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Between 2010 and 2015, more than 3,200 H-1B visas were issued to Irish citizens. Photograph: iStock

Irish tech firms and skilled IT workers may be nervous about plans by US president Donald Trump to overhaul work-visa programmes, but they could ultimately benefit from any possible immigration reform, Irelands outgoing consul general for San Francisco has said.

Philip Grant said many individuals and companies are concerned about moves to amend the H-1B visa programme, which permits highly skilled foreigners to live and work in the US for up to six years.

We had expected prior to Trump that we might see some kind of comprehensive immigration reform that would allow us to address the issues that still exist around illegal Irish here. Thats not likely to happen now and we are probably going to see a move towards a more points-based, skills-based immigration system instead, said Mr Grant.

Looking at it selfishly, this is probably going to benefit Ireland more than other countries because thats exactly the sort of immigrant we have coming to the US at the moment, he added.

While the top recipients of the H-1B visas are outsourcers and come primarily from India, there is concern that any changes to the H1-B programme could be detrimental to Irish tech firms, many of whom avail of it when setting up operations in the US.

The US government issues 65,000 H-1B visas a year to US employers recruiting and employing professionals in speciality occupations, such as IT. Between 2010 and 2015, more than 3,200 such visas were issued to Irish citizens, with an average of 640 provided each year to IT professionals moving to the US.

Mr Grant, who is shortly leaving the role he has served in since December 2013, said the nature of immigration to the US, and in particular California, has changed beyond recognition in recent years.

In the early 1990s most of the Irish coming were coming in illegally to work on building sites and were connecting in with traditional core of networks. Over the last few years, though, the nature of Irelands relationship with California has changed substantially, principally due to the tremendous success of the IDA in attracting wave after wave of technology companies from this region into Ireland, said Mr Grant.

He was speaking at the start of a week-long retreat of chief executives being held in San Francisco. More than 80 entrepreneurs have travelled to the US to take part in the EY-sponsored event, which is believed to be the largest unofficial trade mission to leave Ireland.

No country in Europe has the connections with California that Ireland has. We tend to take it for granted and think it is a natural right that a global tech giant such as Google would have its European headquarters in Ireland. But in the normal course of events it wouldnt be the natural home for these companies, said Mr Grant.

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Irish could benefit from Trump's immigration reform - Irish Times

PHOENIX A new statewide coalition that advocatesfor the importance of immigrants, immigration and immigration reform for Arizona launched on Thursday.

Andrew Moriarty with Fwd.us, anational organization created by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, said the coalition represents a broad and diverse group of voices.

Whether its agriculture, traditional business, high-tech business, students and teacherseveryone understands that the immigration system is broken, he said.

The national coalition is on the ground in 11 states and is made up of local groups like the Arizona Farm Bureau, Arizona Technology Council and Greater Phoenix Chamber of Commerce.

Moriarty said groups like these are highlighting the importance of immigrants, immigration, and immigration reform because those issues affect them directly.

Immigration has long been our nations greatest competitive advantage, he said. Thats true if were talking about high-skilled that has allowed us to build some of the most incredible companies that the world has ever seen.

Half of the billion-dollar value companies in Silicon Valley were founded by immigrants. But its also true, Moriarty continued, if were talking about the 80 percent of agricultural workers here in Arizona who are immigrants.

And thats true of the 750,000 Dreamers young undocumented people who came here at a young age, he said. Who have no way, as of right now, to come forward, get right with the law and pursue their dreams in this country.

Voters, and business, community and political leaders all agree itll take three things to fix this, he said.

Making sure that we have secure boarders, making sure that our immigration system makes sense for the 21stCentury and making that those who are living here without documentation, have a pathway to legalization, he said.

The coalition plans to call on Arizona legislators to make immigration reform a priority for Congress.

This is a really important time to being doing this work, he said. We are seeing record high support from American voters on both sides of the isle for common sense immigration reform.

Continued here:
Arizona launches statewide coalition to address immigration reform - KTAR.com

Hollywood celebrities seem to have become convinced that they are capable of providing better commentary on world events than people who actually have relevant expertise. This would be amusing if political leaders took advice from pop idols with a grain of salt. Unfortunately, politicians love the easy press that comes when superstars speak out on a particular political agenda. Meanwhile those of us who care about the safety and security of the nation look on in horror at pseudo-spectacles, like comedian Stephen Colberts testimony to congress on the need for immigration reform.

The latest Hollywood lunacy-cum-commentary comes from pop music icon Katy Perry. On the continuum of hypersexualized nonsense that passes for entertainment these days, Ms. Perry falls somewhere between Lady Gaga and Miley Cyrus. She also holds the dubious distinction of being the worlds most followed person on Twitter. How that qualifies her as an expert on geopolitics isnt clear.

Nevertheless, in a recent appearance on the Elvis Duran and the Morning Show, Ms. Perry held forth on the Manchester terrorist bombing. Her prescription for eradicating jihadist extremism: No barriers, no borders, we all just need to co-exist. Of course, that is utterly absurd. The Manchester bombing resulted from Britains embrace of lax immigration controls and poor vetting. Open borders, and a lack of barriers, caused this problem. Therefore, it should be self-evident that they cannot be the solution. In effect, Ms. Perry is arguing that the best cure for a case of poisoning is to administer even more of the toxin.

The Manchester bomber, Salman Abedi, was a natural born citizen of the U.K. However, prior to being admitted to the U.K. as a refugee, his Libyan father Hashim Abedi had been a member of a jihadist group with links to ISIS and Al Qaeda. That information was rapidly obtained by investigative authorities in the days following the attack. If it could be uncovered so quickly in the wake of tragedy, there is absolutely no reason why it couldnt have been uncovered as part of a thorough vetting process prior to admitting the Abedi family to Great Britain. Contrary to Ms. Perrys advice, appropriate barriers, designed to keep terrorists out of the refugee process, might have saved the lives of 22 innocent Britons.

Of course, Ms. Perrys less than insightful commentary is just one more example of Hollywood hypocrisy. She comments disdainfully on the negative effects of borders and barriers that protect the cultural, economic, and national security interests of average Britons and average Americans. However, she does seem committed to maintaining one border, the one that protects her from the real world. Ms. Perry lives in a $19 million mansion, in a gated community, located in a secluded section of the Hollywood hills. Co-existence is easy when you live in a fantasy land.

Original post:
Katy Perry's World Has Borders and Barriers but Yours S... - ImmigrationReform.com (blog)

FWD.us Launching Arizona Coalition To Address Immigration Reform KJZZ It aims to keep the business community involved in the discussion over immigration reform. They say to keep America competitive in the global economy common sense immigration reform is key. Today, they're launching a new Arizona Coalition that includes ...

Continued here:
FWD.us Launching Arizona Coalition To Address Immigration Reform - KJZZ

The Trump Administration could soon make it more difficult for talented immigrants to obtain tech jobs in the United States. As President Trump takes aim at technology companies throughout the nation who use H-1B visas and a variety of other business visa programs to bring skilled foreign workers into the workforce, science and technology sectors of the economy could suffer a significant blow.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows foreign workers to obtain temporary employment in the U.S. It is designed to help satisfy the need for skilled workers who have a Bachelors Degree or higher, or who have a combination of education and experience that equals a Bachelors Degree or higher.

Each year, thousands of highly educated, skilled foreign workers attempt to secure one of about 85,000 H-1B visas. About two-thirds of those who are successful go on to pursue careers in technology. Illinois ranks in the top five for states that hire the most workers via the program. A recent CNN report states that approximately 70 percent of H-1B workers come from India, and another 10 percent are from China. Some of the most sought after positions for H-1B visas in 2016 include:

Demand for workers in technology was three-times more than the number allowed in 2016.

In addition to H-1B visas, a number of other business visa programs that are important to the tech community could be facing reform. The J-1 visa program, which is used by foreign workers on summer work travel, the OPT program, used by foreign students after graduating, the E-2 visa used by investors, and the L-1 visa program, which is used by foreign workers who are transferring from a companys overseas location, are all subject to review.

Over half of all unicorn (privately held) companies worth $1 billion or more are founded by at least one immigrant. The National Foundation for American Policy reports that about 760 jobs in the United States have been created by each immigrant founder.

According to experts, Trumps visa reform could significantly reduce the number of skilled foreign workers and entrepreneurs who bring talent and jobs to the U.S.

Read more:
Will the Tech Industry Be Trumped By Immigration Reform? - JD Supra (press release)