Skilled Workers Deserve True Visa Reform

The programs for bringing foreign workers to the U.S. are deeply flawed. They're driving down wages and discouraging Americans from pursuing high-tech careers

The Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR) legislation that died in the Senate was no friend to American workers. One proposal for a new Z visa would have bestowed millions of U.S. construction, service, and manufacturing jobs to illegal immigrants without first offering these jobs to Americans. The CIR also would have opened the floodgates for employer-sponsored tech workers on temporary work visas, known as H-1Bs, and green cards.

A common myth is that "American competitiveness" and "technological innovation" depend on employer-sponsored green cards. It's an argument heard from many U.S. executives, particularly those at tech companies such as Microsoft (MSFT), Google (GOOG), Motorola (MOT), and Oracle (ORCL).

Most Visas Go to Low-Skill Workers

In fact, in 2006 about one-third of green cards went to hourly workers with a median wage under $18 per hour, including thousands of low-skill workers earning $6 to $10 per hour. Green-card holders with salaries above $120,000 tend to be managers, attorneys, and medical professionals rather than tech workers. Only a small fraction of the 140,000 green cards go to workers engaged in technical innovations or are related to America