OBAMA OBJECTING TO STEM BILL - HIGH TECH VISA REFORM

Bad move by President Obama on immigration - the White House just opposed the STEM immigration reform bill backed by many technology companies to allow U.S. educated graduates in science, including computer science, engineering and mathematics to have a faster route to a green card or permanent residence in the U.S.

The White House just announced today that it is objecting to the Republican-backed STEM Jobs Act of 2012, which proposed to add 55,000 immigrant visas available to foreigners who earned a master's or doctoral degree in certain science or technology area from a U.S. university. The STEM bill has been supported by Apple, Microsoft, Adobe, Cisco, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Oracle, Qualcomm, and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce.

The reason for the White House objection is that the Obama administration wants an overhaul of the immigration system by enacting a Comprehensive Immigration Reform (CIR). 

While it is true that CIR is badly needed for the country, the President should focus on fixing the problem in smaller steps and not object to any measure that would alleviate visa backlogs and hardship to people. Passing smaller measures  like the STEM bill would still help tens of thousands of immigrants achieve permanent status.