| Immigration Laws Hamper Employers, Economy | | Print | |
| December 18, 2005 | ||||
Page 2 of 2 As there are many educated professionals from India and China seeking to immigrate, the backlog is substantial - three to six years. All university graduates, as well as those who are in positions requiring at least two years of experience, face a backlog of four or more years, regardless of where they were born. Even a university professor of computer science must wait at least four years to complete the permanent resident green card process. As the U.S. Department of Labor whittles down this years-in-the-making backlog of several hundred thousand labor certifications, the demand for these scarce visas continues to far exceed supply. No matter that in previous years, when processing was log-jammed at the Department of Labor, the full number of available visas was not used. At the stroke of midnight at the end of each fiscal year, these precious visa numbers disappear and may not be carried over without an act of Congress, a rare occurrence. Complicating matters, visas for spouses and children of foreign-born employees are subtracted from the 140,000. With an average family size of 2.5 people, this leaves far fewer visas for those whose work has been determined to be in the national interest, those whom the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services determines to be of "extraordinary ability," those who have university level degrees, or those working in skilled positions. In most cases, foreign-born employees and their families can remain in the United States while they are waiting to get through the process. Employers, however, face limitations on promoting or moving that employee during most of this period. If the employee is promoted to a position that is not materially the same as that in the original application, the process must be initiated all over again. If the employer needs to shut down an office where the employee was working and move that employee to another location, the process must start over. This leads to contorted business decisions that are driven by an immigration backlog, rather than good business judgment. Employers also face the added costs of filing additional immigration petitions to maintain the employee's legal status. Foreign-born employees may question whether it is even worthwhile to remain in this holding pattern. Career options may be better back home or in Canada, Australia or Europe. With advanced degrees and recognition in their fields, the best and the brightest have attractive options elsewhere. The United States stands to lose their considerable talent. A bill pending in Congress, the Deficit Reduction Omnibus Reconciliation Act of 2005 (S. 1932), Title VIII, which is part of the budget bill, would patch this problem, allowing for recapture of unused visa numbers from previous years, exempting the family members from the limited visa count and making the process more friendly and predictable. Immigration restrictionists who would prefer that no immigrants be admitted to the United States are fighting even these moderate fixes. Although this legislation will help in the short term, what is really needed is a comprehensive policy of business immigration, family immigration, asylum and refugee immigration and enforcement. The current system is a series of near-sighted fixes, mostly motivated by fluctuating political winds. And while illegal immigration needs to be addressed, it should not be done in isolation. A draconian enforcement-only bill, the Illegal Immigration Control Act of 2005 (HR 4427), has recently been introduced by Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner, R-Wisconsin. The best of the existing comprehensive immigration reform proposals is the McCain-Kennedy Secure America and Orderly Immigration Act (S. 1033/H.R. 2330). This bipartisan bill would enhance border enforcement, strengthen sanctions against employers who violate immigration laws, create a guest worker program and offer legal status based on employment to those who are undocumented. But, this bill does not adequately address the critical business immigration issues. It is high time that we adopt a systematic, thoughtful approach that will allow us to attract and retain immigrants who will continue to benefit our country and our economy. Kirsten Schlenger is a founding partner of Weaver, Schlenger & Mazel, a firm that limits its practice to Immigration and Nationality Act law. She is certified as a specialist in Immigration and Nationality Act Law.
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