Pawlenty seeks more H1-B visas

02/28/2006

Governor cites nation’s need for more high-tech, specialty workers

BY FREDERIC J. FROMMER
Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty asked a key senator on immigration issues Monday to back an increase in the number of visas for foreign workers in high-tech and specialty fields, arguing it would help U.S. businesses become more competitive.

Pawlenty, a Republican who has pushed for a crackdown on illegal immigration, said it also was important to encourage legal immigration, such as raising the number of H1-B visas from the current national limit of 65,000. He made that pitch in a meeting with Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who chairs the Judiciary Committee’s immigration, border security and citizenship subcommittee. “To have an artificial cap of 65,000 is not near enough,” Pawlenty said. “So we would like to see that dramatically increased.”

Pawlenty said he didn’t think there needed to be a cap at all.

“But 65,000 is ridiculously low, given how thirsty we are for engineers, researchers, computer programmers — we’ve got a big shortage in a lot of these areas,” he added.

Cornyn, who appeared with Pawlenty at a news conference, said he shared the governor’s concern about businesses outsourcing in response to a lack of skilled workers and said one solution is more H1-B visas. A spokesman said later the senator supported an increase in the visas as part of a comprehensive immigration reform bill.

“We need to do more than just border security,” Pawlenty said. “We also need to find ways to promote legal immigration.”

“As we look at H1-B visas, I would hope that we would be focused on those categories and occupations where we have a shortage, where’s there’s an unmet need or projected unmet need,” he added.