WASHINGTON-A group of lawmakers, responding to the growing shortage of skilled workers in the digital economy, last week introduced legislation to increase the number of visas for college-educated foreigners.
“We want the high-tech industry to thrive in the U.S. and to continue to serve as the engine for the growth of jobs and opportunities for American workers,” said Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), one of the bill’s sponsors.
The measure would raise the cap of six-year visas from 115,000 to 195,000 annually for the next three years.
In 1998, Congress increased the number of high-tech visas from 65,000 to 115,000. However, the number of high-tech visas returns to the 65,000 level in 2001 if no new legislation is passed.
Organized labor, which favors U.S. worker training over increasing the supply of skilled foreign workers in the United States, opposes the bill.
The Clinton administration appears to be caught in the middle, seeing that the president and Democratic presidential front-runner Al Gore are friends of labor and big high-tech proponents.
In addition to wanting the high-tech visa cap raised, digital businesses are aggressively lobbying Congress to give China permanent Normal Trade Relations as China inches closer to joining the World Trade Organization. But like the high-tech visa issue, the high-tech industry faces opposition from organized labor and various lawmakers.
The high-tech industry also is pushing for a simplified and streamlined Internet tax solution and is protesting against calls for high-tech firms to pay stock options to part-time workers.
