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Governors Push
Congress for More H1B and Immigrant Visas
Posted
Sep 21, 2007
©MurthyDotCom
On September 11, 2007, the
governors of 13 states jointly sent a letter to the leadership in both the
Senate and the House of Representatives, urging the U.S. Congress to
increase availability of H1B temporary worker cap numbers and permanent
resident visa numbers ("green cards"). The governors are the top-level
officials from the states of: Arizona, California, Colorado, Indiana,
Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New York, Texas, Washington,
Wisconsin, and Wyoming. In the letter, the governors address the critical
workforce "shortage of highly skilled professionals in math and science"
recognizing "that foreign talent has a role to play in our ability to keep
companies located in our state and country." The letter emphasizes that, in
order to fill this void, Congress must mandate more H1B and immigrant visa
numbers than are currently available.
©MurthyDotCom
The Problem
of Prolonged Inaction
©MurthyDotCom
While government officials and the general public, alike, seem to agree that
the immigration system in the United States is in serious need of reform,
and that this should happen soon, there are varying sides to the different
arguments that do not agree as to what exactly constitutes a good fix for
the broken system. The letter from these thirteen governors, including those
from states that typically have significant problems with undocumented
workers due to their proximity to the southern border, is a positive
indicator that more and more government officials at leadership levels
realize that employment-based, legal immigration directly benefits U.S.
businesses and international competitiveness. It shows that they are able to
clearly distinguish between legal immigration and the controversy over
undocumented workers. They ask that, even if Congress cannot immediately
resolve all of our immigration issues, they provide more opportunities for
skilled professionals - temporarily and permanently.

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