Microsoft plans to open a development center somewhere near Vancouver to attract developers from around the world without having to deal with U.S. immigration laws.  There are already a few development centers outside the U.S., but Microsoft stated that this move was a related to a recent immigration bill that would have increased the number of visas allowing more high-tech foreign workers into the country.  That bill failed to pass, although Microsoft also stated the center would have opened in Vancouver regardless.

"It does help us address that challenge we have in the United States of hiring very qualified people, many of whom are graduating from schools in the U.S., but who cannot acquire the necessary documentation to work in the U.S.," Gellos said."

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