Though it’s a political hot potato, the prospect of allowing more skilled foreign workers into the U.S. to fill vacant positions in the high-tech sector is gaining momentum.
The issue seemed dead as recently as December when a bid to attach an increased annual H-1B visa allocation to a federal budget bill was defeated in Congress. However in a Feb. 2 speech at the St. Paul, Minnesota, headquarters of 3M, President Bush breathed new life into visa reform, calling on Congress to expand the quota of H-1Bs, which are granted to bring in skilled workers on a temporary basis. Bush said it was “a mistake not to encourage more really bright folks who can fill the jobs that are having trouble being filled here in America.”
Over the years, H-1Bs have been used by assorted high-tech forms, including a number of visual effects and computer animation studios, that rely on foreign labor to help make up for what they claim is a shortage of highly qualified American artisans.
As chronicled in SHOOT, H-1B visas have ridden a numbers roller coaster. In fiscal year 1997-’98, the cap on such visas was 65,000. That was increased to 115,000 in ’98-’99, and then to 195,000 for fiscal years ’00-’01, ’01-’02 and ’02-’03. The Silicon Valley-centered tech boom in the late ’90s fueled a vigorous industry lobbying campaign, which led to legislation that upped the yearly H-B allotment to 115,000 and then to 195,000.
However, that latter legislation expired in ’03, causing the annual cap to revert to its current 65,000. Legislators didn’t act to save the higher allotment for several compelling reasons. For one, in light of concerns over terrorism, Congress has been standoffish about legislation regarding immigration. Additionally, bringing in foreign workers for U.S. employment, combined with the outsourcing of jobs to other countries, carries potentially negative political baggage for legislators.
Ever since it was reinstated in ’03-’04, the current annual cap of 65,000 H-1Bs has been filled each fiscal year in considerably less time than 12 months. In fact, during the ’04-’05 fiscal year, which began on Oct. 1, ’04, the allotment was virtually filled on day one when Citizenship and Immigration Services received 65,000 applications for H-1Bs.
Bush’s recent speech puts the H-1B issue back in play, with some conjecturing that Congress will again take up the matter. Yet many would say that Bush’s remarks during the State of the Union address were more relevant in terms of a long-term solution to the alleged shortage of homegrown talent. In his State of the Union speech, he called for ramping up math and science education in order to make the American workforce more competitive in the global market. Whether there will be enough federal and state funds to invest in improving education, however, remains to be seen.
Both supporters and opponents of a higher H-1B visa cap generally agree that the long-term solution to the American workforce shortfall is education at the grassroots elementary school level on up through high school and advanced training curriculum. This spans not only math and science but also arts education as much of the tech sector–including visual effects and animation–needs a talent base that’s savvy both technologically and in the creative arts.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More