Forbes
June 19, 2012
At a time when our country’s economy is struggling and our businesses are searching for ways to remain globally competitive, we’re fortunate to live in a place where the very brightest and most talented professionals from around the world want to come to work. Yet, because of our antiquated H-1B visa laws, which are the main conduit used by U.S. employers to hire critical professionals such as doctors, scientists, teachers and engineers, our nation’s companies are severely restricted by an arbitrary quota, as to the number of highly skilled workers they can hire.
Last week, the quota on H-1B visas ran out– a mere ten weeks after it opened up for filings on April 1st. The June date is many months earlier than the past two years, when hiring was much slower. In 2010 the cap was reached the following January, and in 2011 the cap was reached in November. The H-1B program grants only 65,000 visas annually for bachelor’s degree holders-the identical number provided when the quota was first established in 1990.
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