Cap on Visas for Skilled Foreign Workers Stifling Biotech, Tech
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By Mowad, Michelle  The local biotechnology and technology industries, highly dependent on very highly skilled workers, are waiting to see if their foreign job applicants have been awarded work visas.  U.S.
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U.S. senators are debating a controversial measure to exempt foreign student graduates from the cap on H-1B visas.
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Vancouver, British Columbia office will house international workers caught in immigration tangle.
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For technology companies and research institutions that have spent recent autumns lobbying for permission to hire more foreign workers, this was supposed to be the year that ended the annual rite of desperation.
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Opponents of importing prescription drugs from Canada are introducing a new argument to the debate with studies that say it would wipe out thousands of jobs in states like Massachusetts that depend on pharmaceutical and biotechnology research.
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Ephraim Schwartz, InfoWorldâs fearless editor at large, has waded into roiling waters once again. Iâm talking about his ongoing coverage of the SKIL (Securing Knowledge, Innovation and Leadership) Bill, which would raise the yearly cap on H-1B visas, allowing qualified foreign workers â many in IT â to work in the States.ADVERTISEMENTNEW IT SERVICES FROM IBM: EASIER TO BUY AND IMPLEMENTDiscover a simpler, more cost-effective way to get the solutions your company needs to grow more flexible and efficient.
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Report backed by pro-visa group sees shortages in high-skill occupations, a view not shared by all.
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LONDON: Hundreds of skilled and talented workers from Asia, especially Malaysia and China, have given up their dreams of working legally in the United Kingdom due to the stringent entry clearance ruling.
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PEORIA, Ill. -- The 37-year-old computer science student was racing against a deadline. Just one day after picking up his visa from the U.S. Embassy in Qatar, he boarded a plane with his wife and five small children. The family flew to Chicago, caught a night's sleep at an airport hotel, then...
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Hard-earned tips from a biotech investor.
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Skilled workers would face competition for jobs from outside the EU, under plans being considered by ministers.
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A key question remains: How many highly skilled immigrants does it take to fill America's needs?
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(InfoWorld) - Microsoft will open a software development office in Vancouver, Canada, later this year, in part as a way to retain talented workers who can't stay in the U.S. because of immigration laws. Software developers from around the world will staff the center, which will allow Microsoft to keep skilled workers who are affected by U.S. immigration issues, the company said in a statement Thursday. Microsoft, along with other high-tech companies, has been a vocal supporter of legislation that would increase the number of foreign workers allowed to stay in the U.S. Proposed amendments to the current foreign worker regulations were part of a larger controversial immigration bill that stalled in the U.S. Congress last week. Without new regulations, companies across the country are competing for 65,000 H-1B visas issued each year. "This is especially a problem for Microsoft because it's so big and doing so much hiring," said Susannah Malarkey, executive director of the Washington Technology Alliance, an association of companies promoting education and an entrepreneurial environment in the state. "If you can't use visas to bring people in, you have to take the jobs to where the people are," she noted. Companies like Microsoft can "either create a worksite in the country of origin of these people or lose out on them altogether," she said. In addition to its Redmond headquarters, Microsoft already has development centers in Ireland, Denmark, Israel, and North Carolina. The Vancouver location is in part attractive because of its proximity to Redmond, Microsoft said. Microsoft did not reveal the Vancouver facility's size or precise location.
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BRUSSELS, Dec 7 (IPS) - Employers in developing countries are sacrificing  workers' rights to attract foreign investment, says a report  launched Tuesday.
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Blog: Foreign nationals greatly outnumber U.S. students in EE grad schools.
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(InfoWorld) - That explosive H-1B YouTube video offering advice on how to hire foreign workers instead of Americans has gotten the attention of U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who called it evidence of abuse of the visa program. Both men want a federal investigation and are seeking answers from the law firm that posted the original video on YouTube. In a letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Grassley and Smith characterized the video as "exposing the blatant disregard for American workers and deliberate attempt to bring in cheaper foreign workers through the H-1B program." They also want the labor secretary to review the video and investigate "the law firm's unethical procedures and advice to clients." In the video, a person identified as Lawrence Lebowitz, an attorney at the firm Cohen & Grigsby PC in Pittsburgh, Penn., explains how U.S. companies can avoid hiring U.S. workers. "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker," said Lebowitz in the video. "And that, in a sense, sounds funny, but it's what we are trying to do here." Grassley and Smith also wrote Cohen & Grigsby, noting that "your firm's video advises employers how to hire only foreign labor, while making it nearly impossible for a qualified American worker to get the job.... While many companies insist that they are not participating in fraud, many are finding loopholes around government rules and regulations in order to bring in cheaper foreign workers. These loopholes lead to abuse that ultimately displace qualified Americans. The abuse is evident thanks to a video produced by your firm...." They also noted that the video "advises potential employers that they can fulfill" Labor Department hiring requirements "by advertising the position in places where they will not find the most qualified applicants. Your firm asserts that an employer can advertise in regional publications with limited circulation, while internally listing the job for a foreign worker. We would like you to please explain how this practice does not constitute outright discrimination based on nationality and why your firm so blatantly promotes this type of behavior." The law firm had taped a seminar on immigration law it held in May and then posted the video on YouTube, possibly for training purposes. The firm has not responded to repeated requests for comment this week. The two letters, dated today, were initially posted online at the University of California, Davis by Norman Matloff, a professor of computer science at the school and one of the longest-standing critics of the H-1B program. Matloff, in an e-mail said, "This 'YouTube-Gate' incident should be an eye opener for people in the press and in Congress who have been taking the industry lobbyists at face value all these years." The tape was brought to light by the Programmers Guild, a Summit, N.J.-based professional association after guild president Kim Berry said he was alerted to it by activists. He made a copy of an excerpt, added in some subtitles to annotate the tape, mixed in some music for dramatic effect, and posted the new version on YouTube. "My hope is that this proof on video will open some eyes to this sham," said Berry.
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Travelers from emerging economies like India, China and Latin America are required to have visas to come to the U.S., and many complain that the process deters them from traveling here.