Chamber Calls For Immigration Reform

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce issued a report today calling for a market-based system of granting H-1B visas to attract skilled foreign workers and to allow employers to sponsor workers for green cards, citing excessive wait times to gain access to the United States. The report called for the ending of "arbitrary" quotas on H-1B visas and green cards, stating that attracting the best talent from around the world and keeping highly skilled college graduates from other countries in the country will help the economic recovery. "The best policy for the United States is one that sides with freedom and innovation, not restriction," said Randel Johnson, Chamber Senior Vice President of Labor, Immigration and Employee Benefits. The report cited the six- to 20-year wait for a green card as one of the key impediments to attracting highly skilled foreign nationals. "Allowing top talent who graduate from U.S. universities to gain a green card directly will help U.S. employers retain the world's leading future innovators," it said.

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