As the immigration debate begins to stir, scientists, engineers , and other highly technical and skilled workers in the United states are packing their bags:
Silicon Valley Brain Drain Blamed on U.S. Immigration Policy
In addition, there is evidence that it's not just the workers that are packing their bags:
Microsoft's Ballmer on H1-B Visas, Immigration
The Detroit Free Press recently interviewed Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer who asked him why Microsoft in 2007 built a research and development facility in Canada--over the border in Vancouver--not that far from Microsoft's quarters in Redmond, Wash.
Why not build it in the United States? Ballmer's response:
While the Canadian R&D credit may have been a factor, it wasn't the deciding one, Ballmer said. That would be immigration policy...
"We opened the lab in Vancouver," Ballmer said, "because we were having trouble getting visas for the best and the brightest to come to Seattle. The Canadian government said, 'We're happy to have those people.' "
"It's a bit goofy," he said, "because for every person we hire to be an engineer, there's probably another four or five people who we employ at Microsoft. There's another set of people employed in the community in construction and housing and retail, a bunch of different industries."
In 2008, Microsoft employed more than 78,000 individuals. According to Fortune, Microsoft employs 47,645 in the United States and 30,920 in other countries. Microsoft has said publicly that less than 15 percent of its U.S. work force are H1-B visa holders--which would put the total number of visa holders in the 6,000 to 7,000 range.
""I don't care whether they're American-born or Indian-born or Russian-born. I want to pay them to work in the U.S. That's why I'm trying to get 'em a visa.... I'm not trying to ship the job to India."
