Speech #870165412

Mr. President. I am today introducing for appropriate reference a bill designed to help satisfy in part the immediate demands of our industrial and Military Establishments for highly trained and critically needed specialists. particularly in scientific fields. whose first preference petitions have been approved but whose skills cannot be utilized because under our antiquated immigration system their quota areas are oversubscribed. The first preference quota. which constitutes 50 percent of each areas quota. is allocated to immigrants who possess high education. technical training. specialized experience. or exceptional ability which is determined to be substantially beneficial prospectively to the national economy. cultural interest. or welfare of the United States and their immediate families. Many applicants who have been certified as meeting these stringent requirements are nonetheless unavailable to our Defense Establishment because the quotas allocated to their areas of origin are so outmoded and unrealistic that it will take many years for their quota numbers to be reached. I am informed that as of November 1. 1961. there were some 6.951 first preference applicants outside the United States and an additional 3.800 already here. all of whom have been approved as qualified first preference quota immigrants and all of whom are unavailable to us because their national quotas are vastly oversubscribed. This means that even those who have been admitted to the United States cannot fully use their skills since almost all such activity requires that they have at least permanent residence status. and. short of private bills. this status is dependent upon reaching the requisite quota number. The Department of Defense now has working here approximately 200 highly specialized scientists and engineers. most with postdoctoral training and experience. who cannot be used as effectively as possible because they cannot receive security clearances until they have attained permanent residence status.