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 Ford
Vice President of Government Affairs, NJBIAFord, who previously served as director of government relations for the New Jersey State Funeral Directors Association (NJSFDA), brings valuable experience as a skilled researcher, legislative policy analyst and public speaker to her new role at NJBIA.
“Althea is well-respected by the business community, and the balanced, experienced and thoughtful approach she brings to advocating for New Jersey businesses will be a great asset as we expand the NJBIA Government Affairs team,” Siekerka said.
The NJBIA Government Affairs team also includes Chief Government Affairs Officer Christopher Emigholz, Deputy Chief Government Affairs Officer Ray Cantor, Vice President of Government Affairs Alexis Bailey, and Director of Economic Policy Research Kyle Sullender.
A New Jersey native and Edison resident, Ford began working for the not-for-profit trade organization NJSFDA in 2012 as a government and external relations representative before her promotion to director of government relations in 2018.
Prior to joining NJSFDA, Ford worked in higher education administration at Columbia University’s Teachers College in New York City.
Before moving back to New Jersey, Ford was an executive assistant to Tennessee State Senate Speaker Pro Tem Rosalind Kurita, managing two legislative and district offices.
Ford is a graduate of Vanderbilt University and earned her master’s degree in politics and education from the Teachers College at Columbia University in 2010. She completed the New Leaders Council–New Jersey (NLC-NJ) Fellowship Program in 2012 and served on its executive board.
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
