can sponsor hem or an employmen visa. And hey may be able o col-
laborae in ha seting on new research ha leads o he issuance o imporan pa-
ens. Indeed, nonciizens make up an esimaed one-quarer o all paen applicaions
rom he Unied Saes.54 Bu heir eors in ha regard will be consrained by he
dicaes o he employing eniy raher han he inspiraion o heir creaive minds.
A comparable naive born innovaor can pich heir big idea and, i persuasive,
secure nancial backing o develop i and launch a business around i. Ta we
would preven a oreign innovaor rom pursuing he same idea makes litle
sense. In mos cases, ha oreign naional is no compeing wih an American
invenor. Bu by driving hem o pursue heir idea and sar heir business in
anoher counry, our immigraion sysem ransorms hem ino a compeior.
Insead o helping creae jobs in he Unied Saes, our immigraion sysem pro-
moes he creaion o hose jobs abroad.
Solution: Promote entrepreneurship with new visa program
Our byzanine immigraion sysem provides visas or a wide array o aciviies,
bu here is no channel in he labyrinh or edgling enrepreneurs wih he nex
grea idea. Many o hese poenial innovaors and job creaors are already in he
Unied Saes on suden visas or emporary work visas. Bu hey are blocked rom
pursuing heir grea idea and we are prevened rom reaping he poenial ruis o
ha idea realized.
I someone has a business concep ha can garner subsanial capial invesmen
and ha will creae jobs or U.S. workers, we should do everyhing possible o
atrac, no repel hem.
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Congress should:
Pass legislaion designed o aciliae he enry o oreign enrepreneurs who
have business plans backed by capial invesmen. Enac he new enrepreneur visa and is renewal should be condiioned on
meeing invesmen or revenue and job creaion benchmarks.55
Problem: Workarounds
When no legal avenue exiss o hire a specic worker, bu here is a manies need
o do so, some employers will accep deea and scale back heir plans. Ta can
mean orgoing developmen o a new produc or delivery o a new service ha
could creae more jobs. Oher employers will search or workarounds o he hiring
obsacle eiher by rying o push he limis o he law or by ignoring i alogeher.
Te workaround has been hiring undocumened workers on he low-skilled end o
he specrum where employers have conroned a shrinking U.S. workorce keyed
o hose jobs and virually no legal channels o hire oreign workers.56 Te know-
ing hire o such workers is a clear and direc violaion o he law. Te more ypical
siuaion is ha employers urn a blind eye o suspicions because he alernaive is
o leave posiions unlled.
Workarounds on he high-skilled end assume dieren orms. Some employ-
ers will ry o shoehorn a worker ino a visa caegory ha has available slos, bu
doesn really . Ta creaes exra work or he governmen in he adjudica-
ions process and poenially dilues hose oher visa caegories rom heir acual
purpose.57 Oher employers will conclude ha he business impedimens o hiring
he necessary workorce are severe enough ha hey move some or all o heir
operaions abroad.58 Tere has been some debae abou he economic impac o
oshoring,59 bu i is dicul o argue ha i does no hur U.S. workers.
Sill oher employers are echnically complian wih program rules bu are con-
ducing operaions ha conravene policy goalssuch as high-volume job shops
where mos o he companys operaions are acually abroad.60
Companies areable o hire H-1B visa workers in he Unied Saes o serve as an on-sie presence
while hey coordinae mainly oshore aciviies.61 Nohing in he law sops com-
panies who wan o use H-1B visas as a raining program or uure ousourcing.
Some U.S. companies have required laid o workers o rain H-1B visa holders as
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and engaging in workarounds harms our naions economic ineress. We obviously
wan businesses o seize growh opporuniies. Bu orcing hem o do so hrough
workarounds is inecien and warps he playing eld or U.S. workers.
Solution: Strengthen recruitment
Employers make a variey o nuanced bu imporan judgmens in heir hiring
processes ha can be disilled o a comparison o resumes. Employers mus be
prohibied rom considering impermissible acors such as race, ehniciy, and
gender in making hiring decisions. Bu he ederal governmen also should no be
placed in he unenable posiion o micromanaging judgmens abou who he bes
candidae is or a privae secor job.
Requiring companies o hire equally qualied U.S. workers over oreign workers
makes sense in principle. Bu puting such a requiremen ino pracice ransormshe real world hiring process ino an aricial exercise. Employers would be in he
posiion o having o jusiy o a governmen invesigaoror years afer he ac
why one individual was hired over every oher applican. Such a process would give
employers an incenive o make a decision on who is bes or he job and hen build
paper benchmarks as a bulwark o jusiy decisions agains governmen scruiny.
Tis doesn mean ha we shouldn srongly encourage employers hrough incen-
ives o rain and hire U.S. workers. We deniely can and mus.64 Te massive
invesmen in jobs included in he American Recovery and Reinvesmen Ac
o 2009 was jus one example o he naional commimen we need o coninue
growing jobs or U.S. workers.65 Invesmen in clean energy presens anoher
opporuniy o advance he qualiy and range o jobs available o U.S. workers.66
And he educaion and raining revenues generaed rom he H-1B user ees
should be augmened and leveraged o increase opporuniies or U.S. workers o
seize hese new opporuniies.67
Wha i does mean is ha empowering he governmen o second-guess basic hiring
decisions is inecien and will undermine our pro-growh objecives wihou acu-
ally proecing U.S. workers. Te soluion is hereore o require employers who seeko hire high-skilled oreign workers o demonsrae ha hey ruly are making mean-
ingul and eecive eors overall o hire U.S. workers when lling open posiions.
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Te Labor Deparmen can eecively review wheher an employer has an overall
recruimen process ha shows i is engaged in serious and sucien labor marke
recruimen. I employers are mandaed o show real recruimen ha mees or
exceeds indusry sandards, i will preven a race o he lowes possible wage.
Congress should:
Require employers o esablish and documen an overall sysem o recruimen
ha rs arges U.S. workers and ha mees or exceeds indusry sandards or
recruimen o similarly siuaed workers.68
Creae a severe penaly scheme or employers who ail o pay he prevailing or
acual wage or he posiion.
Increase he H-1B educaion and raining user ees and reassess allocaion o
such ees beween he Naional Science Foundaion and Deparmen o Laboro ensure ha he unds are maximizing opporuniies or U.S. sudens and
workers o compee or high-skilled jobs.69
Solution: Restrict job shops
Te basic goal o our high-skilled immigraion regime should be o enhance he
compeiiveness o U.S. employers by enabling hem o ap op-igh inernaional
alen and workers wih specic skill ses. Te goal is no o provide a limiless
pool o enry-level workers who, in he aggregae, can drive down he naive born
workorces wages. Bu companies who ideniy specic needs ha hey canno ll
wih he naive workorce should be able o access oreign workers while guaran-
eeing wages ha proec agains wage deaion or all workers.
One business model ha compors wih he leter o he law bu no is spiri is he
job-shop.70 Tese businesses provide a saging ground or oreign workers o come o
he Unied Saes, develop skills, and hen go home o aciliae operaions ha com-
pee wih U.S. companies. In a sense, hey help rain oreign workers in he Unied
Saes wih skills needed o oshore inormaion echnology services and U.S. jobs.
O course, individuals who come o he Unied Saes or educaion or experience
will always be eniled o ake ha knowledge home and pu i ino pracice in a
way ha leads o compeiion wih he Unied Saes. Tere is nohing inherenly
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wrong wih ha. Indeed, i is in our ineres ha some individuals who rain in
he Unied Saes and are exposed o our counrys values evenually reurn home
o share ha undersanding. Bu i conravenes our naional ineres o explicily
permi a pracice ha rains oreign workers o replace U.S. workers.
Congress should adop he ollowing resricions o ensure ha he H-1B programpromoes he goal o enhancing U.S. compeiiveness:
Prohibi he use o visas by sang companies. Companies ling an H-1B
peiion should be required o ates ha he H-1B worker will be supervised
and conrolled by he H-1B employer, hus prevening so-called job shops or
body shops rom paricipaing in he H-1B program.
Bar companies wih more han 50 employees whose workorce is comprised o
more han 50 percen oreign workers rom he H-1B program unless hey can
esablish o he saisacion o he Deparmen o Labor ha hey pay all o heiremployees more han 125 percen o he prevailing wage and can esablish a
recruimen program or U.S. workers ha exceeds indusry sandards.
Preven emporary work visas, such as H-1B visas and L-1 visas, rom being made
available o oreign naionals who will use hose visas o shadow U.S. workers in
order o allow he jobs perormed by hose U.S. workers o be moved oshore.
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Conclusion
alened immigrans have made crucial conribuions o he developmen o nex
generaion echnologies and have ounded some o he mos innovaive busi-
nesses in he Unied Saes. Tey have creaed housands o American jobs, ueled
produciviy, and driven economic expansion. And as global economic inegraion
deepens, susainable growh will depend in par on our coninued abiliy o atrac
he bes and brighes innovaors and enrepreneurs.
Simply pu, enhanced labor mobiliy is a 21s cenury realiy and ulimaely aneconomic imperaive. Bu as he global alen pool expands and becomes more
uid, i also creaes insabiliy in some secors o our homegrown labor orce.
Our policymakers mus endeavor o minimize hose eecs and preven employ-
ers rom piting he ineress o immigran and naive workers agains each oher.
A he same ime, as our economic uure depends ever more on leveraging he
knowledge, skills, and creaiviy o our people, we mus ensure ha we are no
ignoring he imporan source o skilled, creaive, and knowledgeable people
represened by our immigrans.
As he naion emerges rom he shadows o his grea recession, we mus embrace a
progressive growh sraegy ha enhances our global compeiiveness. Te reorms
o our high-skilled immigraion policies oulined in his paper will help promoe he
naions dual ineres in growing he economy and proecing workers.
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About the author
Marshall Fitz is Direcor o Immigraion Policy a he Cener or American
Progress, where he direcs he Ceners research and analysis o economic, polii-
cal, legal, and social impacs o immigraion policy in America and develops policy
recommendaions designed o urher Americas economic and securiy ineress.
Acknowledgements
Te auhor exends his sincere hanks o Mayu akeda, a sellar Cener or
American Progress inern, or her valuable research conribuions.
Members o our askorce on science and compeiiveness provided consrucive
criicism, eedback, and ideas indispensable o his series. In paricular, James
urner, Neal Lane, Brian Kahin, Ari K . Rai, Rachel Levinson, Daniel Sarewiz,John Alic, and Chris Hill provided criical eedback. Finally, his series would also
no have been possible wihou imporan and subsanive conribuions rom
Sarah Warell, Michael Etlinger, Jiinder Kohli, Kae Gordon, and Reece Rushing.
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30 cee ae pe | i iv
Endnotes
1 t kll d J i, a nl iv aed: pe-ve ple E gw d oy t s eed tely (W: cee ae pe, 2007),vlble ://www.ee./e/2007/11/d/v_e.d.
2 J slle, Ed pley, d J me, te gey iv: te Fedel gvee d e gw rel
iv cle (W: see pe, 2009), vlble ://www.eee./w-e/ld/2009/09/ed_e.d.
3 L se, W Lee, (W: cee aepe, 2009), vlble ://www.ee./e/2009/06/w_lee.l; L clde, Edl
tl e 21 cey, cee ae pe, Jly 28,2009, vlble ://www.ee./e/2009/07/edl_l_e.l.
4 65 ee ce see pD, 57 ee epD, 58 ee y pD, 68 ee eee pDd 32 ee bll ee pD u.s. vee ee b, ee :// www..v//be/08301/.
5 i ded 1 4 e blly ded e wee ed 1990-2005; i ded blly dedus vee-bed e eeed e $130 bll
d elyed 220,000 u.s. we; pe e: iel,sle, s, eBy, i, Y, gle; Fe l u.s.wee ve -ve 25 ee ll e led u.s. 2006, ee ://www.dll./x/e/nVca.d,. 32.
6 ued se see cee e Jdy sbee i, reee d Bde sey, see Bds, geel cel d se Ve pede, Lel d c-e a m c, e he: te Eieve i re h-slled i Dve E gw, Jly 26, 2011, vlble ://jd-y.ee.v/d/11-7-26%20s%20tey.d.
7 te s. Ee, te m E i sdy, m 2010,vlble ://ddv.yed./le/-_b-l.d.
8 see ://www.elye./le/e%20bdey%20
ee%20%20-lled%20%20e.d. i ebee ee d d h-1B , ly 182,000 ede u.s. llee d vee stEm eld wld lelyve eed e ued se ve e ed 2003-2007. teywld ve eed ly $13.6 bll 2008, ed e gDp by , d wld ve bed $2.7 $3.6 bll eedel ey.
i e bee ee d , xely 300,000h-1B v-lde we ey w z exedd 2003-2007 wld lely ve bee e ued se lbe 2008. tee we wld ve eed ly $23 bll 2008, ed e de d by , dwld ve bed $4.5 $6.2 bll e edel ey.
sl el e bed we lyz lel deedby ce d e l ew ye. F exle, de e-ble , e elx ee d ed e ceeve i re a 2006 ld ve
eed lb e d gDp by xely $34 bll e 10 ye llw ee d d e ve ee e bde $34 $47 bll ve 10 ye.
relx h-1B de e ceeve ire a 2007 ld ve eed lb e d gDp by$60 bll e e ye llw ee d ved eedel bde b le by $64 $86 bll ve 10 ye.
9 see Fle De i d cevee u.s. cbe cee F, ge te webe, vlble ://www.e.ed/ew/elee.l?d=70418.
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12 tee , eely eed e de yeed 2007, w e de de : 57 ee dl, 39 ee e, d 40 ee ll dedeee (b e dl d e be), ee ://
e.ed.v/b2009/2009020.d (ble 288 d 291); aleehle, te Bdey Ee h-slled i re,
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18 8 u.s.c. se 101 ()(15)(h), (L), (o), d (J)
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21 cl gde sl, Fd e 2011 cgs ie-l gde ad svey (2011), vlble www.e./l/0/d/r_ilad11_ii.d.
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31 cee ae pe | i iv
22 cl gde sl, Fd e 2009 cgs ie-l gde ad svey 2009, vlble ://www.e./l/0/d/r_ilad09_ii.d.
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32 u.s cze d i seve, h-1B Bee Fd &cle aee.
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47 a v e bed e w ed e skiL
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32 cee ae pe | i iv
53 ibd.
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