Tech industry opposes immigration bill
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Also: Ancestry.com puts 90M war records online. Read these stories and more from around the Web on News.com Extra.
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LISBON, Aug 29  (IPS) - Portugalâs new immigration law has drawn fire from  foreign workersâ associations, who accuse the authorities of  favouritism towards university graduates and those who have  plenty of money to invest in the country.
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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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Two IT trade groups, as well as Microsoft, expressed disappointment after the U.S. Senate failed to move ahead with a comprehensive immigration reform bill that would include a higher annual cap on visas for highly skilled workers.
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A bipartisan immigration bill narrowly survived a potentially fatal challenge on Wednesday when the Senate turned back a Republican bid to limit the illegal immigrants who could gain lawful status.
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Three major technology trade groups urged the U.S. Senate on Friday to resurrect a wide-ranging immigration reform bill that would expand a controversial skilled-worker visa program.
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A campaign to raise awareness about software patents has found strong opposition to their introduction in the United Kingdom.
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The Bush administration came out strongly against a bipartisan effort by Sens. Charles Grassley and Barack Obama to make the immigration bill easier on employers.
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The Senate narrowly rejected two proposals today that would have upset the delicate compromise embodied in a bipartisan bill to overhaul the nationâs immigration laws.
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Opponents of the proposal say Poland's move delivers a serious blow to attempts to make software patentable in Europe.
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As Democrats take over leadership of both houses of the U.S. Congress from Republicans, technology industry lobbyists will try again to push for worker visa reform.
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Two weeks ago, when the  immigration bill  landed on the Senate floor, Sen. Jim DeMint (R-S.C.) voted against an amendment that targeted one of its key provisions: a guest-worker program that President Bush and many U.S. companies have sought for years.
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The immigration proposal before Congress continued to prompt objections from each side of the aisle.
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High-tech companies and employers of lesser skilled workers say their discontent with the bill shaping up in the Senate has deepened.
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Business lobbyists believe lawmakers will ultimately strip from Senate minimum wage legislation any sanctions against companies caught hiring illegal immigrants. Whether they can keep it out of immigration law is another matter
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A controversial immigration bill suffers a setback in the US Senate, as a bipartisan deal threatens to unravel.
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(InfoWorld) - As Democrats take over leadership of both houses of the U.S. Congress from Republicans, technology industry lobbyists will try again to push for worker visa reform. Legislation to allow more highly skilled foreign workers to come to the U.S. and stay longer failed in the last session of Congress, but it will be reintroduced in the next session, said Andrea Hoffman, vice president of TechNet, a lobbying group for technology companies. TechNet is pushing for three reforms, Hoffman said: Increasing the number of H1B visas granted annually to foreign workers employed temporarily at U.S. companies; granting employment-based visas to workers whose H1B visas are about to expire but whose application for lawful permanent residency (commonly known as a "green card") is backlogged; and allowing foreign workers who earn advanced degrees at U.S. colleges and universities to stay and work in the U.S. once they graduate. Legislation on those reforms became part of a controversial immigration reform bill that tied Congress up in debates about illegal immigrants, deportation, and border security and ultimately failed. With Democrats winning control of the Congress in the November elections, TechNet is going to push its reform agenda anew, Hoffman said. "We are very optimistic," she said. "The change in leadership will be a very good opportunity for the tech industry." One way to keep highly skilled and well-paying jobs in the U.S. is to reform the student visa policy, said Gary Fazzino, vice president of governmental affairs for Hewlett-PackardÂ and a member of TechNet. "We're interested in making it easier for foreign-born students who come here and receive technical degrees to remain in the U.S. more easily than has been the case in the last few years," Fazzino said. HP hosted a public forum Monday on legislative issues in the new Congress featuring U.S. Rep. Tom Lantos, a Silicon Valley Democrat. "I'll be very sensitive to the needs of the valley," Lantos told IDG News Service after the event, when asked about the proposed immigration reforms. He declined to discuss specifics. Under current law, 65,000 H1B visas are granted each year to foreign workers, each of whom needs to be sponsored by a U.S. company that couldn't find an American worker who has the needed skills. But that quota for federal fiscal year 2007 was filled before the year even began, according to Hoffman. TechNet wants the ceiling raised to 115,000. Labor interest oppose raising the ceiling. Among the critics is the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, in Seattle, which argues that there are more high-tech workers available in the U.S. than jobs to fill. TechNet also advocates a new "employment-based visa" category for those who have an H1B that is about to expire but are still on a waiting list for a green card. There is a backlog of more than 500,000 green card applications in the U.S., according to ImmigrationVoice.org. "The system is archaic," Hoffman said. "It is not consistent or structured in such a way that it fits business practices and models ... and we need change."