immigrant

Immigration and tech: What do you think?

The technology sector has a lot at stake in the ongoing debate on immigration reform.

While much of the debate in the media surrounding immigration has been about legalizing illegal immigrants, for technology companies, the biggest issue is making sure that they have access to enough skilled legal immigrants, especially as the U.S. economy rebounds from a recession. More so than most industries, technology companies rely on foreign-born workers, many educated in U.S. university systems, to fill key roles that enable them to innovate and grow.

As immigration reform legislation winds its way through Congress, large tech companies, … Read more

Fresh air: Mints at Hong Kong International

I had seven flights last week: San Francisco-Tokyo-Shanghai-Hong Kong-Beijing-Shanghai-Tokyo-San Francisco. On Tuesday I’m headed to Austin, Texas. And then to Hamburg on Sunday. When you travel so much, the design of the airport experience becomes an integral part of the quality of your life, maybe even more so than the design of your own home. You come to appreciate the little details that distinguish one airport from another in making the moments in transition more enjoyable.… Read more

Homeland Security: The reality show

Queue the music: the U.S. Department of Homeland Security is about to get its own reality show.

On Thursday, ABC announced a mid-season replacement show called "Homeland Security USA." From Arnold Shapiro, the Emmy-winning producer of such documentaries as Scared Straight," the network said the series will give viewers an unprecedented look at the work of the men and women at the DHS "while they use the newest technology to safeguard our country and enforce our law."

The 13 hour-long episodes were shot entirely on location throughout the United States.

ABC says the producers … Read more

Schwartz, Mulcahy: When will Uncle Sam get a clue on H-1Bs?

PALO ALTO, Calif.--Anne Mulcahy and Jonathan Schwartz became the latest technology CEOs to call on the government to let more foreign-born computer engineers into the United States.

"You have to raise the quotas," said Mulcahy, CEO at Xerox. Schwartz, who runs Sun Microsystems, struck the same theme.

The message went down well with an audience of Silicon Valley elites gathering at Stanford Friday for a daylong conference on political economy. Then again, they were facing a free-trade crowd of true believers, including headliners like eBay's Meg Whitman and former U.S. Secretary of State George Schultz, … Read more

Rep. Lofgren wants residency for foreign engineers

SAN JOSE, Calif.--Foreign-born engineering, science, and math students in the United States should be automatically granted legal residency when they get a job in this country, said California Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren.

Lofgren, a Democrat, spoke to an audience Friday at the Joint Venture: Silicon Valley conference about threats to innovation in the area. She said that about 56 percent of the Ph.D. candidates at the finest schools in the United States are immigrants, and because of the government's current immigration policy, many of those people leave the country.

"We're not only not getting the benefit … Read more

U.S. firms fear Europe will snatch up foreign tech workers

The European Union's new proposal aimed at fast-tracking the immigration process for workers in "highly skilled" is making some U.S. technology heavyweights nervous.

It's no secret that American tech firms prize vast quantities of H-1B temporary visas and permanent residency permits, otherwise known as green cards. The companies argue that these tools are necessary to bring in foreigners for positions they claim suffer from shortages of qualified Americans, particularly the foreign nationals who represent the majority of masters and Ph.D. graduates from U.S. universities in relevant technical fields.

Now they're concerned that … Read more

Allow more green cards for foreign techies, Congress told

Editor's note: This story was updated at 10:53 a.m. PDT to clarify a description of IEEE-USA.

High-tech companies and groups representing American engineers are famous for clashing over whether it's a good idea to allow U.S. companies to hire more foreign workers on temporary H-1B visas.

But what's sometimes forgotten in the debate is a key point of agreement among at least some representatives of the warring sides. A new joint letter (click for PDF) to Congress from the Semiconductor Industry Association and IEEE-USA, the U.S. branch of the world's largest professional … Read more

Lawyers' words are kerosene on the flaming H-1B bonfire

Much of life is timing. And in this case we have video of lawyers saying things that will only add more fuel to the already burning issues of immigration and controversial H-1B visas.

Speaking to his law firm's clients, Lawrence Lebowitz advises them, "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker. And that, in a sense, that sounds funny, but it's what we're trying to do here."

A lawyer working with Lebowitz outlines what employers may have to do if a qualified U.S. citizen does apply for a … Read more

Fast service at China check-in

Although China's government has been mired in human rights problems for years, the bureaucrats do know a thing about customer service.

Communist party members have to undergo the "360" review process for promotions, the peer-review system that helps determine promotions at companies like Intel. (The party picked it up from U.S. corporations, Jian Daning, director of the Shanghai Waigaoqiao Free Trade Zone, told us a few years ago).

Want to open a company here? The system for tax breaks for exporters is well mapped-out, and there are several regions offering deals on land in industrial parks. … Read more