Lev Kobrin
11-17-2004, 05:43 AM
Lame Duck Session Offers Opportunity to Increase Access to Vital H Visa Programs
During the upcoming lame duck session scheduled to begin on November 16, it is important that Congress take prompt action in order to prevent U.S. employers from facing an H-1B and H-2B visa “blackout” for almost an entire year.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials announced on October 1, 2004, the very first day of the new fiscal year, that the cap on visas for highly educated foreign professionals had been reached. Without access to H-1B visas, U.S. employers will be unable to hire the professionals with cutting-edge knowledge and skills—including recent graduates from top U.S. universities with advanced degrees in math and science—to develop new products, engage in groundbreaking research, create new jobs, and compete in the global marketplace.
There still are not enough U.S. students interested in pursuing advanced degrees to fill these highly specialized positions and, at the same time, the percentages of foreign nationals graduating with advanced degrees from U.S. universities is rising. If we cannot keep this U.S.-educated talent in the U.S., our competitors abroad will profit. A workable H-1B program that protects U.S. employers’ access to highly educated foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. universities with advanced degrees will keep the world’s brightest minds in the U.S. and help retain American jobs.
While employers depend on the H-1B program to access the best and brightest global talent, other U.S. employers depend on H-2B workers to fill the essential positions that help keep the doors of businesses open. The H-2B program is a vital tool that allows U.S. employers to fill workforce shortages for short-term employment where no U.S. workers are available. Reports indicate that exhaustion of the restrictive 66,000 cap on H-2B short-term workers may soon be exhausted.
Without the additional manpower provided by H-2B short-term workers, many U.S. businesses would not be able to operate at full capacity or would be too short-staffed to provide quality services.
Last year, congressional efforts to provide increased access to the H-2B visa were stalled. This year, immediate legislative relief is imperative to provide U.S. employers with access to H-2B workers for this fiscal year and future years. If Congress does not act, all short-term employers will be affected, including ski resorts in the Midwest, the timber industry in the Northeast, fish and crabbing processors in the Southeast, and tourism across the nation.
During the upcoming lame duck session scheduled to begin on November 16, it is important that Congress take prompt action in order to prevent U.S. employers from facing an H-1B and H-2B visa “blackout” for almost an entire year.
U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) officials announced on October 1, 2004, the very first day of the new fiscal year, that the cap on visas for highly educated foreign professionals had been reached. Without access to H-1B visas, U.S. employers will be unable to hire the professionals with cutting-edge knowledge and skills—including recent graduates from top U.S. universities with advanced degrees in math and science—to develop new products, engage in groundbreaking research, create new jobs, and compete in the global marketplace.
There still are not enough U.S. students interested in pursuing advanced degrees to fill these highly specialized positions and, at the same time, the percentages of foreign nationals graduating with advanced degrees from U.S. universities is rising. If we cannot keep this U.S.-educated talent in the U.S., our competitors abroad will profit. A workable H-1B program that protects U.S. employers’ access to highly educated foreign nationals who graduate from U.S. universities with advanced degrees will keep the world’s brightest minds in the U.S. and help retain American jobs.
While employers depend on the H-1B program to access the best and brightest global talent, other U.S. employers depend on H-2B workers to fill the essential positions that help keep the doors of businesses open. The H-2B program is a vital tool that allows U.S. employers to fill workforce shortages for short-term employment where no U.S. workers are available. Reports indicate that exhaustion of the restrictive 66,000 cap on H-2B short-term workers may soon be exhausted.
Without the additional manpower provided by H-2B short-term workers, many U.S. businesses would not be able to operate at full capacity or would be too short-staffed to provide quality services.
Last year, congressional efforts to provide increased access to the H-2B visa were stalled. This year, immediate legislative relief is imperative to provide U.S. employers with access to H-2B workers for this fiscal year and future years. If Congress does not act, all short-term employers will be affected, including ski resorts in the Midwest, the timber industry in the Northeast, fish and crabbing processors in the Southeast, and tourism across the nation.