Employment Based Immigration Reform

Employment Based Immigration Reform

Everyday we get prospective clients contact us saying, “I’ve been offered a job as a chef, mechanic, office worker, etc., now how do I get a visa to take up that job?” In most cases I have to tell them that unless they have a BA degree or twelve years experience culminating in management, then we really cannot help in most cases. We then have to embark on a detailed analysis of what other immigration options might be available to see if we can get them in.

For those aliens who have a BA and or 12 years experience culminating in management there is the H-1B. The H-1B is a quota-driven visa to ensure that graduates don’t pour into the US in too high a number and disrupt the national US citizen employment pool. The current quota is 65,000 per year, although during 1998 – 2004 it had been increased to 195,000. I relocated in 1999 so was quite lucky to get my H-1B during that window. When the quota went down to 65,000 getting the H-1B was like winning the lottery. Every April 1^st the H-1B would be released, but within a couple of days (in some years) they would be all gone.  This year 2009 we are now in September and there are still H-1B visas available.

America Needs Graduate Professionals From World The World

The proposed reforms here are obvious; raise the quota for the H-1B to a sensible level. Also, create an additional H1-B visa with a lower qualification standard for people who just want to get a basic job.  There is the H-2B visa but this is designed for seasonal workers who can come in for a year, then they’re out.  The employer can petition for them again, but it’s a very hit-and-miss system because the quotas are extremely low.

The reformer’s argument is that America needs an increased flow of talented aliens coming in at the graduate level to bring their skills into the work pool in order to compete effectively against the rest of the world.

America needs to allow more semi-skilled and un-skilled workers in because they’ll come in anyway, especially from very poor countries and become illegal. Many of the jobs that less skilled people do Americans do not want to do them in any case.

Another area of employment immigration reform is that of nurses. America has a desperate shortage of qualified RN nurses. This is primarily because qualifying in the US as an RN is almost as expensive as getting a BA degree. As a result of the high cost of training many Americans who can afford a BA education will choose something else that will eventually pay more in salary. In the UK, teachers and nurses can get their specialized educationally training almost for free.

US Immigration has yet another visa quota for nurses; 50,000 direct to green card. However, as with many of the other visa quotas, the system is now backlogged to the point where the wait is 3-5 years. Hospitals cannot wait 3-5 years for someone to start work, especially if, after having sponsored them and gone through all of that expense, the worker doesn’t show up. The reformers therefore want this quota abolished or significantly increased to meet what has been a national crisis.

Comprehensive Immigration Reform
Are We There Yet?
Healthcare Debate
Family Based Immigration Reform
Employment Based Immigration Reform
Business Immigration Reform
Undocumented Aliens Immigration Reform