Frances Cox or Eric Thomas 202-822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Oct. 2, 2007

Start of New Fiscal Year Means U.S. Employers Must Still Wait 12 More Months for H-1B Visas

Compete America Cites Urgent Need for Visa Reform This Year

Washington, D.C. – With the federal government starting its new fiscal year (FY) on October 1, 2007, U.S. employers are forced to wait an additional 12 months before they can hire highly educated foreign professionals through the H-1B program – including foreign student talent graduating from U.S. universities. 

The H-1B visa program, which was designed to provide U.S. employers access to top worldwide talent, is capped at 65,000 visas per year – a number set by Congress in 1990.  The 65,000 FY 2008 H-1B cap was exhausted on April 2, 2007 – the very first day applications were accepted, and half a year before this fiscal year even began. This is the ninth time since 1997 that the cap has been reached before the end of the fiscal year and the fourth year in a row that it has been reached on or before the start of the fiscal year.

In 2004, Congress created an exemption for 20,000 additional H-1B visas reserved for foreign nationals earning advanced degrees from U.S. universities.  This additional allocation for FY 2008 was also quickly exhausted, not even lasting through the first month of the filing period.

“America’s need for top talent is as evident as the benefits these highly sought after professionals bring to our economy,” said Robert Hoffman, Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at Oracle and Co-Chair of Compete America.  “To remain the world’s innovation leader, we cannot afford another year without a remedy for our broken system of H-1B visas and employment-based green cards.”

Hitting the FY 2008 H-1B cap in April also meant that, for the first time in the history of the program, U.S. employers could not utilize the H-1B visa to hire this year’s foreign born graduates of U.S. universities, particularly those students who were receiving degrees in math, science and engineering.

“Highly educated foreign professionals contribute to the U.S. economy by creating products, supporting downstream jobs and opening new markets for U.S. goods and services.  Closing the door to these professionals closes the door on new economic and job opportunities for America,” concluded Hoffman.

Compete America (www.competeamerica.org) is a coalition of corporations, educators, research institutions and trade associations concerned about legal, employment-based immigration and committed to ensuring that the United States has the highly educated workforce necessary to ensure continued innovation, job creation and leadership in a worldwide economy.
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