Brad Smith

This blog post has been clarified

Immigration is an important topic for Microsoft, particularly the ability to bring in top tech talent from other countries such as India to fill computer science jobs.

Brad Smith, Microsoft’s general counsel, testified Tuesday about education and high-skilled immigration reform before the U.S. Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security at a hearing on "The Economic Imperative for Immigration Reform."

In his written statement (pdf, 10 pages) for the committee, Smith said Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ: MSFT) relies heavily on its ability to recruit top talent from overseas:

Because of shortages and intense competition, however, filling our talent needs remains a serious challenge. For example, in May, Microsoft had 4,551 unfilled job openings, of which 2,629 were for computer science positions. In 2011, it has taken us on average 65 days to fill openings for experienced candidates in core tech positions in the United States. Our continued ability to help fuel the American economy depends heavily on continued access to the best possible talent. This cannot be achieved, and certainly not in the near term, exclusively through educational improvements to “skill up” the American workforce. We need to be able to attract – and have adequate access through the immigration system to – skilled workers from abroad.

Smith’s point is that there is a disconnect between a high unemployment rate and the ability to find skilled tech workers from the domestic work force.

Smith blogged about his testimony Tuesday:

A strategic immigration policy for high-skilled workers can help create more jobs here for U.S. citizens and foreign nationals alike. At Microsoft, we’ve seen first-hand how the combination of American talent and the best-educated from around the world can fuel innovation and job creation here in the United States. A recent University of Washington study shows that every skilled Microsoft job supports 5.8 other jobs in Washington State.

And it isn’t just about filling the near term skills gap. There should always be a place in the American economy for the best and brightest from around the world to bring their talent here, and help create other American jobs.

Microsoft was a proponent of measures at the Washington state Legislature in Olympia this year aimed at education reform, with an overarching goal of improving high school dropout rates and creating a highly skilled work force.

But much of that agenda for elementary and high school reform -- such as retaining or dismissing teachers based on performance, not seniority -- failed as the Legislature grappled with closing a huge revenue gap.

At a dinner in Seattle with reporters in June, Smith said he worries that if the dropout rate is not improved, the state’s economy will suffer because businesses will struggle to find trained workers.

Microsoft can bring in foreign workers who want careers with the global company. Smith said at the dinner that he wasn't sure of the exact number, but not more than a third of Microsoft’s workers were foreign nationals.

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Clarification: This blog post did not originally make a distinction between what Smith told Congress and what he told reporters at an informal dinner in June when the immigration topic came up. The post also is being clarified to more accurately reflect what Smith said about how many foreign workers have been brought in to work in the U.S.