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< Go back to Immigration Daily To the Editor: Let me take exception to Professor Norman
Matloff’s “Taking Exception.” In Tuesday’s Post Professor Matloff attacked
lifting the cap on H-1B visas. H-1B
visas allow highly qualified foreign nationals to enter the United States to
relieve the acute shortage of skilled professionals. Professor Matloff arguments are a chain of anecdotes that he does
not support with hard data from public sources. In the same day’s news on page A14 under the
heading “Tech Workers Wanted,” the Post reports the results of the Information
Technology Associations’ survey of hiring managers at 700 companies across the
country confirming 843,000 unfilled computer-related jobs some months ago. The number is undoubtedly higher now. Professor Matloff’s arguments bear no
relationship to reality. The law requiring that H-1Bs be paid
“prevailing wage” is not riddled with loopholes. The shortage of skilled computer, engineering, and international
business professionals is real. The
problem is that Congress and the Clinton Administration have not been able to
get their act together to pass an increase of the quota for H-1Bs to at least
200,000 for the foreseeable future. No
H-1B applications submitted since mid-March have been processed because the
2000 cap of 115,000 was reached. The
Federal fiscal year 2001 quota of H-1B visas that will be available October 1
is only 107,500; it will undoubtedly disappear within a few weeks given the
backlog. American industry cannot
operate successfully this way. The House leadership should go around the
obstructionism of Chairman Lamar Smith and should pass the bipartisan
Dreier-Lofgren H.R. 3983, and the Senate should approve the Hatch-Abraham
S.2045. The Clinton Administration
should stop backpedaling by demanding a Christmas tree full of immigration
goodies before supporting lifting the cap. It should understand that the unions
have no horse in this particular race. The H-1B visa, which requires a specialized
bachelor’s degree or equivalent relevant professional-level work experience,
serves the country well. Yet, current
law further reduces the cap to 65,000 for Federal fiscal year 2002 in spite of
the fact that each H-1B professional creates additional, new good jobs for
other Americans. The Knowledge Company evaluates the
educational and work experience qualifications of thousands of foreign
nationals applying for H-1B visas each year.
We can assure Professor Matloff and the Post that these applicants bring
invaluable specialized skills. Raise
the cap to 200,000 immediately and provide fuel for the engine that is driving
our successful economy. Irving J. Spitzberg, Jr. President and Counsel  Share this page | Bookmark this page | Print this page |  Add to del.icio.us
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