First, the H-1B is a non-immigrant visa that allows foreign workers, mostly in high tech fields, to live and work in the United States. Because the normal green card system does not work well, the H-1B has increasingly become the easiest option for would-be permanent immigrants. Yet it remains a temporary visa. So, the H-1B issue is critical in several ways. First, it directly affects U.S. electrical, electronic, and computer engineers, programmers, and many other high tech fields. Clearly, large numbers of new workers in technical fields affect those who are already here working in the same areas. It is also a concern for students who will be graduating in this marketplace in the coming years. How could it be otherwise? We must also respect the opportunities for senior engineers, minorities, women, and the financially disadvantaged who would like to enter our profession. Second -- the conditions under which new high tech workers are admitted and allowed to remain in the United States affects the future of our profession, as well as our national economic and social well-being. Because the H-1B is a non-immigrant temporary visa, a policy based on the H-1B becomes an endless series of quick-fixes to the permanent problem of renewing our profession in the United States. After all, the United States is a land of immigrants, not guest-workers. Immigration has benefited us enormously throughout our history but the universal experience with guest worker programs is that they fail. In every case, large numbers intend to stay. So why don’t we fix what’s broken? The Ellis Island model for immigration worked well. The IEEE-USA was organized to be the career services and public policy arm for the 230,000 U.S. members of the IEEE. When the members, volunteers, and IEEE-USA Board agree that a particular matter (whether it is pensions, precollege education, or immigration policy) is worth it, on behalf of the U.S. members, we make the effort. The H-1B is such an issue. As engineers, we know the best solution is the one that solves all the problems. What are the problems the H-1B visa is supposed to solve? Employers want to hire skilled workers from the global marketplace. The H-1B workers they hire overwhelmingly want permanent residency - green card, and U.S. high tech workers want two things (1) that they compete equally with foreign-born workers, and (2) that they continually improve their skills for a life-time career in their profession. The IEEE-USA has simply put all of this together. "Green cards, not guest workers" is an alternative that provides employers, H-1B workers and U.S. workers alike with what we all want. For information, go to: http://www.ieeeusa.org/grassroots/immreform/index.html | Top of Page | Intro to IEEE-USA | President's Column | IEEE-USA | Last Updated: 10 April 2000 |
