Posted by:
Java March 13, 2008
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Bill Gates: We need more H-1B visas
REUTERS[
THURSDAY, MARCH 13, 2008 11:19:22 AM]
WASHINGTON: Microsoft Chairman Bill
Gates asked Congress on Wednesday for more visas for skilled professionals,
echoing arguments often made by many in the tech sector.
Gates told
the US House of Representatives' Science and Technology Committee that the
65,000 H-1B visas allotted for professional workers annually was inadequate,
pointing out the 2007 quota was filled on the first day they became
available.
Gates argued that the United States had the best schools,
especially in engineering and computer science. "The majority of the students in
the computer science department are foreign-born," said the Microsoft founder,
adding they were often unable to get visas to stay. "The preference for a
company like Microsoft is to hire these people."
Rep. Dana
Rohrabacher, a California Republican, said Microsoft and other companies wanted
more H-1B visas because foreign-born workers were cheaper.
In order to
hire enough Americans, he said, "you'd have to raise
wages."
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