Governors Push Congress for More H1B and Immigrant Visas
Posted Sep 21, 2007
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On September 11, 2007, the governors of 13 states jointly sent a letter to the leadership in both the Senate and the House of Representatives, urging the U.S. Congress to increase availability of H1B temporary worker cap numbers and permanent resident visa numbers ("green cards"). The governors are the top-level officials from the states of: Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington, Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In the letter, the governors address the critical workforce "shortage of highly skilled professionals in math and science" recognizing "that foreign talent has a role to play in our ability to keep companies located in our state and country." The letter emphasizes that, in order to fill this void, Congress must mandate more H1B and immigrant visa numbers than are currently available.
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The Problem of Prolonged Inaction
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While government officials and the general public, alike, seem to agree that the immigration system in the United States is in serious need of reform, and that this should happen soon, there are varying sides to the different arguments that do not agree as to what exactly constitutes a good fix for the broken system. The letter from these thirteen governors, including those from states that typically have significant problems with undocumented workers due to their proximity to the southern border, is a positive indicator that more and more government officials at leadership levels realize that employment-based, legal immigration directly benefits U.S. businesses and international competitiveness. It shows that they are able to clearly distinguish between legal immigration and the controversy over undocumented workers. They ask that, even if Congress cannot immediately resolve all of our immigration issues, they provide more opportunities for skilled professionals - temporarily and permanently.