The largest high-skilled immigration program in the U.S., the H-1B temporary work visa, has been subject to vigorous debate. Most immigrants receiving employer-sponsored green cards started out as H-1B visa holders. These visas are only available to foreigners with college degrees in STEM and other select fields.
Employers seeking H-1B visa holders must show that these workers do not adversely affect the wages and working conditions of similarly employed U.S. workers.
Most studies find that these workers reduce the unemployment rate in specific industries and raise wages for domestic workers.
Recent H-1B reforms are intended to favor higher-paid foreign workers and may limit the number of skilled immigrants and entrepreneurs allowed to work in the U.S. These limitations may push jobs and investments out of the United States.
As a state with over 20,000 H-1B visa recipients per year, New Jersey may suffer dire economic consequences from such changes. This webinar will bring together local and national experts on this topic to discuss the future of the H-1B visa program.
This webinar has been arranged by the Garden State Immigration Policy Institute, a joint project of the New Jersey Business Immigration Coalition and the New Jersey Business and Industry Association.
Agenda
Althea D. Ford, Vice President, Government Affairs
Julie Gelatt, Associate Director of the Immigration Policy Program, Migration Policy Institute
Moderator: Patrick W. McGovern, Esq.,Partner, Genova Burns
Presented By:
Neha Mahajan, Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce
Kathleen Naasz, Executive Director, Center for Student
Entrepreneurship, NJ Institute of Technology
Zuzana Čeplá Wootson, Deputy Director, Presidents’ Alliance on Higher Education and
Immigration
Moderator:
Eric I. Yun, Esq., Partner, Archer & Greiner. P. C.
Presented By:
Britta Glennon, Asst. Professor of Management, Wharton School
Patrick Shen, Vice-President for Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Kyle Sullender, Director of Government & External
Relations, HealthCare Institute of New Jersey
Meet the Speakers
Althea D. Ford
Vice President of Government Affairs, NJBIA, & Executive Director, Focus NJAlthea Ford is Vice President of Government Affairs for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association, the most influential and effective advocate for job creators in the Garden State. Ford manages the childcare, K-12 and higher education, workforce development and consumer affairs portfolios for NJBIA.
Ford is highly regarded as a skilled researcher, legislative policy analyst, and public speaker. She frequently communicates important legislative updates to business groups around the state to ensure employers are informed about the bills and regulatory policies that could affect their businesses.
Ford also serves as the Executive Director for Focus NJ, an independent research non-profit that conducts research on public policies, industry trends, and economic indicators that impact the Garden State’s overall affordability, workforce and competitiveness.
A native of Plainfield, Ford began her career in government relations with the not-for-profit trade organization NJSFDA in 2012. Prior to this, Ford worked in higher education administration at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York City and in government with the Tennessee General Assembly.
Ford is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned her master’s degree in politics and education from the Teachers College at Columbia University.
Julie Gelatt
Associate Director of the Immigration Policy Program, Migration Policy Institute
Britta Glennon
Assistant Professor of Management, Wharton School of Business
Neha Mahajan
Asian Indian Chamber of Commerce
Patrick W. McGovern, Esq.
Partner, Genova Burns
Kathleen Naasz
Executive Director, Center for Student Entrepreneurship, NJ Institute of Technology
Patrick Shen
Vice President, Immigration Policy, U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Kyle Sullender
Director of Government and External Relations, HINJKyle Sullender joins HINJ after serving as Director of Economic Policy Research for the New Jersey Business & Industry Association (NJBIA), where he worked to advance the competitiveness of New Jersey’s business climate and represented association members’ policy interests in the areas of innovation and technology.
Sullender also served as the Executive Director of Focus NJ, an independent research nonprofit conducting timely, innovative, nonpartisan economic and workforce research to support sound public policy in New Jersey. He previously supported the Camden County Board of Commissioners, coordinating external affairs and media relations.
Sullender graduated summa cum laude from Rowan University in 2017 with bachelor’s degrees in journalism and philosophy before earning his Master of Public Policy in 2019 from the Edward J. Bloustein School of Planning and Public Policy at Rutgers University – New Brunswick. Sullender was a Class of 2019 Graduate Fellow at the Eagleton Institute of Politics and is an active member of the Eagleton Alumni Committee. He currently resides in Cherry Hill with his wife and son.
Zuzana Čeplá Wootson
Deputy Director, Presidents' Alliance on Higher Education and Immigration
