 POLITICAL DEBATE SURROUNDS H-1B VISA PROGRAM
At a news conference on June 1, 1999, Sen. Phil Gramm (R-TX) announced he would sponsor a bill increasing the annual limit on H1-B visas to 200,000. This increase, unlike the one created last fall, which temporarily raised the limit from 65,000 to 115,000, would be permanent. The H-1B visa category is reserved for skilled workers performing a job that would ordinarily require a bachelor’s degree.
The proposal comes after increased pressure from high-tech firms, including Texas Instruments, who feel the US is not able to produce a sufficient number of high-tech workers to satisfy the growing demand of the industry. To critics of the H1-B program who argue the focus should be on improving education in the US, the high-tech industry points to its financial and personnel support of educational programs, but argues the industry urgently needs workers now.
The position of the high-tech industry is supported by a recent report from the American Electronics Association (AEA). The report notes the recent explosive growth of this sector of the US economy, adding more than 1 million jobs since 1993. The report is available online at http://www.aeanet.org/aeanet/index.html.
It is generally assumed that the cap will not be raised this year, as the battle to do so during 1998 took six months of fighting and waiting. But the pressure may be tremendous during 2000, especially during the months leading up to the November presidential election. While the H-1B visa issue is not important to the general public, it is vitally important to the high-tech industry, which has significant funds to share with presidential hopefuls.
Unlike other immigration issues, opinion on H-1B visas is not easily split down political party lines. Democrats who are usually pro-immigration find themselves confronting a historical supporter of the Democratic Party labor unions. Republicans who are otherwise in favor of decreased immigration (and would never in their right minds side with the unions) do not want to alienate high-tech industries, from whom they hope to gain industry support, especially campaign funding.
While the majority of H-1B visas go to high-tech workers, there are other occupations covered by the category that suffer because of the current situation. These occupations include physical therapists, physicians, research scientists, college professors, and fashion models. Unlike jobs in high-tech sectors, these occupations are not represented in lobbying efforts or campaign contributions.
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