Monday, September 15, 2003

US study supports import of foreign skilled professionals


Silicon Valley,Sunday, September 14, 2003: Further cut in the flow of skilled foreign professionals to America will hurt the nation's competitiveness and its leadership in the world, according to a study by the American Immigration Law Foundation.


"Such actions would slow US labour-force growth, inhibit innovation inside the United States, reduce job growth, and encourage increased efforts to outsource and place overseas high technology jobs and centers for research and development," said the recently-released study.
Titled "the Global Battle for Talent and People," the study was conducted by the Washington-based Immigration Policy Center. It said immigrant professionals contribute significantly to job creation in the country "with Indian and Chinese entrepreneurs alone heading 29 per cent of Silicon Valley's technology businesses."
Collectively these companies accounted for $19.5 billion in sales and 72,839 jobs in 2000, according to the University of California at Berkeley.
Referring to the current concerns about the US economy, the report said these should not distract from an understanding that the country's long-term economic success requires it to attract skilled professionals and workers of all skill levels to fuel the growth of the US labour force.
(PTI)