Bush urges US Congress to lift H-1B visa limit

Making a strong pitch for America to stay competitive in the face of emerging economies such as India and China, President George W Bush has urged the Congress to raise the number of H-1B visas that allow companies to hire foreign workers for scientific and high tech jobs.

"Congress needs to understand that nations like India, China, Japan, Korea and Canada all offer tax incentives that are permanent. In other words, we live in a competitive world. We want to be the leader in this world," Bush said in a speech in Minnesota on Thursday.

To fill vacant jobs in the US, Bush urged the Congress to lift current limit on H-1B visas that allow foreign workers to get jobs in the United States. The Congress in 2005 capped at 65,000 the number of H-1B visas, a third of the 195,000 allowed during the technology boom.

"I think it's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America, to limit their number. So I call upon Congress to be realistic and reasonable and raise that cap," Bush said, but did not say by how much he wanted the limit lifted.

He said that one part of the agenda to stay competitive was to study math and science, a theme he touched on in his State of the Union Address on Tuesday.

"It's one thing to research, but if you don't have somebody in that lab, well… And so I got some ideas for the Congress to consider. The first is to emphasize math and science early, and to make sure that the courses are rigorous enough that our children can compete globally," Bush said in a speech at the 3M Corporation.

He said there are more high-tech jobs in America today than people available to fill them. "So what do we do about that? And the reason it's important -- and the American citizen has got to understand it's important -- is if we don't do something about how to fill those high-tech jobs here, they'll go somewhere else where somebody can do the job."

"There are some who say, we can't worry about competition. It doesn't matter, it's here. It's a real aspect of the world in which we live," he said.

"And so one way to deal with this problem, and probably the most effective way, is to recognize that there's a lot of bright engineers and chemists and physicists from other lands that are either educated here, or received an education elsewhere but want to work here. And they come here under a programme called H1B visas," Bush said.

He said America should not fear competition. "It's important for us not to lose our confidence in changing times. It's important for us not to fear competition but welcome it."

Senior administration officials noted that the number of H-1B visas has fallen to 65,000 which in their estimation was 'too low' and that it was imperative 'to bump that up.'

". . . some of reports have called for increases of 10,000; others between 20,000 and 40,000. So there is a number of options on the table to be considered. But we'll work with Congress on that," said Claude Allen, assistant to the President for domestic policy.

Just think about all that money leaving America via the legal and illegal alien workers then.

Mexico sends $20 billion out of our economy every year.Now India is getting much more aggressive for that kind of money too.

India’s ‘remittance’ income from the US rising : CII study

India’s remittance income from the US (attributable largely to Indian professionals in the US) stands at US$ 4.5 billion in 2003, according to a study done by Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

The study titled “India and the United States - Economic Analysis and Trade Security,” says this figure of $4.5 billon roughly corresponds to 21 percent of reported “cross border” services exports of India in the same period and around 7.5 percent of India’s total goods exports earning for the same year. Thus, the importance of such labor exports (skilled, as well as semi-skilled) for India is clearly underlined, says the CII study.

The CII study also adds that the US remains India’s largest single market for such exports, remittances from US being almost double to that from EU. Remittances from the US grew by 28.5 percent over the period 2000-03, the corresponding figure for the EU being 25 percent, the study points out.

According to the study, remittances from the skilled Indians in the US are largely tantamount to export earnings in terms of Mode 4 (Movement of skilled labor), and India gains substantially from such remittances. The US also gains in this process, says the CII study.

According to the study, India has contributed the largest number of skilled professionals to the US during the period 1985-2000. While a substantial proportion of such skilled persons was a part of the IT boom in the 1990’s, estimates suggest that the IT workforce does not comprise the majority of skilled Indians working in the US.

The CII study has found that contrary to popular imagination, the skilled Indian work force (green card holders and H1B visa holders combined) in the US shows greater diversity in the terms of sectors and functions engaged in. Indian presence in the US includes laboratory research in Natural Sciences, Pharmaceuticals, Biotechnology and Applied Technology like Industrial Design etc. Medical, Legal, Financial and Education sector also employ large numbers of Indians in the US, the CII study says.

The CII study comments that given the growing importance of services trade in a host of service sectors, the presence of large number of Indians in such a wide range of high-end services in the US is a good indication of India’s global comparative advantage.

Outsourcing of skilled services and knowledge related jobs from the US to India is rapidly increasing. The CII study says that while ‘outsourcing’, effectively Mode 1 (cross border trade in services) will be one avenue for the exports of skills from India; the other will be Mode 4 (movement of skilled workers). The future will see the US imports of Indian skilled labor strike strategic balance between Mode 1 and Mode 4 based business optimization, the study predicts.

The study, however, says that in view of the fact that both India and the US stands to gain from this interaction of skilled people, it is imperative that both the countries establish a mechanism that sets out the rules of such an engagement in a transparent and explicit manner. The existence of such a mechanism will remove uncertainty among stakeholders and enable a successful and wide-ranging relationship.

According to the CII study, the issues which needs to be addressed are:
1) Mutual Recognition and Certification for Indian and US professional and academic degrees and diplomas.
2) Transparent Visa Regime
3) Tax revenue sharing agreement that avoids double taxation
4) Mutually acceptable basis for contractual labor services
5) Special ‘economic’ visa for contractual on-site work with clearly delineated frame.

*PING!*

I see the old "Doing the Jobs Americans Won't" is STILL operable at La Hacienda Blanco...

He said America should not fear competition. "It's important for us not to lose our confidence in changing times. It's important for us not to fear competition but welcome it."

So, the Commies were right...America WILL sell the World the rope with which they will hang us!

At least SOME "Americans" will....OBL/Globalists who would sell their own Mothers for more $$$!

" Ahead Sell-Out Factor 10, Mr. Chertoff!"

India negotiates visa caps at trade rounds. They call the request for more visas, "market access negotiations". As you can see, Congress is not involved. They unconstitutionally gave their authority over trade to the the USTR and the WTO, when they voted for GATTS in the 1990's.

***

India is totally disappointed with the United States at its revised offer to open services sectors for foreign competition as Washington gave a short shrift to New Delhi’s repeated requests to liberalise cross-border movement in medical services and relax conditions for flow of software professionals, said authoritative sources.

“We are totally disappointed with Washington’s revised offer because it did not address any of India’s core concerns in areas of interest for New Delhi in the services sectors,” said a source, arguing that India would make its unhappiness known about the US’ offer during next week’s special negotiating session at the World Trade Organisation (WTO).

Similarly, India conveyed that the US should relax restrictions on medical services in both Mode 1 and Mode 2 because of the huge pool of doctors and state of art facilities. T

"I think it's a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America, to limit their number."

So let me see if I have this right. We have to import Mexicans to do the jobs that Americans won't do and we have to import Indians, Asians and Canadians to do the jobs Americans CAN'T do. Kinda makes Americans sound both stupid and lazy.

I have an alternative suggestion, Mr. President. How about if the lazy won't work, then they don't eat? How about we actually raise the educational standards and expectations in our own country so that we're turning out college graduates that can actually do high tech and other jobs requiring knowledge and skill, instead of turning out college graduates who are devoted to ~~whining~~ . ~~meddling~~ social consciousness and "education.".

Like closed Indian markets are a huge concern. And no, he did not present "India's demands", no 195,000 figure can be found anywhere in any of it. The demand comes from US companies, especially in the high tech sector, who are frustrated with the quota limits.

In my office we have a talented guy from Brazil we hired a year and a half ago. Talented meaning e.g. he put together a deal with several partner companies for a new product of ours his first year, on top of his programming and technical duties. So a product was added that wouldn't be out there without him. (He turned down grad school at Stanford to work for us).

His visa stuff is still in transition. Inability to clear the quota until the fall means he will have to leave the country for six months when the old one expires, before he gets the new and permanent work visa - for which he fully qualifies etc. Does this mean we are going to hire someone else in his place? No of course not. It means he'll work for six months in our British office instead.

Isn't that wonderful? Do you feel how effective our stupid policies are? He'd rather stay here and pay taxes here and work with other US workers. Instead he will temporarily work with some British workers. He will still work for us.

Under Mode 4 negotiations, which provides for movement of natural persons, India has been demanding that the bound rate for granting visas for professionals should be substantially increased.

To cite an example, under Mode 4, the US has bound itself to give up to 65,000 H1B visas for professionals from outside the country seeking employment. But Washington on its own has increased that number to 190,000 professionals in the face of growing demand in that country.

However, it still maintains the bound rate at 65,000 giving it a leverage to lower the number of such visas from 190,000.

India is pressing for the bound rate to be raised substantially from 65,000 so that movement of professionals becomes easier.

Do you really think the American people have any say in these "negotiations"? There is a clear loss of sovereignty here.

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