HIGH-TECH VISAS AND LEGISLATION

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Attempts have been made in the past by the U.S. Government and many high-tech firms to address the IT shortage. Many companies have recruited in countries such as India and China for skilled workers using the H-1B visa method. This permits workers to legally work in the United States for periods up to six years. However, a large number of high tech firms suggested that the number of H-1B visa holders were not sufficient and needed to be increased because of the IT staff shortage. After some lengthy debate, in October 2000 President Bill Clinton signed into law the bill S. 2045, the "American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act," and H.R. 5362, an Act to increase the fees charged to employers who petition to employ H-1B nonimmigrant workers. The law increases the number of H-1B visas available to bring in highly skilled foreign temporary workers and doubles the fee charged to employers using the program, thus providing critical funding for training U.S. workers and students in return. The Acts recognize the importance of allowing additional skilled workers into the United States to work in the short-run, while supporting longer-term efforts to prepare American workers for the jobs of the new economy.

At the core of President Clinton's IT strategy was the belief that fiscal discipline and freeing up capital for private sector investment must be accompanied by a commitment to invest in human capital. The growing demand for workers with high-tech skills is a dramatic illustration of the need to "put people first" and increase the investments in education and training. Many companies are reporting that their number one constraint on growth is the inability to hire workers with the necessary skills. In today's knowledge-based economy, what you earn depends on what you learn. Jobs in the information technology sector, for example, can pay 85 percent more than the private sector average.

The quota of issued H-1B visas increased to 195,000 for each of fiscal years 2001, 2002, and 2003. (It then drops back down to 65,000 in fiscal 2004.) However, other provisions of the legislation should result in a noticeable number of H-1Bs not being counted toward the cap who had been counted in past years, resulting in an even greater effective increase in numbers for high- tech firms.

This legislation was further enhanced in November 2002 when President George W. Bush signed into law the "21st Century Department of Justice Appropriations Authorization Act," Public Law 107-273. This law corrected and fine-tuned S. 2045 by adding extensions to applications to allow foreign workers to extend their H-1B visa. The H-1B worker is entitled to continuing extensions, in one-year increments until and unless the labor certification is denied.

This legislation was a big step forward in the battle against IT shortages, despite some vigorous opposition from domestic organizations in the United States. Since its introduction, this legislation has been somewhat successful. CIOs and other IT management have welcomed the government initiative and lobbied hard for its success. It is encouraging that the United States government will respond to calls from the IT industry to correct imbalances in IT staff shortages. However, once a concern has been raised, the time taken for the legislation to be formed, written, debated and enacted is not insignificant. Government legislation is not known to be rapid or provide swift solutions. It has not been the complete answer to the IT shortages that have been experienced; other solutions are still needed.

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Autonomic Computing
Autonomic Computing
ISBN: 013144025X
EAN: 2147483647
Year: 2004
Pages: 254
Authors: Richard Murch

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