H-1B visas for highly-skilled 'dealt death blow'

The newly-blocked S.1639 immigration reform bill is talked about a lot in reference to inflow from Central and South America, and mostly in terms of "low-skilled" immigrants. However, as we've posted before, the "high-skilled" and their employers also had a stake in the bill.

CIO Insight reports:

High-tech companies such as Microsoft argue that a decline in the number of United States-born computer science graduates over the last seven years has forced them to rely on the H-1B visa and employment-based green card programs to deliver adequate supplies of qualified IT and engineer professionals.

"That can only be achieved through immediate reform of these programs to ensure they are meeting the needs of our economy ... It is our hope that the Congress will prioritize finding a solution to these urgent issues before the end of the year," said Microsoft officials.

Earlier: High-tech execs demand foreign workers