Grant Sovern Shares Insight on Significance of H-1B Visas for Wisconsin Companies in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Story
Grant Sovern, national co-chair of the Quarles & Brady Immigration & Mobility Practice Group, explained why H-1B visas are so important to many Wisconsin companies in a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel article exploring the topic amidst speculation about potential changes to immigration policy under the incoming Trump administration.
While many people assume that H-1B visas, which allow U.S. employers to hire foreign workers in specialty occupations, are most critical for high-profile tech companies in areas such as Silicon Valley, the article delved into why the issue has much broader relevance.
Sovern, based in the firm’s Madison office, outlined the role H-1Bs play for many Wisconsin companies. An excerpt:
"There are a lot of really, really successful manufacturing companies, especially in the Milwaukee area, that need smart people to come up with new ways to do old things," said Grant Sovern, a partner at Quarles & Brady who leads its immigration practice. "That's where they hire H-1Bs."
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And while people often think about Wisconsin as a state focused on manufacturing, not high-tech industry, those firms aren't just "pouring steel," Sovern said. They're trying to innovate and develop new technology.
"I can almost guarantee you that any company with more than 100 employees who has any research and development component has an H-1B worker there," he said. "I think that is a big surprise to people in Wisconsin."
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Sovern framed the program, granting 85,000 visas a year, as a modest influence on the quantity of jobs, given that the U.S. population is 335 million. And he said H-1B holders' innovation drives economic growth overall.
"It actually enhances our economy to hire smart people who are willing to work really hard," he said. "That's what America has been about."