Letter to Department of Homeland Security on Immigration Policies

The Honorable Kirstjen M. Nielsen

Secretary, Department of Homeland Security

800 K Street, NW, #1000

Washington, DC 20528

Dear Secretary Nielsen:

On behalf of the CEO members of Business Roundtable, we write to express our serious concern about changes in immigration policy that are causing considerable anxiety for many thousands of our employees while threatening to disrupt company operations.

Due to a shortage of green cards for workers, many employees find themselves stuck in an immigration process lasting more than a decade. These employees must repeatedly renew their temporary work visas during this lengthy and difficult process. Out of fairness to these employees -- and to avoid unnecessary costs and complications for American businesses -- the U.S. government should not change the rules in the middle of the process.

Unfortunately, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has issued several policy memoranda over the past year that will do just that, resulting in arbitrary and inconsistent adjudications.

Inconsistent government action and uncertainty undermines economic growth and American competitiveness and creates anxiety for employees who follow the law. In many cases, these employees studied here and received degrees from U.S. universities, often in critical STEM fields.

Although having played by the rules, our employees now face the following uncertainty:

Inconsistent Immigration Decisions: On October 23, 2017, USCIS rescinded its long-standing “deference” policy under which the government issued consistent immigration decisions unless there was a material change in facts or there was an error in the prior government decision. Now, any adjudicator can disagree with multiple prior approvals without explanation.
Uncertainty About Required Information: On July 13, 2018, USCIS issued a memorandum that allows adjudicators to deny petitions or applications on the basis that “initial evidence” was not submitted, yet the agency offered no guidance to adjudicators on how to apply the policy. Companies now do not know whether a work visa petition that was approved last month will be approved when the company submits the identical application to extend the employee’s status. This challenge is particularly acute for companies that hire H-1B professional workers where the government has narrowed eligibility criteria without issuing guidance to adjudicators or the public.
Revoked Status for Spouses: USCIS is soon expected to revoke work authorization eligibility for the H-4 spouses of H-1B employees. These spouses are often highly skilled in their own rights and have built careers and lives around their ability to contribute to companies here. Other countries allow these valuable professionals to work, so revoking their U.S. work authorization will likely cause high-skilled immigrants to take their skills to competitors outside the United States.
Commencement of Removal Proceedings: USCIS recently announced that it will place a legal immigrant in removal (deportation) proceedings if his or her application to change or extend status is denied and he or she does not have another underlying lawful status. Our employees are concerned that they will face removal proceedings even if they have complied with immigration laws and intend to promptly depart the country.

Together, the USCIS actions significantly increase the likelihood that a long-term employee—who has followed the rules and who has been authorized by the U.S. government multiple times to work in the United States—will lose his or her status. All of this despite the Department of Labor having, in many cases, certified that no qualified U.S. workers are available to do that person’s job.

Business Roundtable continues to work with Congress to reduce the green card backlog. In the interim, inconsistent immigration policies are unfair and discourage talented and highly skilled individuals from pursuing career opportunities in the United States. The reality is that few will move their family and settle in a new country if, at any time and without notice, the government can force their immediate departure–often without explanation. At a time when the number of job vacancies are reaching historic highs due to labor shortages, now is not the time restrict access to talent.

As the federal government undertakes its legitimate review of immigration rules, it must avoid making changes that disrupt the lives of thousands of law-abiding and skilled employees, and that inflict substantial harm on U.S. competitiveness.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

Chuck Robbins

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Cisco Systems, Inc.

Chair, Immigration Committee

Business Roundtable

Ajita Rajendra

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

A. O. Smith Corporation

Carlos Rodriguez

President and Chief Executive Officer

ADP

Michael S. Burke

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

AECOM

Roger K. Newport

Chief Executive Officer

AK Steel Corporation

Patricia L. Kampling

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Alliant Energy Corporation

Doug Parker

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

American Airlines

Stephen J. Squeri

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

American Express Company

Tim Cook

CEO

Apple

Eric J. Foss

Chairman, President and

Chief Executive Officer

Aramark Corporation

Randall L. Stephenson

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

AT&T Inc.

John A. Hayes

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Ball Corporation

Brian Moynihan

Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Bank of America Corporation

Laurence D. Fink

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

BlackRock, Inc.

Rich Lesser

Chief Executive Officer

Boston Consulting Group

Mike Gregoire

Chief Executive Officer

CA Technologies

Scott D. Farmer

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Cintas Corporation

James Quincey

President and Chief Executive Officer

The Coca-Cola Company

Francisco D’Souza

Chief Executive Officer and Vice Chairman

Cognizant

Tom Linebarger

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Cummins Inc.

Harold L. Yoh, III

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Day & Zimmermann

J. Michael Lawrie

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

DXC Technology

Mark A. Weinberger

Global Chairman and CEO

David T. Seaton

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Fluor Corporation

Richard C. Adkerson

Vice Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Freeport-McMoRan Inc.

Deanna M. Mulligan

President and Chief Executive Officer

The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America

Dinesh Paliwal

President and Chief Executive Officer

Harman International Industries, Inc.

William M. Brown

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

Harris Corporation

Dion Weisler

President and CEO

HP Inc.

Ginni Rometty

Chairman, President and CEO

IBM Corporation

Alex Gorsky

Chairman, Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer

Johnson & Johnson

George R. Oliver

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Johnson Controls International plc

Jamie Dimon

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

JPMorgan Chase & Co.

Mark Trudeau

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mallinckrodt Pharmaceuticals

Arne M. Sorenson

President and Chief Executive Officer

Marriott International, Inc.

Ajay Banga

President and Chief Executive Officer

Mastercard

Omar Ishrak

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Medtronic, Inc.

James P. Gorman

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Morgan Stanley

Adena Friedman

President and Chief Executive Officer

Nasdaq

Mauricio Gutierrez

President and Chief Executive Officer

NRG Energy, Inc.

Indra K. Nooyi

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

PepsiCo, Inc.

Marc B. Lautenbach

President and Chief Executive Officer

Pitney Bowes Inc.

Daniel J. Houston

Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and President

Principal

John R. Strangfeld

Chairman and CEO

Prudential Financial, Inc.

Douglas L. Peterson

President and Chief Executive Officer

S&P Global Inc.

Marc Benioff

Chairman and Co-CEO

Salesforce

Dr. James Goodnight

Chief Executive Officer

SAS

Maurice R. Greenberg

Chairman and CEO

Starr Companies

James P. Keane

President and Chief Executive Officer

Steelcase Inc.

LeRoy T. Carlson, Jr.

President and Chief Executive Officer

TDS Inc.

Richard K. Templeton

Chairman, President and CEO

Texas Instruments Incorporated

M. Troy Woods

Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer

TSYS

Peter J. Davoren

President and Chief Executive Officer

Turner Construction Company

Tom Hayes

President and CEO

Tyson Foods, Inc.

Lowell C. McAdam

Verizon Communications

Alfred F. Kelly, Jr.

Chief Executive Officer

Visa, Inc.

Hikmet Ersek

President, CEO and Director

The Western Union Company

Abidali Z. Neemuchwala (Abid)

Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director

Wipro Limited

James P. Kavanaugh

Chief Executive Officer

World Wide Technology, Inc.

Anders Gustafsson

Chief Executive Officer

Zebra Technologies Corporation

James P. Hackett

President and Chief Executive Officer

Ford Motor Company

Dinesh Paliwal

President and Chief Executive Officer

Harman International Industries, Inc.

Michael W. Lamach

Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

Ingersoll Rand

August 23rd, 2018