Dear Senator:
Congress has an opportunity before it adjourns to help advance U.S. innovation leadership by enacting a modest reform in our nation’s permanent resident (“green card”) program that would simply “recapture” green cards that Congress previously authorized in prior fiscal years, but went unused due to government processing delays. Senators Robert Menendez, Patty Murray and others have included a “recapture” proposal as part of S. 3414, and we urge you to support enactment of this proposal without delay this year.
EB green cards allow U.S. employers to retain highly educated professionals – including scientists, researchers, teachers and medical professionals – who are already legally living and working in America. Yet, despite the clear link between green cards and U.S. competitiveness, the EB green card system has effectively gone unchanged for 18 years, which has resulted in well-documented backlogs spanning anywhere from two to upwards of 10 years. These waits create a disincentive for the world’s best and brightest to pursue careers at U.S. companies and universities, therefore threatening the foundations of American innovation.
Recapturing Congressionally authorized EB green cards from prior fiscal years that went unused due to bureaucratic delays would help reduce visa backlogs. EB green card recapture has been endorsed by over 70 employer, family and community-based organizations. In 2005, 85 U.S. Senators voted in support of green card recapture.
Failure to enact a recapture provision will further hamper U.S. employers in the global competition for the world’s best talent, as more and more extremely valuable professionals from around the world take their education and abilities to other nations that strategically pursue policies to attract these individuals. The U.S. system sends the opposite message: Permanent resident status is extremely difficult to obtain, and even visas already authorized by law are not available.
America’s future is at stake. Congress should quickly pass this modest measure that keeps highly talented individuals working to benefit the American economy. We urge your support for a recapture provision this year.
Sincerely,
Gilbert F. Amelio, Ph.D.
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
Jazz Semiconductor
Steven A. Ballmer
Chief Executive Officer
Microsoft Corporation
Craig Barrett
Chairman
Intel Corporation
Jan Becker
SVP of Human Resources and Corporate Real Estate
Autodesk, Inc.
Robert M. Berdahl
President
Association of American Universities
Rich Beyer
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
Freescale Semiconductor
Jim Bidzos
Chairman & CEO
VeriSign
Edward J. Black
President and CEO
Computer & Communications Industry Association
Laszlo Bock
Vice President, People Operations
Google, Inc.
Phillip J. Bond
President & CEO
Information Technology Association of America
Dan Burton
Senior Vice President, Global Public Policy
Salesforce.com
John J. Castellani
President
Business Roundtable
Safra Catz
President
Oracle
Roger F. Cocivera
President & CEO
Textile Rental Services Association of America
George Conrades
Executive Chairman
Akamai Technologies
Jill E. Cook
Vice President, Human Resources
Cummins Inc.
John P. Daane
President, CEO and Chairman of the Board
Altera Corporation
Rhett Dawson
President and CEO
Information Technology Industry Council
Aart de Geus
Chairman and CEO
Synopsys
Hector de J. Ruiz, Ph.D.
Executive Chairman
Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
Paul Deninger
Vice Chairman
Jefferies & Co.
Mark Denzler
Vice President, Government Affairs & Membership
Illinois Manufacturers' Association
Jesse Devitte
Managing Director & Co-founder
Borealis Ventures
Thomas J. Donohue
President & CEO
U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Brett Dungan
President & CEO
Master Marine, Inc.
John Engler
President and CEO
National Association of Manufacturers
Patrick Ennis
Global Head of Technology
Intellectual Ventures
Phil Ferneau
Managing Director & Co-founder
Borealis Ventures
Ralph Folz
Global Chief Operating Officer
Isobar
Michael Gallagher
President and CEO
Entertainment Software Association
China Miner Gorman
Acting President and Chief Executive Officer
Society for Human Resource Management
Phil Greenough
CEO/Founder
Greenough Communications
Brian Halla
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer
National Semiconductor
Glenn Hamer
President/CEO
Arizona Chamber of Commerce & Industry
Christopher W. Hansen
President & CEO
AeA (American Electronics Association)
Tim Healy
Chairman & CEO
EnerNOC
Bill Hewitt
President & CEO
Kalido
Robert W. Holleyman, II
President and CEO
Business Software Alliance
Keith Jackson
President, CEO and Director
ON Semiconductor Corporation
Kellie Johnson
President
ACE Clearwater Enterprises
Marlene M. Johnson
Executive Director and CEO
NAFSA: Association of International Educators
Bill Kessenich
President
Unlimited Services of WI, Inc.
Howard Kogan
President
Molecular
Charles H. Kuck
President
American Immigration Lawyers Association
Charles D. Lein
President and COO
Stuller, Inc.
John N. Little
CEO
The MathWorks
Tod Loofbourrow
President & CEO
Authoria
Lisa M. Mascolo
US Country Managing Director
Accenture
John McAdam
President, CEO & Director
F5 Networks Inc.
Harold McGraw III
Chairman, President and CEO
The McGraw-Hill Companies
Brian P. McGuire
Executive Vice President
Tooling and Manufacturing Association
Smith McKeithen
Executive VP, Corporate Affairs
Cadence Design Systems
Peter McPherson
President
NASULGC: A Public University Association
Lowell Miles
CEO
Miles Fiberglass & Composites Inc.
Albert R. Miller
President
Phoenix Closures, Inc.
Chuck Moran
President & CEO
SkillSoft
Larry Myers
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
T-Mobile
Bob Nelsen
Co-Founder and Managing Director
Arch Venture Partners
Kim Polese
CEO
SpikeSource, Inc.
Jeff Ray
CEO
Dassault Systèmes SolidWorks Corporation
David A. Raymond
President and CEO
American Council of Engineering Companies
James E. Reilly
President
F.N. Sheppard & Co
William A. Reinsch
President
National Foreign Trade Council
Ed Roberts
Vice President
Indiana Manufacturers Association
Willem Roelandts
Chairman of the Board
Xilinx, Inc.
Paul Sagan
President & CEO
Akamai Technologies
George M. Scalise
President
Semiconductor Industry Association
Brian Schipper
Senior Vice President, Human Resources
Cisco Systems, Inc.
Lynn Shotwell
Executive Director
American Council on International Personnel
Keith L. Smith
CEO
Zango, Inc.
Charles Stamp, Jr.
Vice President, Public Affairs World Wide
Deere & Company
Larry Sumney
President and CEO
Semiconductor Research Corporation
Abhi Talwalkar
President and Chief Executive Officer
LSI Corporation
Richard K. Templeton
Chairman, President, and CEO
Texas Instruments
John Tickle
President
Strongwell Corporation
Rex W. Tillerson
Chairman & CEO
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Jim Voelker
CEO
Infospace, Inc.
Kevin Walker
CEO
Simple Tuition
Dan Warmenhoven
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer
NetApp
Ken Wasch
President
Software & Information Industry Association
Lezlee Westine
President & CEO
TechNet
Sandra Westlund-Deenihan
President
Quality Float Works, Inc.
Warren Young
President
Acme Industries, Inc.
Chris Zannetos
CEO
Courion