WSJ:1万个签证给美国大学主修工程信息自然科学博士 (转载)# Immigration - 落地生根
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发信人: iceui (iceui), 信区: EB23
标 题: WSJ:1万个签证给美国大学主修工程信息自然科学博士
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sat Oct 22 14:14:04 2011, 美东)
Visas Could Aid Graduates
By LAURA MECKLER
Momentum is building in Congress toward offering expedited green cards to
people with advanced scientific degrees, addressing complaints from
companies that say the U.S. is training highly skilled workers only to lose
them to other countries.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), chairman of the House immigration subcommittee
, said he plans to introduce legislation providing up to 10,000 visas a year
to foreign students graduating from U.S. universities with doctorates in
engineering, information technology and the natural sciences.
Many Democrats, including President Barack Obama, support increasing the
number of visas for workers with advanced training in those fields. But
efforts to address the issue have stalled amid a larger dispute between the
two parties over whether to provide a path to citizenship for people already
in the country illegally, which Democrats favor.
Those issues could still stall Mr. Smith's legislation, but lawmakers in
both parties seem willing to talk about finding a way forward. Mr. Smith
plans to meet with his Senate counterpart, Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.),
to discuss his legislation in early November, a Schumer aide said.
In May, the White House said the U.S. should be "stapling a green card" to
the diploma of every science, technology, engineering and math Ph.D.
graduate and to select masters' graduates, so that they can "contribute to
the American economy and become Americans over time." But that was in the
context of a broader White House immigration plan that included citizenship
opportunities for some illegal immigrants, an effort that collapsed amid
strong Republican opposition.
In its wake, the high-tech community began pushing for stand-alone
legislation.
The U.S. currently offers about 120,000 employment visas to professionals in
various fields, including science, engineering and information technology.
Many highly trained workers, particularly those from China and India, face
long waits for green cards and sometimes choose to work elsewhere.
Mr. Smith's legislation, which he said he would introduce in a few weeks,
would not increase the overall level of legal immigration. Instead,
congressional aides said, he plans to divert visas from programs such as the
"diversity lottery," which lets people from under-represented countries
compete for visas.
The diversity lottery offers 55,000 immigrant visas per year. A House
committee has voted to kill the program.
In an interview, Mr. Smith said students who would get visas under his bill
"really are going to contribute a great deal to our country and to the
economy, as well." He said he would limit eligibility to those with
doctorates from U.S. research universities, though others think the visas
should be available to those with masters' degrees, too. To qualify,
students would need to have job offers, and Mr. Smith said they should
commit to staying in the country for at least five years. "I want us to get
the most bang we can for the visa," Mr. Smith said.
In another signal of momentum, another Republican, Rep. Raul Labrador of
Idaho, introduced a similar bill this month. His bill took sections from
legislation offered in June by the top Democrat on the immigration
subcommittee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who represents Silicon Valley.
Ms. Lofgren added provisions to win support from the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus, including one that would allow students who were in the country
illegally during high school to qualify for foreign student visas if they
are pursuing science or technology degrees.
Mr. Smith considers that to be akin to "amnesty" and says he will not
support it. But Ms. Lofgren says any bill will have to be "balanced" to make
it through Congress.
Without Ms. Lofgren's provision, or something similar, Hispanic lawmakers
are likely to oppose the bill, partly because they believe they will find it
harder to push their cause later.
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D., Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus, said of Mr. Smith's approach: "It's incomplete, inadequate and, in
my opinion, unfair." He said students brought to the U.S. as children should
be eligible for help.
The White House had no comment on the Smith legislation. In a statement, Mr.
Schumer said the bill that Mr. Smith had in mind could not pass the Senate
without changes, but he also signaled interest in working with Mr. Smith on
the matter.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020375260457664535
发信人: iceui (iceui), 信区: EB23
标 题: WSJ:1万个签证给美国大学主修工程信息自然科学博士
发信站: BBS 未名空间站 (Sat Oct 22 14:14:04 2011, 美东)
Visas Could Aid Graduates
By LAURA MECKLER
Momentum is building in Congress toward offering expedited green cards to
people with advanced scientific degrees, addressing complaints from
companies that say the U.S. is training highly skilled workers only to lose
them to other countries.
Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), chairman of the House immigration subcommittee
, said he plans to introduce legislation providing up to 10,000 visas a year
to foreign students graduating from U.S. universities with doctorates in
engineering, information technology and the natural sciences.
Many Democrats, including President Barack Obama, support increasing the
number of visas for workers with advanced training in those fields. But
efforts to address the issue have stalled amid a larger dispute between the
two parties over whether to provide a path to citizenship for people already
in the country illegally, which Democrats favor.
Those issues could still stall Mr. Smith's legislation, but lawmakers in
both parties seem willing to talk about finding a way forward. Mr. Smith
plans to meet with his Senate counterpart, Sen. Charles Schumer (D., N.Y.),
to discuss his legislation in early November, a Schumer aide said.
In May, the White House said the U.S. should be "stapling a green card" to
the diploma of every science, technology, engineering and math Ph.D.
graduate and to select masters' graduates, so that they can "contribute to
the American economy and become Americans over time." But that was in the
context of a broader White House immigration plan that included citizenship
opportunities for some illegal immigrants, an effort that collapsed amid
strong Republican opposition.
In its wake, the high-tech community began pushing for stand-alone
legislation.
The U.S. currently offers about 120,000 employment visas to professionals in
various fields, including science, engineering and information technology.
Many highly trained workers, particularly those from China and India, face
long waits for green cards and sometimes choose to work elsewhere.
Mr. Smith's legislation, which he said he would introduce in a few weeks,
would not increase the overall level of legal immigration. Instead,
congressional aides said, he plans to divert visas from programs such as the
"diversity lottery," which lets people from under-represented countries
compete for visas.
The diversity lottery offers 55,000 immigrant visas per year. A House
committee has voted to kill the program.
In an interview, Mr. Smith said students who would get visas under his bill
"really are going to contribute a great deal to our country and to the
economy, as well." He said he would limit eligibility to those with
doctorates from U.S. research universities, though others think the visas
should be available to those with masters' degrees, too. To qualify,
students would need to have job offers, and Mr. Smith said they should
commit to staying in the country for at least five years. "I want us to get
the most bang we can for the visa," Mr. Smith said.
In another signal of momentum, another Republican, Rep. Raul Labrador of
Idaho, introduced a similar bill this month. His bill took sections from
legislation offered in June by the top Democrat on the immigration
subcommittee, Rep. Zoe Lofgren of California, who represents Silicon Valley.
Ms. Lofgren added provisions to win support from the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus, including one that would allow students who were in the country
illegally during high school to qualify for foreign student visas if they
are pursuing science or technology degrees.
Mr. Smith considers that to be akin to "amnesty" and says he will not
support it. But Ms. Lofgren says any bill will have to be "balanced" to make
it through Congress.
Without Ms. Lofgren's provision, or something similar, Hispanic lawmakers
are likely to oppose the bill, partly because they believe they will find it
harder to push their cause later.
Rep. Charles Gonzalez (D., Texas), chairman of the Congressional Hispanic
Caucus, said of Mr. Smith's approach: "It's incomplete, inadequate and, in
my opinion, unfair." He said students brought to the U.S. as children should
be eligible for help.
The White House had no comment on the Smith legislation. In a statement, Mr.
Schumer said the bill that Mr. Smith had in mind could not pass the Senate
without changes, but he also signaled interest in working with Mr. Smith on
the matter.
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB1000142405297020375260457664535
