U.S. senators introduce high-skill immigration bill in nod to Silicon Valley

[Newsjock]

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Arguing that Silicon Valley and the nation are "losing talent and jobs by the day to countries like Canada, Chile and the United Kingdom," a bipartisan group of U.S. senators on Wednesday introduced a bill to grant up to 75,000 green cards each year to immigrant startup entrepreneurs and 50,000 to students with advanced science and engineering degrees from American universities.

The Startup Act 3.0 is one of a flurry of visa bills being introduced as Democrats and Republicans debate a large-scale overhaul of immigration laws.

... The bill was introduced Wednesday by U.S. senators Jerry Moran, R-Kan.; Mark Warner, D-Va.; Chris Coons, D-Del.; and Roy Blunt, R-Mo. The bill could be folded into the comprehensive immigration legislation that President Barack Obama, most Democrats and some Republicans want to pass this year.

... The bipartisan Startup Act 3.0 introduced Wednesday in the Senate would in part ... create a new visa for up to 75,000 immigrant entrepreneurs who hold an H-1B visa or F-1 visa and who during the one-year period after the new visa is issued register at least one new business entity starting with at least two full-time employees who are not relatives and invests or raises capital investments of at least $100,000.

Read more: http://www.mercurynews.com/business/ci_22583832/u-s-senators-introduce-high-skill-immigration-bill

[Skittles]

1. fucking DISGUSTING

these senators are pimping for cheaper "talent" (and I use that word VERY LOOSELY) for corporations

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

2. Cheaper talent?

The article clearly indicates that these foreign nationals would have to open up an enterprise in the U.S. and employ at least 2 full time workers. This means more business and more opportunities for U.S. workers too.

Plenty of start-ups in the Research Triangle Park area of NC were started by foreign nationals. Hell, I came to the U.S. because my dad managed the start-up phase after his Italian employer bought a tiny company in the middle of nowhere, North Carolina.

The reality is that the U.S. is losing talent to other countries because the legal immigration system is so slow, convoluted and lengthy. Countries like Australia and New Zealand are gobbling up numerous talented foreign nationals who would have come to the U.S. otherwise.

Most of these foreign nationals end up becoming lawful permanent residents and, in some cases, U.S. citizens. They contribute to their communities by paying taxes like everyone else, buying homes, sending kids to school, and adding some cultural variety. Most possess specialized skills or abilities that are uncommon, extraordinary or rare in the U.S.

I fail to see how a progressive community like DU can be in favor of a looser policy on illegal immigration, while at the same time being fervently against a solid reform of the legal immigration process which is getting ridiculous.

I am also saddened to see many on DU posting about various visas without knowing or at least learning about what they are, who can qualify, etc. from reputable sources.

In my many years on DU, I've often commented and corrected various posts on immigration topics, but it has often been a futile effort. The same stuff is recycled over and over as gospel - Computerworld articles (not an unbiased source), FAIR (not an unbiased source), a YouTube video from many years ago that does not involve H-1Bs at all (though many on DU insist otherwise), etc., while apparently those few DUers who actually work in the field - I being one of them, among a few others - are being derided and accused to be corporatists against U.S. workers.

[Skittles]

3. the US is losing talent because of OFFSHORING

these crying corporations are FULL OF SHIT

[leveymg]

7. Offshoring jobs is the opposite of immigration. Immigration brings talent into the U.S., offshoring

is a device by multinationals to cut their labor costs by exporting jobs that were previously performed here.

Even within global companies, I'd much rather see these jobs located here and people contributing to the U.S. tax base and building American communities.

[Skittles]

11. brings in talent

Last edited Thu Feb 14, 2013, 07:12 PM - Edit history (2)

offshoring/inshoring - it's all pimping off American jobs

as someone who has to fix the mistakes of this "talent" I BEG TO DIFFER

[antigop]

19. ahem...we have TALENT here with US citizens nt

[timdog44]

4. I wonder about this statement

"Most of these foreign nationals end up becoming lawful permanent residents and, in some cases, U.S. citizens. They contribute to their communities by paying taxes like everyone else, buying homes, sending kids to school, and adding some cultural variety. Most possess specialized skills or abilities that are uncommon, extraordinary or rare in the U.S."

What skills do these people you are talking about have that would be extraordinary or rare in the US. Are we going to be giving visas to the people Bill Gates has hired in Canada? Do other countries have education systems that teach more advanced skills than we do here in the US?

I'm not against cultural diversity, but I think we should look at the people in this country who are looking for jobs. And if they are not trained or educated correctly, we should be looking down that avenue. Then the people here in this country would be able to pay taxes, buy homes and send their children to schools that adequately staffed and maintained.

[Skittles]

6. CORRECT

the "specialized skills" stuff is absolute BULLSHIT - inshoring and offshoring is about nothing more than padding the pockets of the corporate 1% to the detriment of the American middle class

[antigop]

20. +100 True genius is rare. We have US citizens with talent that need jobs. nt

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

22. Examples

A U.S. company that deals with fine art restoration and requires an expert in Italian renaissance arts who is also an art restorer and possesses experience as such. Chances of finding such a person in the U.S. are quite small.

Accounting practice that deals with subsidiaries and affiliates of French company needs someone with expertise of French accounting practices and laws.

A master chocolatier who is an award winning artist and patissier.

A fashion photographer who is paid handsomely for working with the world's top models and celebrities.

A hairstylist who is sought after by fashion publications for her work and technique.

A manicurist who is well-known and possesses extraordinary talent.

A tropical disease specialist who is familiar with very rare types of infections caused by certain bacteria, fungi or virii.

An engineer who possesses international patents and designs fuel injection systems.

A software developer who develops proprietary software for a large IT company.

These are just a few cases I have worked on myself, with the sole exception of the engineer with the patents (that would be my dad).

To answer your question, yes other countries have education systems that teach some skills not taught in the U.S. There is a specialized art restoration academy near Florence in Italy, for example. Violin-making is still a craft learned from father/mother to son/daughter in northern Italy and it is almost impossible to find elsewhere. Similarly, certain ethnic cuisines require the preparation and training that someone can only obtain outside of the U.S.

A well-known Japanese restaurant may want a master sushi chef from Japan, as opposed to one from Alabama. Business schools don't often teach other countries' accounting and legal systems.

By the way, there are plenty of visas for people from Canada - among them the TN, which is also for Mexican citizens.

To put it bluntly, most Americans are fairly ethnocentric, don't adapt well to different cultures, and tend to be monolingual. Many also possess very poor writing skills, very poor interviewing/conversational skills, have little to no general knowledge, don't read newspapers, etc. I see this everyday with the thousands of applicants to my current employer's jobs.

An organization that has visibility - national or international - cannot afford to employ someone who is not willing to understand the cultural implications of dealing with guests, partners or customers from other parts of the world.

[timdog44]

25. Your examples.

They appear to me highly specialized. Some are the result of education, but it appears most are people who have the initiative to advance in these specialties, on their own. I don't doubt your examples. But then you go on to talk about the ethnocentric attitude of Americans and in a a previous example want a Japanese restaurant to bring in sushi chef from Japan and not Alabama?

My argument about the Canada thing, was that Bill Gates took many jobs to Canada, not that he wanted to bring in Canadians to work for his company here in the US. My argument was that these IT companies have moved their companies to other countries to eliminate paying any taxes and eliminate paying decent wages to US workers. I think that companies, whether start ups, or established producers need to contribute to the national good. And should be proud to and think it a patriotic duty.

That I think is the whole point, is for people working in the US to be paid a living wage. How many of these supposed start ups are paying as much as $60,000 per year or more.

As to your second argument about the poor education of Americans. That is more a fault of the system in the US at present with the right wing cutting budgets to schooling and trying to make a business of it and making money from it. That is not the purpose of the education system, making a profit. We need more teachers and better equipment for secondary education, and less expensive education at the collegiate level. And I agree being monolingual is a disadvantage. Again that is the fault of the education system. Rectifying these things would benefit Americans and those who wish to be Americans. I don't argue against immigration, I argue for decent living wages and benefits for all Americans and would be Americans. And isn't that the purpose of immigration is to become American?

[annm4peace]

5. smaller class sizes, lower college and university prices

starting with grade schools. If College was more affordable or free then maybe we would have already US citizens ready for these jobs.

IN CA it used to be low cost to go to college... but in the 90's the fees went up and up and up and class sizes in elementary schools increased and supplies decreased.. so 20-30 years later we have to get workers from other countries. sad

[leveymg]

8. These immigration bills have provisions for part of the fees ($1,000-$10,000) to go to

fund U.S. secondary and university education programs in STEM fields.

WIN-WIN.

[timdog44]

9. I believe we have college graduates

who wanting for jobs. Especially for jobs in S(science), T(technology), E(engineering) and M(mathematics). These fees should go to American students for these STEM fields. American students who are highly qualified to to enter these study fields but don't have the monies to afford to go to college. If that were to happen, then WIN_WIN.

[OhioChick]

10. That sounds like a WIN_WIN to me n/t

[du_grad]

13. Do not make these assumptions

My nephew graduated from a local university's chemical engineering program in the 90's. He said he was the only non-foreign student in most of his classes.

We are educating a ton of foreign students in engineering, medicine, etc. and they are leaving the country. A huge portion of our local university's medical students are foreign. Many of our kids just don't have the math and science skills to be accepted into these programs. Over 50% of med students are now female.

If you want your kids to be employed in the future, and they have any aptitude for science and math at all, push it as far as you can. They will have jobs. They will have to work harder than their classmates who are going to marketing and teaching degrees, but they will get jobs upon graduation.

My nephew got an MBA later on and he is now in high finance at a fortune 500 corporation.

[Skittles]

12. BULLSHIT

Last edited Thu Feb 14, 2013, 07:05 PM - Edit history (1)

the only people who support this garbage either participate in or profit from pimping off American jobs - THOSE ARE THE "WIN/WIN"s - BECAUSE IT IS KILLING THE AMERICAN MIDDLE CLASS.

[KatyMan]

14. What he said

[Third Doctor]

15. This is how I see it.

[leveymg]

16. So, you think we should let nobody in? Not the PhDs, the MDs, the investors, the entrepreneurs?

The seasonal crop workers? The foreign students? Nobody?

[Skittles]

21. we have a name for job pimpers

OFFSHORE WHORES

[WilmywoodNCparalegal]

24. leveymg... take it from me

talking about real-life immigration stuff - not biased reporting or anectodes from a friend's friend's dog's neighbor's aunt - is a futile effort on DU sometimes.

The same angst directed toward legal immigration on DU would be deservedly derided if it were directed toward illegal immigration on FR.

The fact remains that a lot of start ups are headed by foreign nationals and that a lot of the patents issued by the U.S. are from foreign nationals who are working in the U.S.

[OhioChick]

17. ^^This^^

[olddad56]

18. I worked in a data center that was losing it's truly talented, creative empolyees due to...

the influx of foreign IT workers. Mostly from India and China. Mostly nice enough people, not necessarily always easy to work with. They are very methodical, but don't like to think outside the box. Just my observation. They sort of took over, once some of them reached a level where they could do the hiring, they only hired people from their own ethnicity.

I would imagine that at some point, allowing in all of the foreign workers would discourage our college students from going into that career field.

I would at least like to see our government put a time limit on them with regards to becoming US citizens.

[rachel1]

23. If they can contribute then I'll welcome them