The latest Global Business Outlook survey from Duke University and CFO Magazine shows companies are hungry for immigration reform. Close to 90 percent of Chief Financial Officers surveyed say the U.S. government should adopt a merit-based system to determine which immigrants would get to stay and work in this country.
Duke Finance Professor John Graham is director of the quarterly Global Business Outlook survey. He says they had not asked this type of immigration question before.
“We’ve heard for many quarters in a row that companies are struggling to find certain skilled workers," Graham says.
"One of their top concerns is hiring and retaining qualified employees in certain categories, so we thought, let’s add a question on immigration."
More than 80 percent of the CFOs surveyed say the US government should make it easier for foreign students in science and technology to get work visas after graduation. There were no formal questions regarding lower-skilled immigrant workers in manufacturing and agriculture