Google praises immigration reform, says foreign-born individuals ‘play a vital role at Google’

Google wants the world to know that many of its products and businesses are spearheaded by highly skilled immigrants.

Immigrants are also prevalent in the tech sector, Google said, as they have founded over 40 percent of tech companies, such as Yahoo, eBay, and Intel. Moreover, according to a recent Kauffman Foundation study, roughly one-quarter of all companies started between 2006 and 2012 had a foreign-born founder. These same companies generated $63 billion in sales and employed over 560,000 workers in 2012.

So, why is Google showing so much appreciation for foreigners born outside of the United States? Aside from the fact that co-founder Sergey Brin is Russian-born, Senior Vice President of People Operations Laszlo Bock explained the reasoning on Google’s official Public Policy blog:

This is why we strongly support the bipartisan efforts being made to reform our high skilled immigration laws. We look forward to working with Congress and the Obama Administration to ensure that talented individuals will continue to innovate in the U.S. – a critical part of getting the economy back on track and making it stronger for the long-run.

Google is specifically referring to a bipartisan group of four senators that unveiled a bill this morning that could boost Silicon Valley and help immigrants. The Immigration Innovation Act of 2013, among other things, would increase the H-1B visa cap for skilled foreign workers, according to The Hill.

“Significantly, this legislation would also ensure that individuals earning Master or Doctorate degrees in the natural sciences and engineering from U.S. universities have access to permanent resident status, as long as those individuals have a job offer and their U.S. employer is unable to find qualified and available Americans,” the U.S. Chamber of Commerce added on its website.

That’s not all, though. Google’s No. 1 foe, Microsoft, stepped to the plate today via its TechNet blog to also applaud the senators and legislation:

Today’s introduction in the Senate of the bi-partisan Immigration Innovation Act of 2013 is a major step forward. This legislation addresses the country’s immigration and education needs in a thoughtful and impactful manner.

Get more details at the official Public Policy blog.