The U.S. is driving away the world's best engineers and computer scientists
by putting limits on H-1B visas and other immigrant worker programs, Microsoft
Chairman Bill Gates told U.S. lawmakers Wednesday.

Gates repeated his past calls for more H-1B visas, the controversial program
used by technology and other companies to hire foreign workers for up to six
years. More than half of the students in computer science programs at top U.S.
universities are from other countries, but a limit on H-1Bs means many of those
students can't stay in the U.S. after they graduate, Gates told the House of
Representatives Science and Technology Committee.

"We provide the world's best universities ... and the students are not
allowed to stay and work in the country," Gates said. "The fact is,
[other countries'] smartest people want to come here and that's a huge advantage
to us, and in a sense, we're turning them away."

Gates' comments on immigrant worker programs and improving science and engineering
education at U.S. high schools reflected his long-standing positions. Gates
talked about the same issues before a Senate committee a year ago. Congress
has set a limit of 85,000 H-1Bs each year, including 20,000 set aside for students
with advanced degrees, and in recent years, those slots have been filled within
days of the application period opening.

Many lawmakers agreed with Gates on H-1Bs and other issues, but some raised
concerns about raising the H-1B limit. One recent study said 150,000 computer
programmers in the U.S. have lost their jobs since 2000, said Representative
Dana Rohrabacher, a California Republican.

"My view ... is there are people available," Rohrabacher said. "You
just want to hire the top people from India and China."

Gates said Rohrabacher's numbers were based on a flawed study. Many large tech
firms can't find enough qualified workers, he said.

Rohrabacher asked if H-1B workers were driving down U.S. wages or replacing
"B and C students" from the U.S. Gates said no, citing a study released
Monday by the pro-immigration think tank the National Foundation for American
Policy, saying that for every H-1B position applied for, companies create an
additional five jobs.

"The top people are going to be [paid] higher," Gates said. "It's
just a question of what country they're working in."

Representative Laura Richardson, a California Democrat, challenged Microsoft
and other tech companies to fund scholarships for science and engineering students
with the money they use to recruit workers and apply for visas.

The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation provides scholarships for 14,000 minority
students, Gates noted. But more scholarships won't solve the problem of a lack
of U.S. science and engineering students, he said.

"Scholarships can be helpful, but I'm not sure that alone would drive
the shift we need," Gates said.

Gates called on Congress to increase the H-1B cap. He also asked lawmakers
to extend the 12-month period foreign students can stay in the U.S. after they
graduate without obtaining a new visa. He asked Congress to allow immigrant
workers to more easily become permanent U.S. residents, and he called on Congress
to do away with country caps on the green-card employment visa program, which
has a total cap of 140,000 workers per year.

Gates also encouraged lawmakers to focus on improving high school education
in the U.S., to pump more funding into government research and to approve a
permanent research and development tax credit.

"I believe this country stands at a crossroads," he said. "Economic
progress depends more than ever on innovation. If we do not implement policies
like those I have outlined today, the center of progress will shift to other
nations that are more committed to the pursuit of technical excellence."

IDG News Service

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