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July 06, 2008
May 2008
Domestic or Imported The debate over the H-1B visa quota heats up as high-tech industry leaders call for an increase while other leaders in the science and engineering community demand policies that focus on cultivating homegrown talent. By Danielle Boykin April 1 has become a day that can bring either great satisfaction or immense disappointment for some U.S. technology firms. Every year applications flood the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) as firms compete to grab one of 85,000 H-1B visas in an electronic lottery. This annual event also brings with it a highly charged debate over the adequate number of temporary worker visas available and how far engineering firms should go with securing foreign talent to fill the gaps left by a U.S engineering shortage. When looking for engineering and science talent, the pickings are getting slimmer in the U.S. workforce pool. According to a report from the National Academies Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy, the availability of foreign-born engineering and science talent is increasingly outweighing U.S. talent. In the U.S., 15% of all undergraduates receive their degrees in natural science or engineering compared to 38% in South Korea, 47% in France, 50% in China, and 67% in Singapore. Nearly one-third of U.S. students intending to major in engineering switch majors before graduation. The USCIS-run H-1B visa program allows U.S. businesses to employ foreign workers in fields that require theoretical and practical expertise in specialized occupations and a bachelor's degree or higher, such as scientists, engineers, or computer programmers. USCIS distributes 65,000 new H-1B visas each fiscal year (as mandated by Congress) along with a 20,000 allotment limit for temporary workers with master's degrees or doctorates earned in the U.S. Petitions filed for current H-1B employees do not count toward the annual quota. In previous years, the H-1B visa allotment has been as high as 195,000. Last year, USCIS reported that by April 18, the agency had received 18,000 petitions for the exemption and 150,000 applications for the 2008 fiscal year, which began in October. This year, the agency announced that it had received nearly 163,000 petitions by the filing period ending on April 7, which includes more than 31,200 applications for the advanced degree category visas. NSPE opposes increasing the H-1B visa cap and supports the use of PEs who are licensed and trained in ethical practices. In NSPE's view, the H-1B program decreases the use of PEs and allows engineers who are not trained in U.S. ethical practices to perform engineering services, which is detrimental to the public health, safety, and welfare. The Society also has concerns about the use of the L-1 visa, which allows immigrants to work for a company with a parent, subsidiary, branch, or affiliate in the U.S. There is no cap on this type of visa and compensation levels are not prescribed, but U.S. income must be sufficient to prevent the temporary worker from requiring public assistance. However there are some organizations within the engineering and technology communities that favor the program. Compete America, a coalition that supports policies to bring talented foreign students and professionals to the U.S., has called on visa increases. Its membership includes the American Council of Engineering Companies, the American Immigration Lawyers Association, Cisco Systems Inc., Intel Corp., Microsoft Corp., Motorola Inc., the National Association of Manufacturers, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. The organization believes that it is fundamental to U.S. innovation and economic leadership to provide world-class education and job training and establish a secure and efficient employment-based immigration system that welcomes highly educated and talented professionals into the country. Organizations in support of increasing H-1B visa caps had their argument bolstered by a recent report from the National Foundation for American Policy. Major U.S. technology firms, the report says, average more than 470 U.S.-based job openings for skilled positions and experience difficulty in filling these positions. An NFAP companion report also claims that hiring H-1B visa holders is associated with increases in U.S.-based job openings and challenges critics who believe foreign-born professionals diminish the job prospects of U.S. citizens. Legislation in Congress also aims to address concerns about H-1B visas on both sides of the issue.
Lots of Choices Ron Hira, P.E., an assistant professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, and coauthor of the book Outsourcing America, is a staunch critic of the H-1B visa system. He does not believe the program is the best method of dealing with U.S. engineering and science labor market needs. "The public discussion, the way that it has been framed, provides a false choice, and the only way to fix the H-1B visa program is by increasing the caps," says Hira. "This is not the only way; there are lots of other choices we can make." Hira argues that there are many flaws in the program, which he believes allows companies to take advantage of loopholes and game the system. "A company is not in the business to hire American citizens, but to make a profit, and if a company can gain a competitive advantage by paying below market wages, then it will," he says. "Not all employers exploit that loophole, but enough do. Clearly from the data, we see that" A 2006 study by the Government Accountability Office, the investigative arm of Congress, found that some employers using the H-1B program were not paying prevailing wages. Though the overall percentage was small, 3,229 applications were approved even though the wage rate on the application was lower than the prevailing wage. The GAO review also found that from fiscal year 2000 to fiscal year 2005, the department reported an increase in the number of complaints and violations. In fiscal year 2000, employers were required to pay back wages totaling $1.2 million to 226 H-1B workers, and in 2005, back wage payments increased to $5.2 million for 604 workers. GAO concluded that the Labor Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Justice Department must ensure the integrity of the H-1B program and protect both foreign and domestic employees. The debate over H-1B visas is also connected to the issue of outsourcing. Some supporters of H-1B visas say that the program discourages outsourcing of American jobs. Hira doesn't buy this rationale or reports that claim H-1B visas increase job creation in the U.S. "Many of the same people who are saying to expand the H-1B visa program because it prevents outsourcing are some of the same companies that are saying that outsourcing is good for us," says Hira. "They are having their cake and eating it too. There's a little bit of hypocrisy there." Hira points out that eight out of the top 10 H-1B visa employers in 2007 were also outsourcing firms. "If the goal of the H 1-B visa program is to stop or slow down outsourcing, I don't know how you could pick a worse program," he says. As the son of professionals who immigrated to the U.S. from India in the 1960s, Hira does not oppose immigration but wants fair public policies and business practices. He believes that the best way to support engineering companies is to import top talent from abroad and encourage them to stay permanently. "But the H-1B visa program as it currently stands is not the way to do this," he says. A Personal Stake In the debate over how best to deal with engineering shortages in the U.S. through immigration policies, there are real people experiencing the challenges brought on by decisions made in Congress. After graduating in 1998 with a bachelor's and master's degree from the University of Alberta in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada, Dawn Edgell, P.E., found a bleak job market. "At the time I graduated, there were more opportunities for new engineers in the United States than in Canada," recalls Edgell, a senior project manager specializing in geotechnical engineering for Patrick Engineering Inc. in Lisle, Illinois. "[U.S. employers] were more willing to train younger engineers." Edgell immigrated to the U.S. in 1999 on a TN visa. The visa, created through the North American Free Trade Agreement, allows Canadian and Mexican citizens with essential technical expertise to work in the U.S. Since coming to the U.S., Edgell has earned her PE license and found career success. She also serves in several NSPE leadership roles and purchased her first home. But her ability to gain permanent residency in the U.S. has been stifled with the limited number of H-1B visas distributed annually, which ultimately delays her efforts to obtain a much coveted "green card." And this year's U.S. presidential election campaign has only increased her concerns as candidates debate the effects of NAFTA and its continued support in the U.S. "If they change NAFTA, there maybe a lot of Canadian and Mexican engineers leaving the country," she predicts. "And without the H-1B visa quotas being changed…we can't stay here." Edgell can only hope that she can get an application in next year to enter the lottery for the 2010 fiscal year visas. Edgell believes that some "casual" critics of the H-1B program do not have adequate information. "Most of the people that I run across that are negative about it don't have any information," says Edgell, who serves on the NSPE Board of Directors. "Everyone hears negative publicity about outsourcing and they lump everything in together. Usually I just try to give them more information." Edgell views H-1B visas as one of the better alternatives to outsourcing because she and other professionals in a similar situation contribute significantly to the U.S. economy. "If you outsource and send jobs outside of the country, all of that money is leaving the country," she says. "But if you allow us to come into the country, we are helping people here. There is a professional service that I'm providing and I'm contributing to something that's [greatly] needed." Filling The Gap For Stanley White, P.E., president and managing engineer of Ocean and Coast Consultants Inc. in Trumbull, Connecticut, obtaining H-1B visas for a few of his firm's employees has not been difficult. "In our industry, where we are looking for civil and structural engineers, it hasn't been much of an issue," he says. "High-tech firms may have more of a problem." White's biggest issue is with the costs of securing the few H-1B visas needed and the difficulty in obtaining green cards for employees who have been in the U.S. for many years. "The big thing is the green card—that's what everybody wants," he says. "Every few years you have to pay about $6,000 to renew the H-1B visas and that's a problem." General recruitment of engineers has proved to be frustrating for White. "Our problem is that we can't find engineers here in Connecticut to fill civil and structural positions," he says. "I've spoken with my colleagues at other firms around the country and everyone is having the same problem. There aren't the five- to 10-year experienced engineers to hire." White believes that more effort should be taken to get American students through engineering schools and onto a promising career path. He is no fan of companies outsourcing engineering work, but in the meantime, H-1B visas are providing a short-term solution. His effort to fill positions may open his firm to considering more qualified foreign-born engineers who have received U.S. degrees. "It's important to raise the quotas, especially in the civil and structural fields, because there aren't graduates coming out of our universities," he says. "There aren't enough engineers, and it's going to be a huge problem pretty soon." Homegrown Talent No matter what side of the H-1B visa debate that someone is on, most individuals can agree that action has to be taken to help the U.S. recapture its competitive edge with innovation and solid strategies and alternatives must be developed to help firms that need to fill engineering positions now. The National Academy of Sciences recommends several actions to increase qualified U.S. engineering and science talent, which include:
Hira advises companies on attracting quality, homegrown talent. "The obvious thing to do is to raise wages, offer good non-compensation benefits, such as tuition reimbursements, and [provide] job security," he says. On a public policy level, Hira favors of the Durbin-Grassley legislation to help close H-1B visa program loopholes. "I would couple that with increasing the employment-based green card quotas and relax some of the per country limits so that people can have a rational path towards residency," he says. "If the goal of our high-skills immigration policy is to capture the best and the brightest and keep them here permanently, then we ought to have a set of policies that encourages that." Hira also believes that the debate over the H-1B visa program, as well as outsourcing, highlights the need for the professional engineering community to get more involved with shaping public policy. "You've got Bill Gates and lots of companies promoting a particular point of view of the engineering labor market and you don't have a counterbalancing voice," he says. "The larger issue is what role do professional societies play in trying to bring out the truth in what's going on in the labor market." What do you think of the H-1B visa issue? Send you comments to pemagazine@nspe.org. |
 
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