- Google wants the US to change immigration rules to help hire AI talent.
- The report told the U.S. Department of Labor that the list of roles considered to be in short supply needs to be expanded.
- The company said the need for AI roles will “increase significantly” in the coming years.
As the AI war rages on, Google says immigration rules need to change to attract the talent the US needs to stay ahead.
The search giant submitted a letter to the U.S. Department of Labor on Wednesday advocating for changes to its rules regarding jobs it believes are in short supply in the United States.
To obtain an employment-based green card, foreign-born employees often go through the Permanent Labor Recognition Process (often referred to as PERM). In this process, employers must claim that there is a talent shortage in the United States. role.
However, the U.S. Department of Labor has a list of “prequalification” occupations that are considered to have a lack of available talent. The list also includes physical therapists and professional nurses, as well as immigrants with “extraordinary abilities” in the arts and sciences. If you fall into one of these roles, your route to a green card will be easier and faster.
Google argues that this list, known as Schedule A, must be expanded to include “critical” AI and cybersecurity-related areas. Google says the list was last updated in 2005, but needs to be updated more frequently to adapt to changing labor demands.
”[The] The department originally intended Schedule A as a tool to address labor shortages,” the company said. “Having not been updated in 20 years, Schedule A does not reflect current labor shortages.” writing.
Of course, Google spends a lot of time in this letter highlighting the huge opportunities in artificial intelligence and why it's important to adapt immigration rules accordingly.
Google said it “expects the need for AI engineer roles, including software engineers, research engineers, and research scientists, to increase significantly in the coming years.”
He then added: “Advances in AI offer incredible promise, but a shortage of skilled professionals threatens to prevent AI from reaching its full potential.”
The Department of Labor previously announced that it was considering expanding the list of pre-qualified roles to specifically take into account STEM occupations (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and sought input from businesses.
As nearly every technology company, including Google, reorganizes around artificial intelligence, there's a fierce war to hire the best talent. Google says it needs to look overseas to fill this gap, arguing that there is a shortage of cybersecurity and AI talent in the United States.
Even for technology companies, which have been laying off employees for the past two years, the hurdles to hiring employees with green cards are getting tougher. Companies will need to prove that the fired employee is not suitable for the role given to the foreign worker. You will also need to notify recently terminated employees who may be suitable for the role before submitting a foreign worker PERM application.
As a result, companies have reduced their offers to enroll employees in U.S. green card courses. Amazon recently suspended new green card sponsorships until the end of 2024. Google also suspended it in January 2023 and told employees earlier this year that applications would not resume until the first quarter of 2025 at the earliest, said an employee with direct knowledge of the matter. .
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