Recent college grads, doctoral candidates, and skilled professionals will find the already-rough job market much rougher if the immigration overhaul proposed in the Senate Wednesday (April 17) gets into law, says a new article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Consider the H-1B program, through which mid-level foreign tech workers enter the U.S. and take low-paid jobs, thus dropping the wage level for all engineers and scientists. The cap of 65,000 yearly would go up to 110,000. But the number will actually be higher than that, because an immigrant with an MD or PhD in math, science or engineering could bypass the H-1B system, says Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Foreign undergrads can get green cards without applying for the H-1B visa. About 343,000 foreign students now studying in the U.S. would be eligible for fast-track citizenship.
This is great for U.S. businesses, says the publication. (Qualcomm, one of the major employers of H-1Bs, has been pushing hard for loosening of the visa restrictions.) However, "if you're headed into the job market in the next couple of years, the changes are rather frightening. No matter how you slice it, you're likely to face more competition," says the magazine.
Recent college grads, doctoral candidates, and skilled professionals will find the already-rough job market much rougher if the immigration overhaul proposed in the Senate Wednesday (April 17) gets into law, says a new article in Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Consider the H-1B program, through which mid-level foreign tech workers enter the U.S. and take low-paid jobs, thus dropping the wage level for all engineers and scientists. The cap of 65,000 yearly would go up to 110,000. But the number will actually be higher than that, because an immigrant with an MD or PhD in math, science or engineering could bypass the H-1B system, says Bloomberg BusinessWeek. Foreign undergrads can get green cards without applying for the H-1B visa. About 343,000 foreign students now studying in the U.S. would be eligible for fast-track citizenship.
This is great for U.S. businesses, says the publication. (Qualcomm, one of the major employers of H-1Bs, has been pushing hard for loosening of the visa restrictions.) However, "if you're headed into the job market in the next couple of years, the changes are rather frightening. No matter how you slice it, you're likely to face more competition," says the magazine.