Eric Thomas or Frances Cox 202-822-9491 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE December 5, 2007

Compete America Applauds San Francisco Bay Area Council for Urging Speaker Pelosi to Address Employment-Based Visa Crisis

Council Calls for Immediate Fix to Flawed H-1B Visa and EB Green Card Systems

Washington D.C. – In a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, leaders of the San Francisco Bay Area Council urged immediate action to reform the outdated H-1B visa and employment-based (EB) green card systems.  The Council, a business-sponsored, public policy advocacy organization representing the nine-county Bay Area, cited the impact of the current visa restrictions on several key industries, including high tech and healthcare, which currently struggle to recruit and retain highly educated professionals.

In its letter, the Bay Area Council stated:

“… [O]ur most innovative companies in the Silicon Valley need skilled professionals to maintain their global leadership, and fuel business start-ups and job creation.  This is critical for the economic vitality of the entire region.  It is no exaggeration that the well-being of our higher educational institutions and our entire professional service sector rises and falls substantially with the fate of Silicon Valley.  Many outstanding graduates of our own universities have found it impossible to secure employment in the Silicon Valley, and not because of lack of jobs, but due to a lack of visas.”

“No organization has its finger on the pulse of the Bay Area economy more than the San Francisco Bay Area Council,” said Robert Hoffman, Vice President for Government and Public Affairs, Oracle, and Co-Chair of Compete America.  “The Council clearly recognizes the importance of highly educated professionals to the economic vibrancy and quality of life not only in the Bay Area, but across the country.  The Council’s urgent call to action is further proof that Congress needs to address the employment-based visa crisis this year.”

For a complete copy of the letter, click here. 

For more information on how highly educated immigration benefits America, please visit www.competeamerica.org. 

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.
¤ ¤ ¤

¤ ¤ ¤