Technology visa proposal foiled by partisan politics

[Ulrich]

An effort to expand the number of immigrants with science and engineering backgrounds in the US hit a snag on Wednesday as the Obama administration announced it opposed a Republican bill on the subject. In a written statement, the administration said that it "strongly supports" proposals to expand the number of visas available for immigrants who earn advanced degrees in "Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math" (STEM) fields from US schools. Nonetheless, it objected to a Republican proposal to offer 55,000 new slots for STEM degree holders.

In the Republican bill, the new slots would be offset by eliminating a "diversity visa" program that currently admits the same number of people from countries that send few immigrants to the United States. Those visas mainly benefit immigrants from African and Eastern European countries.

--> Technology visa proposal foiled by partisan politics | Ars Technica

 

[Ulrich]

Smith's bill would create 55,000 new visa slots for these degree holders. Why only 55,000? Well because as Elise Foley explains, that's the exact number of visas currently issued by the diversity lottery program which Smith wants to eliminate to offset the influx of engineers.

--> STEM Act: DC can't even enact the immigration reforms nobody proposes.

 

[Ulrich]

The US House of Representatives passed a controversial bill this morning that would grant 55,000 new visas to foreigners who graduate from US universities with science, technology, engineering or math degrees (so-called STEM graduates). The vote comes just two days after the Obama administration said it was opposed to the bill. [...]

In any case, the bill doesn't have much chance of passing. It might not even come up for debate in the Democrat-controlled Senate.

--> House passes GOP immigration bill for science, math grads | Ars Technica