Skilled labour

SELDOM has it been so clear that US immigration policy is counterproductive to US interests as it was on Monday. That's the day companies began filing applications for high-skilled foreign workers — and it's also the day the quota was filled.Technology companies and other businesses filed more than 100,000 petitions requesting H-1B visas for their employees, easily surpassing the annual 65,000 quota. With the demand for skilled workers clearly exceeding the arbitrary limit, Congress should raise the cap so fewer US companies have to turn to outsourcing and more skilled people can work in the United States.H-1B workers, typically Indian and Chinese people with technological degrees, are promised a prevailing wage. Their employers, mostly technology companies, have to attest that they have not displaced US workers if more than 15 per cent of their workforce is here on H-1B status. Employer demands for an increase in the H-1B quota (and the quota itself) have fluctuated with the economy. During the dot-com bubble, pressure to increase the cap was almost constant. In the years since, the pressure has receded, and the US decreased to 65,000 — from 195,000 — the number of foreign workers it accepts on H-1B visas. Now pressure to allow more workers into the US on H-1B status is increasing again.More skilled immigrants would be able to remain in the US if Congress allowed the H-1B visa cap to fluctuate with the market. Strictly enforcing the prevailing wage and other requirements, while also encouraging US students to pursue science, would also ensure that Americans can participate in these dynamic job markets.And — as with immigration policy generally — H-1B visa changes must be approached comprehensively. The H-1B is a three-year, temporary visa that can be renewed only once. Visa holders who seek to become lawful permanent residents face enormous backlogs that will only grow if more H-1B visas are granted. Ideally, an increase in H-1B visa quotas would be accompanied by an increase in the quota for green cards. Skilled workers are also more likely to stay and contribute to the US economy if their immediate families can join them here; currently, family members also face severe backlogs.