Tension Growing Between Tech Groups Regarding Green Card Proposals

[OhioChick]

The Programmers Guild opposes expansion of the green card program for foreign tech workers, while the Semiconductor Industry Association and IEEE-USA asked Congress to revisit the program.


October 16, 2007 12:00 PM


Although Congress' attempt to overhaul U.S. immigration laws died months ago, new proposals to re-examine the status of foreign-born tech professionals are beginning to splinter American tech lobbying groups that had traditionally been on the same immigration policy page.
In a letter faxed yesterday to Congress and signed by 270 tech professionals, U.S. IT worker advocacy group the Programmers Guild urged high-ranking House and Senate committee leaders to oppose expansion of the green card program or employment-based permanent residency for foreign tech workers.

The letter from the Programmers Guild was a rebuttal to a separate letter sent last week to Congress and signed by the presidents of two other high-profile tech industry groups, the Semiconductor Industry Association and IEEE-USA. That letter urged legislators to make it easier for foreign tech workers to gain permanent residency in the United States, including the creation of a new visa exemption for foreign students with U.S. degrees in science, technology, and math skills to gain direct green card status.

The letter co-signed by the presidents of the SIA and IEEE-USA surprised and angered some tech industry players, including members of the Programmers Guild and some members of the IEEE-USA. That's because traditionally, the IEEE-USA and the Programmers Guild have had similar positions regarding U.S. immigration policies. Both groups opposed raising the annual cap on H-1B visas, which is the most common temporary visa used by U.S. employers to hire foreign tech workers.

By contrast, the SIA has long lobbied to increase the cap on H-1B visas. Although the letter signed by the SIA and IEEE-USA last week did not urge Congress to increase H-1B visas, the IEEE-USA's support for expanding green card programs for foreign techies seemed to catch Programmer Guild members off guard and irk some of them.

http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=202403263

[varun]

1. Those who oppose Green card expansion program

want to keep the foreign labor in "temporary status" (H-1). They can then exploit these programmers because H-1 status keeps them indentured.

Green card will ultimately allow these programmers to choose their employers. H-1 does not allow that.