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August 12, 2005 03:30 PM US Eastern Timezone

AeA Calls for Changes in Immigration Laws for Highly Educated Workers as H-1B Visa Petitions Reach Cap for 2006

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 12, 2005--AeA, the nation's largest high-tech trade association, today called for reforms in the current immigration laws regarding highly educated workers in reaction to today's announcement by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) that the H-1B Visa Cap has been met for 2006.


"Today's announcement by the USCIS further solidifies the fact that we need to take a serious look at immigration reform," said John Palafoutas, AeA's Senior Vice President for Domestic Policy. "America's well-kept secret is that it has rarely produced enough American-born workers with the requisite science and engineering background to support its knowledge economy. Our safety valve has been the H-1B Visa program, which was designed to augment the workforce. The current system is failing its original intentions.

"Denying entry of the world's most highly educated talent into the United States is taking its toll. We should be stapling Green Cards to the diplomas of every foreign national who graduates from a U.S. educational institution with a masters or PhD, and we should keep the world's best and brightest here in the U.S. to help strengthen our economy."

About AeA

AeA, founded in 1943 by David Packard, is the largest nonprofit high-tech trade association in the United States with nearly 2,500 companies, representing all segments of the industry and 1.8 million employees. Currently, AeA has 18 offices in and around the United States, as well as offices abroad in Brussels and Beijing. Our primary purpose is helping our members' top and bottom lines by providing the following services: Access to Investors; State, Federal & International Lobbying; Insurance Services; Government Procurement; Business Networking; Foreign Market Access; Select Business Services; and Executive Education.