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The Case For More H-1B Visas

Few issues generate more passion than H-1B visas. Many U.S.-born IT pros and those threatened or displaced claim that the program is costing countless Americans their IT jobs.

The arguments on both sides will reach a crescendo as Congress considers the possibility of raising the H-1B cap from 65,000 workers to 115,000. Big-name CEOs say their businesses--and the competitiveness of the American technology industry--depend on a deep pool of talent, including those from other countries, as outlined in this Wall Street Journal article (subscription required).

If you don't subscribe, the article is pretty well summed up by this quote from Bill Gates (he, Sun's Scott McNealy, and Intel's Craig Barrett are among those pushing for more H-1Bs), describing Microsoft product planning in the context of H-1Bs: "We have product meetings where someone will say: 'This is when it will get done with immigration changes, and this is when it will get done without.'"

Microsoft is so convinced of the need for having the biggest pool of workers to pick from that it employs 17 lawyers who work on green cards and visas for permanent residency.

Similarly, InformationWeek's Chris Murphy, responding to this week's major feature on the H-1B issue, also argues in a blog entry that "we need to err on the side of plenty" of immigrant and guest workers for a vibrant tech economy.

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