As a married guy in the process of getting my H-1B visa I have to say this is a relief. It's a first step towards a more open immigration policy [1].
[1] http://www.iamimmigration.org/index.html#/get-facts/
H1B's have to go though long process of LCA's, ads in the newpapers, notices etc before their visa is approved. Would H4's have to go though this also? If not I can see this being abused by offshoring companies as loophole in the system.
I don't see how this is 'first step' towards a better immigration policy. Current H1B system is not used in the way it is intended for the most part. Its modern day serfdom used to attract desperate educated people from poor countries. Why not give them green cards and let them actually take advantage of american system and create jobs instead of treating them like 2nd class citizens with no rights, no voice, no dreams.
it's dictated by the gov: http://travel.state.gov/content/visas/english/law-and-policy...
Even if you are getting your H1B this October, and assuming that you could qualify for EB-2 in ROW and that your company starts the green card process the day you start working (more likely it's gonna take 6 months to a year), your wife still won't be able to work for another 2 years. Just getting the PERM these days can easily take a year.
Also IANAL.
How is that clear, exactly? The empirical evidence shows the exact opposite. You can start reading here: http://nber.org/papers/w19315
The only way this disastrous situation will get fixed is with a year zero restart. The current set of interest groups are too entrenched for meaningful policy change. We need a period of zero immigration for five or ten years, after which other policies might be worth considering.
There most probably wouldn't be a need for any stricter policy after 10 years, for skill based employment. By that time, many companies would either move or have big offices in other locations in order to attract global talent so the US wouldn't be as attractive to come in anymore. Also, there are a lot of companies that are started by immigrants, so some other country is suddenly going to be a hub just like Silicon Valley now.
Looks like your proposal affects students too. That means a lot of folks like the Google and Yahoo founders. Do you even realize how much R&D at universities and companies is driven by immigrants?
Don't think it will happen? What if I tell you it's already happening to a certain extent even with the current policies?
http://www.infoworld.com/t/business/microsoft-vancouver-resp...
You don't think this is going to hurt employment in the US? If India open up immigration in response and Bangalore becomes a bigger startup hub than Silicon Valley, you don't think that hurts US workers? If US workers move out too, it's just brain drain that hurts the country.
There are a lot of synergies that come together to make technology hubs.
>Really, this would better serve both the foreign countries and American global interests.
How would large tech companies' IT workforces being international help American global interests? Imagine if other countries had access to all your internet searches and email.
But even if I'm wrong, I don't really care. The high skill tech stuff people on here fixate on is not relevant in the bigger employment picture.
Go on back to consuming, now.
The one qualification for immigration should be this: will the country be better with this person in it? Does the person have a net positive value to society?
Thanks to technological progress, that is not a difficult bar to pass. The problem is entirely with American politicians that use immigration as a wedge issue. They blame immigration for any weaknesses in the economy, when in reality, they are the ones sucking value out of the economy, pocketing some, and burning the rest on a pyre.
People who come to your town wanting to work for their living are not your enemy. They are the ones multiplying your trade opportunities and business potential. No one is taking your job. Those jobs belong to the company. If you want to own a job, you have to own your own business. And if you can't do that, it is the people setting up tollbooths and roadblocks between you and business ownership that are ultimately at fault. Look hard at them. They are not immigrants.