Biden & Big Tech: 74% of tech professionals expect the Biden to remove executive orders against high-skill immigration

Biden & Big Tech: 74% of tech professionals expect the Biden to remove executive orders against high-skill immigration

What will a Biden-Harris White House mean for the tech industry? Big Tech could benefit from the Biden administration revisiting executive orders limiting high-skill immigration. 

On Blind, the anonymous verified professional network, with over 3.8 MM users across big tech, we asked tech professionals to share what they expect from the Biden administration. Here is what we learned from 1,050 professionals in the past two days: 

  • Do you expect Biden to loosen restrictions on hiring skilled foreign workers?
    • 66% of tech professionals expect Biden to loosen restrictions on hiring skilled foreign workers
      • 70% of Google professionals expect Biden to loosen restrictions on hiring skilled foreign workers
      • 71% of Microsoft professionals expect Biden to loosen restrictions on hiring skilled foreign workers
      • 83% of VMware professionals expect Biden to loosen restrictions on hiring skilled foreign workers
  • Do you think the Biden administration will remove the executive orders limiting high-skill immigration?
    • 74% of tech professionals think the Biden administration will remove the executive orders limiting high-skill immigration
      • 80% of Google professionals think the Biden administration will remove the executive orders limiting high-skill immigration
      • 100% of Qualcomm professionals think the Biden administration will remove the executive orders limiting high-skill immigration
      • 61% of Facebook professionals think the Biden administration will remove the executive orders limiting high-skill immigration
  • Do you believe Biden will increase the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms?
    • 64% of tech professionals believe Biden will increase the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms
      • 48% of Facebook professionals believe Biden will increase the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms
      • 90% of Qualcomm professionals believe Biden will increase the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms
      • 67% of Salesforce professionals believe Biden will increase the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms

See the overall data here. 

With any new president, there are many unknowns. We don’t know which tech policies will be prioritized—or others that may come to the fore. However, tech professionals feel confident that this administration will make h1-b visas more accessible.

A user at Walmart asked the Blind platform, “Do you think Green card backlogs will be cleared with Biden-kamala leadership?”

Silicon Valley has long relied on H-1B visas for highly skilled workers, and immigrants make up the backbone of the industry. Foreign-born workers represent more than 60% of workers in computer, mathematics and engineering in the heart of the tech sector.

Trump’s immigration restrictions have reduced the pipeline of foreign-born workers for technology firms. Trump even tried to suspend all new H-1B visas altogether, but a federal judge stepped in and blocked it.

 

Reference:

Do you think Green card backlogs will be cleared with Biden-kamala leadership?