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Business group ranks U.S. near last in
welcoming skilled immigrants
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[March 25, 2015]
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United
States ranks near the bottom among major economies in terms of policies
to allow hiring highly skilled immigrant workers, according to a study
by a business lobbying group that supports relaxing immigration
controls.
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 A 62-page report, expected to be issued Wednesday by the Business
Roundtable, found that the United States ranked ninth out of 10
countries including Germany, Australia, Hong Kong, France and
Canada. Japan ranked 10th.
U.S. restrictions on immigrants for jobs in science, technology and
other specialized fields have long been an issue for business
leaders who say they are unable to fill highly skilled positions.
Opponents of more liberal immigration policies contend that there
are plenty of skilled U.S. citizens and that immigration suppresses
wages.
The Business Roundtable based its results on interviews with
immigration attorneys and its own analysis of immigration laws. The
results did not reflect actual employment.
 On a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 as the best performance, the United
States scored a 2.3 rating overall. It received a 2.0 for policies
on hiring high-skilled foreign nationals and a 1.5 for laws that
would attract foreign entrepreneurs.
Germany, Britain and France owed some of their high marks to the
lack of immigration barriers within the European Union. But Business
Roundtable said EU countries still have an advantage over the United
States because of a lack of restrictive quotas for highly skilled
non-EU immigrants.
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The U.S. limits visas for skilled foreign workers and graduate
students to about 85,000 a year combined, the report said. In 2014,
employers sent U.S. authorities more than 172,000 visa applications
for the federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1.
(Reporting by David Morgan; Editing by David Gregorio)
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