High Drama Over Highly Skilled Workers

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Many of the proposed reforms would lead to "the disappearance of jobs and the depression of wages," said Julie Kirchner, director of government policy for the nonprofit group FAIR (Federation for American Immigration Reform), in congressional testimony.

Taking to the Streets

What would reform look like? It's impossible to know so early in the process. But the most likely outcome is an increase in temporary and permanent permits for highly skilled workers, along with a tightening of the criteria for doling out those permits. On Sept. 6, the House held a hearing on a bill called STRIVE (or, the Security Through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy Act of 2007), which includes a provision to hike the number of temporary visas--known as "H-1Bs (BusinessWeek.com, 7/19/07)--to 115,000 from 65,000 per year and add 150,000 more green cards to the current 140,000 yearly total. STRIVE is unlikely to pass since it's a politically explosive comprehensive bill, but its proposals for highly skilled workers may serve as a template for further work.

Tech companies are getting some grassroots support. Immigrant advocates are planning a march on Washington on Sept. 18 to call for more green cards for those already in the U.S. on temporary work visas. "We want to increase the profile of the issue which has been dodged for the last two years," says Aman Kapoor, founder of Immigration Voice, a visa workers' advocacy group. "We'll be physically present in Washington so the message is loud and clear: We have waited patiently, and it's time for a relief package for high-skilled immigrants."

Kapoor expects thousands of tech workers from across the country to converge in Washington next week, and members of his group are busy preparing dozens of new slogans and hundreds of placards for the event. Immigration Voice is hoping to build on the success of a related campaign in July (BusinessWeek, 7/17/07). Kapoor's group is calling for Congress to raise the annual cap on green cards for permanent residency from the current 140,000 to 300,000. Currently about 500,000 high-skilled immigrants on H-1B visas are waiting for green cards, a process that requires them to stay with the same employer, often in the same job, for as long as eight years.

Still in Concept Mode

The key question is whether Congress can pass any immigration legislation after the fiasco this summer over comprehensive reform (BusinessWeek, 7/8/07). Tech companies are cautiously optimistic about immigration reform for the most highly skilled. "Lawmakers are open to ideas, and there's a general recognition that something needs to be done," says Hoffman of Compete America. "But right now we are still very much in concept mode, and we're hoping for the opportunity to sit down and define something."

To succeed, immigration reform will have to strike just the right balance between tech companies and tech workers, between meaningful change and political feasibility. No one doubts the importance of the effort. "Personally, I think we need to do what we can to improve the legal system on the high-tech part," says Lofgren. "If we don't, we'll likely see companies forced to expand overseas instead of here."

Join a debate about H-1B visas.

Herbst is a reporter for BusinessWeek.com in New York.