United States Set to Gain from Mass Immigration

April 23, 2008 - PRLog -- Since the beginning of the 19th century the United States has been swamped with immigrants looking for new prospects and searching for the ‘American dream’.  As America was perceived as the land of economic opportunity, millions of foreigners entered. This numbered 5 million immigrants between 1815 and 1860 and as many as 12 million between 1870 and 1900.

This mass immigration continues today. This legal immigration is sought after by massive corporations, even Bill Gates of Microsoft has called for amendment to immigration laws, hence allowing more workers into the country.

Instead of waiting up to six years to attain citizenship to the United States, the H-1B programme allows foreigners to temporarily enter the country, filling those jobs that have distinct shortages in the quickest way possible.  

According to Nora Ali of www.globalvisas.com “the USA H1-B visa service allows an employer in the United States to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations for a period of up to six years.”

The American government grant just 65 000 H-1B visas a year. A massive benefit of this type of visa is that workers on H-1B visas and the like can apply for green cards in order to become permanent residents.

Of those who apply for permanent residency in the United States, about 60% of these were already living in the country on other permits, mostly on the H-1B visa. It is believed that most of those on an H-1B permit move over to permanent status.  

The United States government aim to attract highly skilled immigrants, particularly those in technical fields such as IT. As the high-tech sector is filled with skilled workers from India, India has become a key place where recruiting takes place. In Washington DC alone about 45 000 Indians live and work.

Microsoft, with its need for technically skilled workers, employ thousands of foreigners with H-1B visas and green cards, a third of their 36 000 strong workforce are believed to be foreign and the majority of these come from India (www.globalvisas.co.in)

It is therefore clear that the United States economy ultimately benefits from immigration whether the immigrants are high or low skilled workers, foreign workers can get paid less than locals and menial jobs can be filled by immigrants.  

These issues have become a hot topic recently, particularly following Pope Benedict XVI call for Americans to be compassionate to immigrants. This has sparked much discussion, mostly negative. But it need to be known that immigration is useful and key to economic growth.

Those looking for immigration permits or visas to the United States should visit www.globalvisas.com for advice and assistance and must take the online assessment to find out which permit to apply for.

Website: www.globalvisas.com