California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 24

Introduced by Assembly Member Chu

June 25, 2015

Assembly Joint Resolution No. 24—Relative to visas for highly-skilled nationals of the Republic of Korea.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AJR 24, as introduced, Chu. Visas for highly-skilled nationals of the Republic of Korea.

This measure would urge Congress to support legislation that would provide visas for 15,000 highly-skilled nationals of the Republic of Korea to make valuable contributions to the United States economy.

Fiscal committee: no.

WHEREAS, Last year marked the 60th anniversary of the
founding of our alliance with Korea, and the United States
continues to enjoy a strong and enduring relationship with Korea;
and

WHEREAS, Authorization for 15,000 Korean professional visas
annually would further the goals of the Free Trade Agreement
(FTA) and reflect the strong bilateral relationship between Korea
and the United States; and

WHEREAS, Failure to take advantage of the opportunities
presented by not increasing the amount of visas for highly-skilled
Korean workers could unnecessarily limit the positive trend in
service trade and investment growth witnessed since the FTA was
implemented; and

WHEREAS, There is a shortage of workers in the science,
technology, engineering and mathematics fields (STEM), and
Korean professionals, including students in United States
universities, are excellent candidates for unfilled STEM jobs; and

WHEREAS, The United States is expected to have more than
8.6 million STEM-related job openings by 2018 and as many as
3 million of those jobs might be unfilled; and

WHEREAS, Visas for 15,000 Korean professionals will help
ensure that the United States continues to attract and retain the
best and the brightest workforce; and

WHEREAS, Highly-skilled Korean professionals provide
valuable contributions to the United States economy in many key
sectors, including engineering, technology, accounting, health
care, financial services, and higher education. When highly-skilled
Korean professionals work in the United States, productivity,
competitiveness, and exports increase; and

WHEREAS, Upon completing school, most Korean graduates
cannot work in the United States. Instead of helping to grow the
United States economy and filling vital skills gaps for American
employers, these Korean graduates take their skills and
entrepreneurialism elsewhere; and

WHEREAS, Korean students at America’s colleges and
universities are in an ideal position to be at the forefront of the
advancement in innovative ideas. Combined with the closeness
brought about by the United States-Korea Free Trade Agreement
and the long-standing alliance, highly-skilled Korean professionals
would have a unique opportunity to create jobs and contribute to
the United States economy; and

WHEREAS, In the 114th United States Congress, legislation is
pending that would provide visas for up to 15,000 highly-skilled
nationals of the Republic of Korea each fiscal year solely to
perform services in a specialty occupation in the United States;
now, therefore, be it

Resolved by the Assembly and the Senate of the State of
California, jointly, That the Legislature urges Congress to support
legislation that would provide visas for 15,000 highly-skilled
nationals of the Republic of Korea to make valuable contributions
to the United States economy; and be it further

Resolved, That the Chief Clerk of the Assembly transmit copies
of this resolution to the President and Vice President of the United
States, to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, to the
Majority Leader of the Senate, and to each Senator and
Representative from California in the Congress of the United
States.