This is an excerpt from a column posted at BizOpinion.
Houssam Nassif is everything the “big data” marketplace in the United States and Wisconsin should want in an employee, but has trouble hiring.
He holds a doctorate in computer science from the UW-Madison with an emphasis in machine learning (think artificial intelligence), bioinformatics and statistics. Nassif has interned for companies such as Google and Cisco Systems, managed major databases, is fluent in three languages and even finds time to sail, explore caves and raise a family.
Unfortunately, he’s not an American citizen.
Born in Lebanon and educated in Beirut and the United States, Nassif is a 30-something poster child for the immigration reform debate raging in Congress. His recent search for full-time employment in Wisconsin turned up dry, despite holding a degree from one of the nation’s best computer science schools. He will soon move to the state of Washington to begin work for a major company there.
Nassif’s search was complicated by the fact he needed to land with a company that could help him secure a federal work visa. Such a visa would allow him and his family to stay longer and eventually seek to become U.S. citizens.
“It was crucial,” Nassif said of the work visa. “I stopped a few interviews because of the companies not being able to assist.”
While Nassif will stay in the United States, it appears his talents are lost to Wisconsin – at least, for now. His predicament is symbolic of a larger issue: Wisconsin’s inability to attract and retain more foreign-born workers, especially in skilled positions.
In a global economy, Wisconsin looks much less international than even its neighbors. Compared to Illinois, Minnesota and Michigan, Wisconsin has a smaller share of foreign-born population and total labor force, as well as fewer foreign-born business owners.
