At a recent conference, Bill Gates shared his ideas about US immigration policy, noting that there should be more “exceptions for smart people.” While not the most eloquently phrased statement, it does pose an interesting question in the immigration reform debate.  Are we turning away skilled workers?  Or are they leaving on their own, thanks to a complicated and unfriendly system of paperwork and jumping through hoops that are never ending?  We link to the article

Chairman Bill Gates criticized U.S. policies on data privacy and immigration Friday in a speech to the Transforming India through Technology conference in New Delhi, India.

Microsoft will work with India on a national computer identity-card project, he said. He plans to meet with minister Nandan Nilekani, who helped build technology company Infosys.

Gates said the U.S. should have a national identity card or at least let some businesses, like health care, centralize information on individuals. “It has always come back to the idea that ‘The computer knows too much about you,'” he said.

He noted that doctors cannot share records about patients and said a U.S. ban on virtual doctor visits “wastes a lot of money.”

Gates also urged U.S. immigration exceptions for “smart people.” He said Microsoft has created “a lot of jobs” in Canada because immigrants are allowed to work if offered a high-paying job.

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