Honors Theses

Date of Award

2005

Document Type

Undergraduate Thesis

Department

Business Administration

First Advisor

Milorad Novicevic

Relational Format

Dissertation/Thesis

Abstract

The purpose of this thesis is to overview the past, present, and future of the H-IB temporary non-immigrant specialty workers visa and to identify what events have caused and continue to cause significant changes in its policies. These significant changes entail the implications the H-IB visa has for employers and managers when deciding a long term recruiting policy. The information used in this study was gathered from multiple statistical government internet sites, such as the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the United States Citizenship and Immigration Service. The data was also made available through immigration web sites and testimony at Congressional hearings. Lastly, information was gathered through academic periodicals, such as the Harvard Business Review. During the rise the Information Technology sector felt in the 1990s and early 2000s the H-IB visa saw its highest growth in admissions, but following a receding economy and the attacks on September 11,2001, a cry to decrease the visa total was voiced. The advocates of the decrease claimed security and higher levels of unemployment as their reasons. The numbers of foreign students and researchers coming to America has begun to decline for the first time in years, causing great concern to the academic and research worlds. The number of active H-IB visas has been lowered from its high in 2001 of 195,000 to only 65,000 in 2005. This drop is bringing large businesses such as Microsoft and Intel, who depend greatly on innovation and skilled IT workers, to push for a change in Congress. The H-IB visa is now involved in a highly polarized debate, the conclusion of which will determine the fate of the visa itself. The conclusion of this research has led me to deduce that not only should the cap on H-IB visas be raised but that this program is essential to keep America at the top of the world with regards to innovation, business, and culture. Managers of companies who would employ H-IB visa holders should implement a long-tenn strategy for their employment, because American business will not allow itself to compete in an increasingly competitive global world with mediocre talent.

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