TALENT SHORTAGE FORCES US CALLS FOR VISA REFORM

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US education and business leaders are calling for improvements to the foreign worker visa policy as demand for visas for international students who have studied in the US and would like to work there has overwhelmed the supply.

The number of applications for the H-1B visa, which gives US employers access to highly educated foreign professionals – many working in scientific research, medicine and technology – has reached 195,000, three times the limit, according to officials at the US Chamber of Commerce.

The issue hits at the heart of American competitiveness: without these highly specialised workers, US companies will not be able to grow or innovate as quickly.
“If we want to continue to compete, we've got to reform our visa situation, otherwise we're shooting ourselves in the foot,” said Jenifer Verdery, director of workforce policy at Intel.

Many companies, particularly in high-tech industries, are facing talent shortages. “When you look at who are the best and brightest coming out of US graduate schools in engineering – particularly at the PhD level – the numbers are skewed toward foreign nationals. We're losing a significant portion of our hiring pool,” said Ms Verdery.

The H-1B visa has been a bone of contention between business and government over the past two years. In 1990, the year it took effect, the cap was set at 65,000. That number was raised by Congress during the technology boom and hit an all-time high for fiscal years 2001 through to 2003, at 195,000. In 2004, however, the cap dropped back to 65,000 and has remained there.

Last year the Senate passed legislation that would have raised the annual cap, and given automatic year-on-year increases, but the parallel bill – an omnibus immigration reform legislation – has yet to pass in the House.

Randy Johnson, vice-president for labour, immigration and employee benefits at the chamber of commerce, said the delay had to do with Congress's fears over the loss of high-tech jobs for Americans.

“The feeling is that this is wound up with false rhetoric about immigrants taking jobs from Americans,” he said. “We're trying to do the best we can, but . . . there won't be more visas granted until next year.”

Many in education have expressed concerns that the precarious visa situation gives the perception that US is unwelcoming to international students. Robert Carraway, dean of students at Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia, said that it could have a disastrous impact on whether foreign students would continue to choose to study in the US in the future.

“This will hurt us in two big ways: one, we won't be able to attract the best and the brightest from overseas, and two, our US students won't be prepared to work in a global workplace without the presence of these international students,” he said



美国教育界和商界领袖呼吁美国改善工作签证政策，因为在美国求学并希望留下工作的外国学生对签证的需求量大大超过了供应量。

据美国商会(US Chamber of Commerce)官员介绍，H-1B签证的申请人数已达到19.5万人，是限额数量的3倍。有了H-1B签证，美国雇主才能录用受过高等教育的外国专业人才——其中很多都在科研、医药和技术等领域工作。

这个问题触及到美国竞争力的核心：没有这些高度专业化的员工，美国企业将无法这么快地成长或创新。

英特尔公司(Intel)员工政策主管杰妮弗•沃德瑞(Jenifer Verdery)表示：“如果想保持竞争力，我们就必须改革签证状况，否则我们就是在自毁城墙。”

很多公司，特别是高科技行业的公司，都面临着人才短缺问题。沃德瑞表示：“看看美国研究生院工程专业最好、最聪明的毕业生（特别是博士生）都是些什么人，你就会发现，他们多数是外国学生。我们失去了很大一部分人才资源库。”

过去两年，H-1B签证一直是商界和政府争论的焦点。在该签证开始生效的1990年，其发放限额定为6.5万份。美国国会在科技热潮期间调高了限额，2001至2003财年的签证限额为19.5万份，创下历史最高水平。但在2004年，限额又回落到6.5万份，并保持至今。

去年，美国参议院通过了一项立法。这项立法将提高该签证年度发放限额，并且逐年自动提高，但与此配套的一套综合移民改革法案仍未在众议院获得通过。

美国商会负责劳工、移民和员工福利的副会长兰迪•约翰逊(Randy Johnson)表示，法案迟迟不能通过，与国会议员担心美国人失去高科技职位有关。

“我们感到，人们把它和移民抢走美国人饭碗的错误说法混为了一谈，”约翰逊说。“我们尽了最大的努力，但……在明年之前，H-1B签证的签发数量不会增加。”

很多教育界人士担心，不确定的签证状况给人的感觉是：美国不欢迎国际学生。弗吉尼亚大学达登商学院(Darden School of Business)学生事务主任罗伯特•卡拉维(Robert Carraway)表示，这会对未来外国学生是否会继续选择在美国求学产生灾难性影响。

卡拉维表示：“它将在两大方面伤害我们：其一，我们将无法吸引到海外最好、最聪明的学生；其二，没有这些国际学生，我们美国的学生就无法为在全球化工作环境中工作做好准备。”