The Hindu Business Line : US Bill seeks to ease green card restrictions

New Delhi, June 11 Two US Senators have introduced a legislation that seeks to allow foreign-born students graduating from US universities with advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) to obtain green cards if they have jobs waiting for them in the US. The legislation was introduced last week by Senators Ms Barbara Boxer and Mr Judd Gregg.

In other words, the legislation proposes to exempt students graduating from the US universities from the annual limit on employment-based (EB) permanent resident visas or ‘green cards’.

The US Representative, Ms Zoe Lofgren, has already introduced companion legislation in the House with bipartisan support.

“We will push for passage this year; the House Judiciary subcommittee on Immigration is holding a hearing on the House Bill this Thursday,” a spokesperson from Senator Boxer’s office told Business Line in an e-mail response.

A statement issued by Ms Boxer pointed out that ensuring that the US remains competitive in technology means making sure that future innovators are putting their knowledge to work in the country, and not compete abroad.

According to the American Society of Engineering Education, almost 1 out of 3 master’s degrees, and more than half of all PhDs in engineering awarded in the US go to foreign nationals.

Brain drain

American-educated scientists and engineers often end up seeking work in their home countries or locations such as India and China as the work visas available to foreign nationals are limited.

“Unfortunately, the current visa restrictions encourage highly-skilled foreign graduates from America’s universities to eventually leave for China, India, or other countries, where they will use their education to create innovation, jobs, and economic growth elsewhere. This brain drain undermines our competitive advantage in the global economy, which is a shame since their degrees often come from institutions that receive US taxpayer funding,” Mr Gregg pointed out.

When contacted, Mr T.V. Mohandas Pai, member of the Board and Director- HR, Infosys, said, “any move to increase the capacity of highly-skilled professionals to work in the US is welcome step.”

Currently, there is an annual 140,000 limit on such permanent residency visas. In the case of H-1B visas, the current annual cap is 65,000, while 20,000 visas are available for foreign workers with a Master’s or higher level degree from a US academic institution.

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