The threat to Houston in denying needed visas

Houston Chronicle ^ | October 11th, 2003 | By ANN PINCHAK

[weegee]

Every day it gets clearer that the Houston economy has become highly reliant upon talented workers from abroad. That is why the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is putting every Houstonian at risk by effectively insulating us from the rest of the world.

For Houston to continue to thrive, we need to implement effective and timely visa screening procedures for foreign workers -- scientists, engineers and medical researchers. We need a procedure that allows our community's employers to continue strengthening the health of science and technology sectors while also protecting our nation's security.

To do that, immigration officials must recognize that the long-term security of the United States does not only depend upon denying visas to prevent terror attacks. Our security and the future of our community depend on admitting highly skilled workers and scholars who offer significant contributions to our quality of life.

Often, the best job candidates in the world are discovered beyond U.S. borders. These exceptional men and women are hard at work across Houston every day, saving lives, advancing science and pushing the envelope on technology. Houston is a better place because of its foreign workers.

But our community's mutually beneficial relationship with the global economy is at risk. The case of Dr. Remzi Bag, profiled in the Houston Chronicle ("Last-minute pleas save visa of top doctor," Oct. 3, Metropolitan cover) is just one of many jaw-dropping examples of bureaucratic mismanagement that fails to recognize the value we all derive from the international community. [Bag, a Turkish physician who heads Houston's two lung transplant programs, was granted an extension of the special visa that allows him to work in the United States after a delay that prompted worries about a possible shutdown of the transplant centers.]

As Bag's story demonstrates, the government's overly conservative approach to reviewing special 0-1 visas endangers Houston's medical institutions and, by extension, the health and welfare of all Houstonians. Strapped by funding cuts for research, our medical community must continue to have access to the world's top scientists. These institutions self-screen and do not file cases for 0-1 extraordinary ability classification unless they feel medical researchers meet the standards.

While the Immigration Service has claimed it has not changed its standards for 0-1 petitions, those who file these cases at the Texas Service Center know there has been dramatic, sudden increase in denials of extensions for physicians previously granted the classification.

The Service is overzealously misinterpreting the criteria for the 0-1 category. The law requires the foreign national have either an internationally recognized award, such as the Nobel Prize, or show documentation of three of eight lesser criteria such as published articles in professional journals or employment in a critical role at a distinguished organization. Contrary to the plain language of the regulations, the Service has toughened standards to require the three alternative criteria to be at the heightened Nobel Prize level.

This threatens our medical institutions' ability to find ways to cure diseases from cancer to AIDS.

Another troubling example of how protectionism is threatening Houston is what happened in the days and weeks leading up to last year's World Space Congress here. According to Lois Peterson of the National Academy of Sciences, she received 102 requests for help from space scientists unable to attend the event because they had not received their visas.

She was quoted in the publication Geotimes as saying, "I remember one of the Indian space scientists in his pleas to us said, `I don't work with missiles; I work with weather balloons.' "

It might be humorous if the situation weren't so serious.

Members of the Chinese delegation said in interviews that they were enraged by the situation. Aviation Week & Space Technology reported that it could threaten U.S. space cooperation. The International Astronautical Federation and the Committee on Space Research, which organized the World Space Congress, said denying the Chinese visas undermined the free exchange of ideas promised at the meeting.

Today's borderless, global economy requires Houston's employers to attract and retain the best workers in the world. It's time for the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services and the U.S. State Department to stop unnecessarily delaying and denying visas to people who should be celebrated among our most valuable resources.

We need a visa screening procedure that is both vigilant and time sensitive. We need to balance the twin goals of maintaining the health of our economy, science and technology while protecting our nation's security.

Our community depends on foreign scientists and engineers as well as international workers who are on the leading edge of emerging technologies from deep-sea exploration to biomedical research. Houston deserves the very best in the world.

Pinchak, principal of Houston-based Pinchak & Associates, concentrates her practice in business immigration law and is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association.

[FreePaul]

If a company really can't find skilled workers in this country they should be allowed to hire competent workers from another country. On the other hand they should be required to demonstrate that the workers they hire are doing work that no available US workers can do. Maybe if we put it on the same basis as the civil rights laws and let people sue because the have been discriminated against for being US citizens the companies would have a chance to prove their case.

I've worked for companies which went to some ridiculous extremes to write job descriptions for the purpose of excluding US applicants. I never saw any foreign worker hired for a job that couldn't be done by a US citizen. Sometimes it doesn't even make sense in dollars and cents. They often pay foreign workers extra for living expenses, transportation and family allowances.

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[Ace's Dad]

Thanks for the informative post.

According to Lois Peterson of the National Academy of Sciences, she received 102 requests for help from space scientists unable to attend the event because they had not received their visas.

There is a big, big difference between attending an event, which I think is OK, and taking a U.S. citizen's job. I don't care how talented an alien worker is, I suspect they are hired because they are cheaper. And don't tell me to work cheaper, the (so-called) Friend of the Court won't let me cut my child support!

[Cicero]

I thought the liberal media were saying there is an unemployment problem.

My sense of things is that it's pretty hard right now for young people coming out of college to find jobs in their chosen areas. I doubt that Houston has a significant labor shortage. If they do, I'm sure they can find competent people from out of state.

[RiflemanSharpe]

What about the threat to Houstonians if these visa are granted? We need these jobs.

[Cacique]

ping

[monkeywrench]

"Sometimes it doesn't even make sense in dollars and cents. They often pay foreign workers extra for living expenses, transportation and family allowances."

Maybe because the real goal is balkinazation of USA. Picture many fighting factions which can't/won't unite. Further erosion of culture etc...til there's nothing left of good ole USA. Next civil war. Got World Govt.?

[Lessismore]

If a company really can't find skilled workers in this country they should be allowed to hire competent workers from another country.

If a company really can't find skilled workers in Houston, they should be allowed to move to another part of the United States.

A sure-fired way to go broke would be to open a book store in Houston!

[Allegra]

My sense of things is that it's pretty hard right now for young people coming out of college to find jobs in their chosen areas. I doubt that Houston has a significant labor shortage.

We don't. We have a nearly 7% unemployment rate. Lots of very talented, qualified engineers, technical and other workers are unemployed here.

This article is a crock. We don't need more foreigners. We need to put our own back to work.

[xm177e2]

Apparently, we have to bring people from overseas to take jobs that would otherwise end up being outsourced overseas.

[A. Pole]

[Ann Pinchak:] Our security and the future of our community depend on admitting highly skilled workers and scholars who offer significant contributions to our quality of life.

(Photo from Ms. Pinchak page, This might be a more recent page)

[sweetliberty]

Hey, I have a really novel idea. How about we go back to educating American kids to do highly skilled jobs so we don't have to import people from other places to do them? DUH!!!!!!!!!

[jpl]

If a company really can't find skilled workers in this country they should be allowed to hire competent workers from another country.

Anyone who would seriouly believe that this is case would believe just about anything.

[A. Pole]

A few quotes from Ms. Pinchak March 2003 article :

"With rapid changes taking place in immigration law and increased security concerns adding to the complexity of bringing international workers to the United States, some companies might be tempted to focus their time and energy elsewhere. They may regret it.
[...]
Just as the economy has increasingly become borderless and global, workers are competing for jobs in a global market. Enlightened employers are looking beyond the country's borders to ensure they attract and retain the very best — regardless of what country they come from.
[...]
The study concludes that recent immigrants were a vital factor in our nation's economic growth in the past decade and accounted for half of the new wage earners who joined the labor force.
[...]
A growing number of companies — especially in the oil and gas and medical sectors — are turning to immigrant workers to fill professional positions, including many engineering, scientific and skilled craft positions.
[...]
Data from the National Association of Manufacturers indicates that 75 percent of employers report a serious or moderate shortage of qualified technicians, while 65 percent report a shortage of qualified engineers. Increasingly, the best job candidates in the world are being discovered beyond U.S. borders. Getting those discoveries here can boost productivity and provide valuable new and creative thinking to an organization.
[...]
The fact that this unusual opportunity has arrived at the same time the government is tightening border restrictions means employers must be more sophisticated than ever.
[...]"

[Ed_in_NJ]

She's an immigration lawyer - they just gave her free ad space.

[William Terrell]

That is why the Bureau of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services is putting every Houstonian at risk by effectively insulating us from the rest of the world.

Why, that's one of the legitimate functions of the national government, suger pie. The states, and that must include cities within those states, ceeded the right to negotiate and deal directly with foreign governments, i.e. "the rest of the world", to the central power.

Note: when she says "best" people, she means "cheapest" people. The best people are Americans.

[Lessismore]

HP cuts 200 jobs at facility in Houston

Houston Chronicle Tuesday, October 7, 2003

Hewlett-Packard cut 200 jobs at its Houston offices Monday as part of its promise to get back on track after reporting disappointing third- quarter results.

The workers were in HP's enterprise systems group, an unprofitable division that includes storage devices, servers and software.

The Palo Alto company, which merged with Compaq Computer Corp. last year, had said it would slash 1,300 positions after missing Wall Street expectations for sales and earnings in the third quarter.

Those cuts were in addition to 3,500 previously announced cuts.

The enterprise systems division and HP's consulting group were expected to absorb most of the latest round of cuts.

HP lost $70 million in the third quarter, compared with a loss of $252 million in the same quarter a year ago and a loss of $7 million in the prior quarter.

The company blamed the results, in part, on business seasonality and slow sales in the quarter.

HP Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Carly Fiorina said all of its major divisions, including enterprise systems, would be profitable in the fourth quarter.

[optimistically_conservative]

Well, obviously we need to better immigration lawyers to immigrate from abroad to Houston to help old Bag out. Apparently Ann isn't one of the best and brightest if TEMPORARY visa workers are having problems staying here indefinitely.

Of course, I could be wrong ...

[stylin19a]

...75 percent of employers report a serious or moderate shortage of qualified technicians, while 65 percent report a shortage of qualified engineers...

the weasel word here is "qualified". Qualified means the ability to work for $0.61 an hour, on average (China)...etc