SAN JOSE, USA: The Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) has welcomed the introduction of three bipartisan bills that would make incremental changes to the employment-based (EB) green card system.

EB green cards are used by US employers to retain highly educated professionals who are already living and working in this country, and making critical contributions to innovation in the semiconductor industry.

Specifically, the bills would:

* Exempt highly educated, foreign-born students earning an advanced degree in science, technology, engineering and mathematics from a US university from the annual EB green card limit (H.R. 6039; lead sponsors: Reps. Zoe Lofgren (D-CA) and Chris Cannon (R-UT));

* "Recapture" employment-based (EB) green cards that Congress authorized in the past, but that went unused before the end of the fiscal year because of government processing delays (H.R. 5882; lead sponsors: Reps. Lofgren and Jim Sensenbrenner (R-WI)); and

* Eliminate per country limits on EB green card distribution, thus removing artificial bottlenecks for employees from high-demand countries (H.R. 5921; lead sponsors: Reps. Lofgren and Bob Goodlatte (R-VA)).

"SIA welcomes the modest, interim fixes to the EB green card system that these bills would make to retain highly educated employees already working for US semiconductor companies," said SIA President, George Scalise. "With US universities awarding half of master's and 70 percent of PhDs in electrical engineering to foreign nationals, it is clear that America also needs a long-term solution for retaining this talent."

Backlogs in the EB green card system are well documented, with wait times for some foreign-born professionals spanning six to 10 years. During that wait, an employee's life is in limbo; promotion, mobility and international travel are extremely difficult.

Green card backlogs also place US employers at a disadvantage in the worldwide competition for talent as competitor nations have stepped up efforts to attract these highly sought-after professionals. SIA has teamed up with IEEE-USA, which represents electrical and electronics engineers, to advocate for EB green card reform.

"As America's second largest export, the semiconductor industry needs highly educated workers to continue to thrive and grow," continued Scalise. "We look forward to working with Members of Congress from both sides of the aisle to secure these limited changes this year and work to ensure that broader reforms of the immigration system for highly educated professionals are enacted."