5/24/2008

Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, addressed the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Science and Technology recently, regarding the future of technological innovations in the United States. In his testimony, Mr. Gates provided a comprehensive analysis of the current state of the U.S. as a "global leader in technology innovation," identified current strengths and weaknesses in the field of technology, and expressed his concern that "we are failing to make the investments in our young people, our workers, our scientific research infrastructure, and our economy that will enable us to retain our global innovation leadership." 

In addition, Mr. Gates outlined his plan for improvement that addressed, in large part, the inadequacy of the United States' "immigration rules for highly skilled workers."

In his testimony, Mr. Gates proposed a new set of policies to address the shortage of qualified scientists and engineers in the United States. As chairman of one of the leading technology corporations in the world, Mr. Gates is in a position to witness the shortfalls of the U.S. labor market and immigration system when it comes to attracting and retaining highly skilled workers. He noted that the current system makes it "exceptionally challenging for U.S. firms" to remain competitive in the global market. 

To illustrate this, Mr. Gates reminded the members of the Committee that the supply of H1B visas allocated by Congress is so extremely limited that it was exhausted on the very first day of filing for FY2008. Moreover, the number of petitions filed greatly exceeded the number of H1Bs available. Because Congress has not taken any action to correct this situation - passing no immigration reform for high-skilled workers - he believes that history is expected to repeat itself on the first day of filing for FY2009, which is April 1, 2008. As a result, many affected companies, including Microsoft, are forced to allocate work to staff located beyond U.S. shores.

As U.S. companies are deprived of the human resources they desperately need, the U.S. economy is suffering great losses. Mr. Gates pointed out that engineering and technology start-up companies founded by foreigners in recent years have "produced $52 billion in sales and employed 450,000 workers." Employment of foreign workers also increases the overall employment as companies hire additional workers "to support [H1B employees] in various capacities." Without revamping its immigration rules, the U.S. is destined to give up its leading position in the global market and economy.

In order to attract more highly-skilled foreign workers, Mr. Gates proposed an immediate extension of the period of Optional Practical Training (OPT) for international students from 12 months to 29 months, which "would help to alleviate the crisis employers are facing... ." A second change that was suggested by Mr. Gates was to improve the lawful permanent resident, or "green card," process for highly-skilled, well-trained workers. 

These individuals should be able to obtain lawful permanent resident status more easily via a more streamlined and efficient process. In addition, Mr. Gates urged Congress "to pass legislation that does away with per-country limits and significantly increases the number of green cards available in any fiscal year."