Google urges US to update immigration rules to attract more AI talent

The US could lose out on valuable AI and tech talent if some of its immigration policies are not modernized, Google says in a letter sent to the Department of Labor. 

Google says policies like Schedule A, a list of occupations the government “pre-certified” as not having enough American workers, have to be more flexible and move faster to meet demand in technologies like AI and cybersecurity. The company says the government must update Schedule A to include AI and cybersecurity and do so more regularly.

“There’s wide recognition that there is a global shortage of talent in AI, but the fact remains that the US is one of the harder places to bring talent from abroad, and we risk losing out on some of the most highly sought-after people in the world,” Karan Bhatia, head of government affairs and public policy at Google, tells The Verge. He noted that the occupations in Schedule A have not been updated in 20 years. 

Companies can apply for permanent residencies, colloquially known as green cards, for employees. The Department of Labor requires companies to get a permanent labor certification (PERM) proving there is a shortage of workers in that role. That process may take time, so the government “pre-certified” some jobs through Schedule A.

The US Citizenship and Immigration Services lists Schedule A occupations as physical therapists, professional nurses, or “immigrants of exceptional ability in the sciences or arts.” While the wait time for a green card isn’t reduced, Google says Schedule A cuts down the processing time by about a year. 

Google says Schedule A “is not currently serving its intended purpose,” especially as demand for new technologies like generative AI has grown, so AI and cybersecurity must be included on the list. Google says the government should also consider multiple data sources, including accepting public feedback, to regularly update Schedule A so the process is more transparent and to really reflect workforce gaps. 

Since the rise of generative AI, US companies have struggled to find engineers and researchers in the AI space. While the US produces a large cohort of AI talent, there is a shortage of AI specialists in the country, Bhatia says. However, the US’s strict immigration policies have made attracting people to work in American companies to build AI platforms difficult. He adds Google employees have often had to leave the US while waiting for the PERM process to finish and for their green cards to be approved.

Competition for AI talent has been intense, with companies often poaching engineers and researchers. The Information reported AI developers like Meta have resorted to hiring AI talent without interviews. Wages for AI specialists soared, with OpenAI allegedly paying researchers up to $10 million. President Joe Biden’s executive order on AI mandates federal agencies to help increase AI talent in the country.