Gates to Senate: More Visas

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The concern is that some companies may be using the H-1Bs to facilitate the outsourcing of jobs to other countries, rather than to bring in high-skilled workers who will improve their businesses in the U.S. "The H-1B program is full of problems," says Ron Hira, a research associate at the Economic Policy Institute and author of Outsourcing America. Companies such as Infosys defend their push for H-1B visas, saying their efforts help U.S. companies become more flexible, efficient, and competitive in a global economy.

Green Card Backlog

As Congress prepares to introduce legislation for immigration reform in the next few weeks, policy makers have signaled that they want to change the H-1B program at the same time as they boost the cap. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), who is chairperson of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, has said that there are weaknesses in the program and she wants to address them.

Gates said that another problem in attracting skilled workers to the U.S. is the severe shortage of green cards, which confer the right to stay in the country permanently. "Today only 140,000 permanent, employment-based visas are available each year, which must cover both key employees and their family members," he said. "There is a massive backlog in many of the employment-based green card categories, and wait times routinely reach five years. Ironically, waiting periods are even longer for nationals of India and China—the very countries that are key recruiting grounds for the professionals desperately needed in many innovative fields."

The workers caught up in that backlog were grateful to have such a high-powered businessman speaking out for them. Aman Kapoor, a 35-year-old from New Delhi who is now working as a programmer at Florida State University, says he applied for a green card five years ago. The U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service agreed that he qualifies for permanent status, but he estimates he'll have to wait another four years to get his green card, unless the laws are changed. "There just aren't enough green cards," Kapoor says.

Speedy Changes Needed

Part of the problem raised by long waiting periods is that it often forces employees to stay in the same job while the government works out the status change. "Same job, same salary, same benefits," says Kapoor. "The problem with this is that it really drives down morale." Kapoor has been frustrated enough with the process that he founded Immigration Voice, a nonprofit group that is pushing to alleviate the problems of high-skilled workers living legally in the U.S.

In his Senate testimony, Gates said the U.S. should encourage the best students from other countries to come to the U.S. for college and graduate work and then to stay after they have finished school. He also said Congress should speed up the process to move workers from temporary to permanent status. "These reforms do not pit U.S. workers against those foreign born," he said. "They do not seek to make or perpetuate distinctions among the best and brightest on the basis of national origin. They simply recognize the fact that America's need for highly skilled workers has never been greater, and that broad-based prosperity in America depends on having enough such workers to satisfy our demand."

The first proposal for immigration reform this year is expected to be introduced by Senators John McCain and Kennedy in the next week.

Elstrom is news director at BusinessWeek.com .