Transcript Immigration and International Trade – Visas

IMMIGRATION AND INTERNATIONAL
TRADE – VISAS
By: Simonetta Simmons
Table of Contents:
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Overview
Opposing Arguments – Low Skilled Immigrant
Labor/High Skilled Immigrant Labor/Miscellaneous
Facts: Immigration In America
Obama vs. Romney – Immigration Reform
Visas
Relevance of High and Low Skilled Immigrant Labor
Current U.S Legislation
Policy Proposal
Sources
Overview
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The United States has had a history of immigration
since its conception in 1492. However, in todays
immigration discourse, dispute over the need for
more low and high skilled immigrants as tools for
U.S global competitiveness versus popular views of
immigrants as causers of high national
unemployment is pervasive. At the forefront of the
discussion lie questions of the relevance of U.S
issuances of temporary work permits and visas as
means of leveraging corporate needs for additional
labor.
Opposing Arguments – Low Skilled
Immigrant Labor
 Consume
a high amount of government resources
(health care, education, welfare, etc.) without
paying a corresponding high rate of taxes.
 Less-skilled American citizens earn less money and
have fewer job opportunities because they must
compete with immigrants in the job market
Opposing Arguments – High Skilled
Immigrant Labor
 Wage
Depression/”Cheap genius” – Exploitation
of highly skilled workers at the expense of highly
skilled U.S natives who are equally qualified.
 H1-B visa is a “Subsidy for corporations.” An
excuse for corporations to increase their profit
margins
 “Outsourcing Visa”
Opposing Arguments – Miscellaneous
 National
identity and language is disappearing.
The great “melting pot” is being replaced by
divisive multiculturalism.
 More immigrants means more opportunity for
terrorists, drug dealers and other criminals to enter
the country
FAIR – Federation for American
Immigration Reform
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FAIR advocates "7 Principles of True Comprehensive
Immigration Reform":
1. Reduce the flow of immigrants
2. No legalization
3. No Guest-Worker Program
4. Protect Wages and Standards of Living
5. More Enforcement
6. No Asylum
7. Immigration Time Out (Very strict immigration only
for "a narrowly focused refugee resettlement program"
and limit family reunification each year)
Facts: Immigration In America
 Since
2000, the U.S has admitted an average of 1
million legal immigrants per year
 According to U.S Census Bureau – 12.7% of the U.S
population was foreign-born in 2006
 Median age of immigrants who have arrived since
2000 is 28.1 years compared with 35.6 years for the
native-born population.
 Immigration is helping America avoid the serious
demographic problems confronting rapidly aging
societies such as Russia, Italy, Japan and soon China.
Obama – Immigration Policy
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Continue to fulfill the federal government’s
responsibility to securing our borders
Demand accountability for businesses that break the
law by undermining American workers and
exploiting undocumented workers
Strengthen our economic competiveness by creating
a legal immigration system that reflects our values
and diverse needs; and
Require responsibility from people who are living in
the United States illegally.
Mitt Romney – Immigration Policy
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Raise visa caps for highly skilled workers
Grant permanent residency to eligible graduates
with advanced degrees in math, science, and
engineering
Secure Border
Enforce Law
Oppose Amnesty
Visas
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Process of receiving a visa/green-card citizenship
 Legal
immigrating is a difficult process. Most
immigrants who gain legal permanent residence status
(green card) are either closely related to a legal
resident in the US or are sponsored by an employer
who must demonstrate a lack of sufficient U.S. workers
available for the position.
 A maximum of 50,000 “diversity visas” are offered
each year to immigrants from countries that send
relatively few immigrants to the U.S.
 Only 5,000 permanent residence visas are available
each year for low-skilled workers.
Visas – Continued
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In addition to green cards, the U.S allocates
nonimmigrant visas that allow foreigners to come to
the US temporarily for study, tourism, business and
diplomacy.
Foreigners entering the U.S for temp periods
outnumber those who are given legal residency.
Visas – Continued
Education, Business or
Athletics (O visas)
 International cultural
exchange visitors (Q visas)
 Inter-company transferees
(L visas)
 Specialty occupations in
fields requiring highly
specialized knowledge (At
least a Bachelors degree)
(H1-B visa)
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Temporary agricultural
workers (H-2A visas)
 Temporary workers
performing other services
or labor of a temporary or
seasonal nature (H-2B
visas)
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Visas – Continued
Training in a program not primarily for employment (H-3 visas)
 Treaty Traders & Treaty Investors (E visa)
 Chili Free Trade Agreement Professional (H-IB1 visa)
 Mexican and Canadian (NAFTA) Workers (TN and TD visas)
 Singapore Free Trade Agreement Professional (H-1B1 visa)
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 Department
of Homeland Security -- 33.7 million temp
visas issued during 2006. 24.9 million came for
pleasure, 5 million for business, 1.7 million for
employment, and 1.2 million for study and academic
exchanges.
High-Skilled Labor: H1-Visas
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The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the US under
the Immigration and Nationality Act, section 101 (a)
(15) (H). It allows U.S employers to temporarily
employ workers in specialty occupations.
Must be renewed every three years
If foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed
from the sponsoring employer, the worker must
either apply for or be granted a change of status
to another non-immigrant status, find another
employer, or leave the United States.
Relevance of High-Skilled Labor
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“In an age when attracting the first-round
intellectual draft choices from around the world is
the most important competitive advantage a
knowledge company can have, why would we
add barriers against such brainpower—
anywhere?” – Thomas Friedman
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZqcMVIpNkA&
feature=autoplay&list=PL39117623786D4F79&lf
=results_video&playnext=2)
Relevance of High-Skilled Labor
Continued
 American
companies need to be able to compete
for top talent in the world. Our producers must be
able to hire the right workers with the right skills to
compete in the global marketplace.
 This expansion of global demand occurs during a
time when the number of native-born Americans
earning degrees in those fields is woefully
inadequate. Meanwhile Canada, Britain, Australia,
and Singapore are competing for the same talent,
while China and India become more attractive for
returning expatriates.
Relevance of High Skilled Labor
Continued
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According to the study, the H-1B visa program for highly
skilled foreign professionals “has played an important role in
U.S. innovation patterns” over the past 15 years. This is
evidenced by the fact that the number of inventions, as
measured by patents, has increased when H-1B caps are
higher due to “the direct contributions of immigrant inventors.”
In 2008, Bill Gates testified that “Microsoft has found that for
every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional
employees to support them in various capacities.”
Relevance of High Skilled Labor –
Continued
 Successful
high-tech companies, Google, eBay, Yahoo!, Sun
Microsystems, and Intel were cofounded by immigrants.
 Duke University Pratt School of Engineering 2007 study –
¼ of all engineering and technology companies launched
between 1995 and 2005 had at least one key founder
who was foreign-born. Companies produced $52 billion
in sales and employed 450,000 workers in 2005.
 Most immigrant-founded companies are in software and
innovation and/or manufacturing service sectors.
Relevance of High Skilled Labor –
Continued
 Foreign
nationals living in the United States were listed as
inventors or co-inventors on almost a quarter of the
international patents filed from the United States in 2005
 H1-B visa program is the main channel for American
companies to higher highly skilled foreign born workers
 H1-B visa allows a worker to enter the U.S temporarily
for a renewable period of three years. Current law
maintains a cap of 65,000 visas/year plus another
20,000 for graduates of U.S. universities who have
earned at least a master’s degree.
Relevance of High Skilled Labor –
Continued
 H1-B
workers create employment opportunities for nativeborn Americans by increasing R&D, production, and
exports.
 Research shows that for every H1-B visa requested by an
S&P 500 or technology company, the company typically
adds five additional workers.
Low-Skilled Labor
12 million foreign-born people are living in the U.S. without
authorization, number grows annually by 100,000
 Most illegal immigrants are low-skilled workers and most
come from Mexico and Central America
 The continuing inflow of unskilled immigrants to the U.S has
been driven by economic and demographic trends
 Supply of native-Americans who traditionally filled such jobs
continues to shrink as the American worker becomes older
and better skilled.
 Low skilled immigrants enable sectors such as retail,
construction, landscaping, restaurants, and hotels to expand.
Expansion creates middle-class jobs in management,
bookkeeping, marketing and other areas that employ
native-born Americans.
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Current US Legislation
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HR 3012 - Fairness for High-Skilled immigrants act
 To
amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to
eliminate the per-country numerical limitation for
employment-based immigrants, to increase the percountry numerical limitation for family-sponsored
immigrants, and for other purposes.
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Passed in the House, still awaiting Senate approval
and subsequent presidential signature.
Current US Legislation Continued
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American JOBS Act – “non controversial measure” to
get American’s back to work
 Spending
$35 billion in additional funding to protect
the jobs of teachers, police officers, and firefighters
 Spending $30 billion to modernize at least 35,000
public schools and community colleges.
 Spending $15 billion on a program that would hire
construction workers to help rehabilitate and
refurbishing hundreds of thousands of foreclosed homes
and businesses.
Policy Proposal – High Skilled Labor
 Raise
the current H1-visa cap of 65,000 to attract
foreign talent and leverage corporate needs for
high-skilled labor.
 Expand the annual quota of employment basedgreen cards in order to secure valuable workers.
 Make long-term investments in the human capitol of
their foreign born workers.
 Further investments in U.S education system to
produce highly skilled American workers in the
future.
Policy Proposal – Low Skilled Labor
 Temporary
worker program - renewed every three
years as a means to quell illegal immigration –to meet
demands of growing U.S. labor market (must offer
enough visas to meet the demands of employers and
consumers)
 Temporary worker programs must include worker
mobility – a portable visa that would allow temporary
workers to freely choose whom the work for with a
minimum of red tape will enhance bargaining power in
the marketplace and improve their pay and working
conditions.
 Investment in greater border security initiatives
Sources
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Immigration Policy Institute:
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http://www.immigrationpolicy.org/just-facts/us-economy-still-needs-highly-skilled-foreign-workers
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Migration Information Source --Immigration statistics:
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http://www.migrationinformation.org/USfocus/display.cfm?id=818
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CATO Institute: Trade and Immigration (http://www.cato.org/trade-immigration)
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Globalization and Immigration: http://www.cato.org/globalization
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Trade and Foreign Policy: http://www.cato.org/trade-foreign-policy
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Economic Benefits of Immigration reform: http://www.cato.org/publications/trade-policy-analysis/restriction-orlegalization-measuring-economic-benefits-immigration-reform
Trade and immigration: http://www.cato.org/trade-immigration
The impact of international migration on international trade: an empirical study of Australian migrant intake from
Asian countries (http://vuir.vu.edu.au/1460/)
State Department Diversity Visa Program (http://travel.state.gov/visa/immigrants/types/types_1322.html)
History of U.S Immigration (http://www.cato.org/pubs/handbook/hb111/hb111-60.pdf) H1-visa debate
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UZqcMVIpNkA&feature=autoplay&list=PL39117623786D4F79&lf=results_video&
playnext=2)
http://www.opencongress.org/bill/112-h3012/show
Link to Dr. Malawer’s website: (http://www.us-globaltrade.com/Trade%20Topics%20for%20PPt%201%20(Spring%202012).htm)