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High-Skilled Immigration Must be Part of Comprehensive Reform
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Posted by Fred Humphries
Managing Director U.S. Government Affairs
Today marks an important new beginning for efforts to repair the United States’ flawed immigration system. We at Microsoft congratulate President Obama for convening a bipartisan meeting at the White House on immigration reform, and commend the members of Congress who participated. Most immigration experts agree our system needs big changes, so I’m pleased to see the broad participation in this important process.
Nonetheless, we remain concerned that a serious discussion of high-skilled immigration policies has not yet begun, and we believe it must be included in any comprehensive reform. If the U.S. is to remain at the cutting edge of innovation, we must ensure that our businesses can attract and hire the best talent from around the globe.
As Brad Smith blogged earlier this year, immigration policies that attract highly-skilled workers are critical for job creation and long-term economic growth. America’s economic recovery will come from innovation within America’s borders – in its laboratories, board rooms and research centers. By giving American businesses access to the talent they need, they will be able to grow and generate additional American jobs. The more bright minds who contribute to innovation on American soil, the faster our country will return to a position of economic strength.
Now more than ever, we need smart policies to build the innovation workforce of the future.
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Microsoft Applauds the DREAM Act
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Posted by Fred Humphries
Managing Director, U.S. Government Affairs
Late last week we sent letters of support to the House and Senate sponsors of an important piece of legislation known as the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors Act. The DREAM Act, as it is commonly known, would permit a limited number of undocumented immigrant students to become permanent U.S. residents if they came here as children, are long-term U.S. residents, have good moral character and attend college or enlist in the military for at least two years.
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Appreciating our Immigration System
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UPDATE: April 1, 2009 - 10:30 a.m. Pacific
Posted by Brad Smith
General Counsel
As I mentioned in my post Monday, today begins the period for U.S. employers to apply for H-1B visas for high-skilled foreign workers.
Given the economic downturn, we are filing substantially fewer H-1B applications than we filed last year. Unlike previous years, a solid majority of our applications this year are for employees who are already working for Microsoft in the United States, so we can retain their talent and specialized skills in this country rather than risk losing them to a foreign competitor.
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