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Dear Editor:
With so much speculation about the meaning of the new H-1B bill, let us
remember who the real winner was in this whole battle, namely the concept of
enlightened national self-interest as the cornerstone of national
immigration policy. For the first time, with the possible exception of
IMMACT 90's creation of the outstanding researcher, extraordinary ability
and national interest waiver cagegories, Congress passed a law that was not
pro-immigrant but pro-immigration; this is a sea change in approach. The
H-1B bill ends the unquestioned primacy of family over employment-based
considerations and restores some sense of balance between these two equally
valid considerations. The very title of the H-1B law speaks to the value of
such international talent as a key component of a strategy that seeks to
maintain and strengthen America's international competitive posture- what
can the H-1B holder do for us? That is the operative question. It is not how
we can help the poor immigrant out of a sense of altruism or humantiarian
concern. These sentiments speak to the best of the American tradition and
there will always be a place for them but not in the development of an
Employment-based immigration system where the only sure and sustainable
basis for an enduring national consensus is a clear-eyed appreciation of how
the nation benefits.
Gary Endelman
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