American Skilled
Immigration Policy

An in-depth discussion on the interplay between immigration and our nation's economy.

Summary

There is widespread concern in the technology community that US immigration law is deleterious to the success of American technology companies. In particular, much of that law treats immigration in general fashion, and does not distinguish between the immigration of highly skilled foreign programmers and the less skilled "typical" immigrant. Thus there are constant proposals for modifications to the law that might, for instance, sponsor a large program to "fast-track" the visa applications of skilled tech workers who already have employment.

Our project seeks to investigate the successes, problems, and dilemmas that emerge in the complex interaction of the programmer labor market and US immigration law. We study the situation as it now stands, and what the government might do to improve immigration laws. In particular, we focus on ethical issues that arise when balancing the often competing goals of furthering American competitiveness and maintaining a fair and transparent system of immigration.