“On net, immigrants expand the U.S. economy’s productive capacity . . .

Posted February 13, 2014

. . . stimulate investment, and promote specialization that in the long run boosts productivity. . .  there is no evidence that these effects take place at the expense of jobs for workers born in the United States.”

So says economist Giovanni Pero of the University of California, Davis, in a report on the impact of the H-1B visa published by the Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco.

This Forbes article highlights differing approaches to the H-1B (or lack thereof) problem by the House of Representatives and Senate.  The House’s ‘Skills Visa Act’ removes barriers to IT outplacement firms currently facing H-1B dependency restrictions.  The Senate Bill, famously passed last June but which languishes somewhere deep in the Milky Way, keeps the screws to H-1B dependent employers.  Senate Democrats surely insist.

These seemingly subtle differences differences reflect fragmented policy approaches to the economics of immigration.  Protectionism complicates progress in a global economy.  To some, America’s composition is at issue.  To others, competitiveness.  The sensible approach incorporates both policy prescriptions without pandering to special interests (unions, primarily) or xenophobia.  The Great Immigration Stalemate continues.

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An Open Letter to the California Legislature Regarding AB 1159

Posted August 13, 2013

Note: The below is re-printed from a letter authored by yours truly and addressed to California State Senator Kevin de Leon (D-Sacramento) and Assemblywoman Lorena Gonzalez (D-San Diego), co-authors of proposed Assembly Bill (AB) 1159.  AB 1159 purports to ‘protect California consumers’ by requiring immigration attorneys in the State of California to meet special licensure requirements, including a new requirement to be bonded or adequately insured in order to practice ‘immigration reform services,’ and to be subject to special oversight by the State Bar of California.  The measure is proposed in anticipation of Congress passing Comprehensive Immigration Reform legislation.  It is motivated by a flawed understanding of our profession and by blatant advocacy of special interests in California that will, in effect, backfire if passed.  ~ FRW  

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Dear Senator de Leon and Assemblywoman Gonzalez:

I practiced immigration law for seven years in downtown San Diego before relocating to San Rafael in the Bay Area.  I have over 15 years experience in this field.  It is a more difficult and complex field than most non-immigration practitioners realize, often thankless and far from lucrative.  But I love it anyway and intend to stick with it.

I essentially began my career by studying international relations at UC Davis, and my parents live in Sacramento.  I know this state, its international flavor and its immigrant community well.

Please realize, the far majority of immigration lawyers in California are ethical and honest, and routinely achieve for our clients exactly what they came to us for.  We take pride in our work because we see the results first-hand.  We attend heart-warming naturalization ceremonies.  We’ve all seen clients cry with joy at an approval notice.  We are witnessing first-hand how Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals is changing lives for the better.  We anguish with our clients when we run out of options.

In this regard, AB 1159 is misguided policy and an overreach, not to mention insulting to a large class of California professionals.  It is not enough to assume a level of fraud in the immigration bar that would justify these measures.  You need to demonstrate a proliferation of past fraud through evidence.  Among California’s immigration attorneys, the evidence is just not there.

Continue reading »

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White House Stresses Four Essential Components to Immigration Reform

Posted January 29, 2013

President Obama spoke today in Las Vegas about the need for comprehensive immigration reform.  His blueprint consists of four components:

  1. Continuing efforts to strengthen border security;
  2. ‘Cracking down’ (whatever that means) on employers who continue to hire undocumented workers;
  3. Earned U.S. citizenship for illegal immigrants, including payment of back taxes with penalties, going to the back of the line, learning English and passing background checks; and
  4. ‘Streamling’ legal immigration for families, workers and employers.

Expect the president’s proposed pathway to citizenship for illegal immigrants (component no. 3) to meet the most resistance in a GOP-led House of Representatives.  Defining what constitutes an appropriate ‘crackdown’ on employers who hire undocumented workers and the ‘streamlining’ of legal immigration will further bog down the effort.  The White House Fact Sheet, in fact, released in tandem with the president’s speech, proposes expanding qualifying family relationships to include a permanent same-sex partner.  Rightly or wrongly, get ready for fireworks on that.

Despite the vicissitudes inherent in this contentious political debate, Obama’s push, taken in conjunction with the recent establishment of bipartisan working groups on immigration reform in both Houses of Congress, bodes well for passage of a comprehensive immigration reform bill in 2013, likely late in the year.  Stay tuned to Golden Gate Immigration for further news and commentary on this seminal American debate.

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Microsoft Takes Lead on H-1B Front

Posted October 4, 2012

Microsoft corporation last week unveiled a public proposal of its own devise that would create an additional 20,000 H-1B visas for foreign employment in occupations in the STEM categories (science, tech, engineering, math).  Current law allows for 65,000.  Brad Smith, general counsel of Microsoft, suggests that willing U.S. employers might be willing to pay up to $10,000 in fees for each placed worker, producing additional government revenue of $500 million a year.  The U.S faces a projected shortfall of approximately half of 120,000 computer-related positions requiring a bachelor’s degree expected to materialize over the next ten years.  The company’s proposal would also allow issuance of up to 20,000 additional green cards a year to STEM workers caught in the 6-year H-1B cap no-mans land, with numbers drawn from existing unused pools.

This is a sensible approach that overlays market demands in a new economy on established immigration preferences under outdated law – not to mention, cuts into the federal deficit. Can business needs be tethered to sensible comprehensive reform, or should Microsoft be seen as a special interest?  It’s up to Congress and the president.

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