It’s a Terrible Time to Reject Skilled Workers

There was an interesting article in today’s Wall Street Journal:

Thanks to the Employ American Workers Act (EAWA) it’s become harder for companies getting government support to hire skilled immigrants with H-1B visas.

Supporters say the law will help U.S.-born workers and stimulate our economy, but this is just wrong. The economy is not of fixed size, in which more foreign-born workers necessarily mean fewer U.S. workers. Productive foreign-born workers can help create more jobs here. Keeping them out damages us.

There is also indirect, unforeseen damage that’s beginning to appear in higher education. According to the National Science Foundation, 42% of Ph. D. science and engineering workers in the U.S. today are foreign born..

And where will all these foreign-born students go? To countries whose leaders recognize their job-creation potential and shape policy accordingly. For example, current British immigration policy welcomes an unlimited supply of the world’s best and brightest business minds.

Indian Firms, Microsoft Top H-1B List

Indian outsourcers, along with Microsoft and Google, again lead the list of companies bringing foreign workers to the U.S. on the H-1B visa program.

According to U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS), Four India-based companies topped the list:

Infosys Technologies (INFY, India): 4,559 H-1B visas approved in 2008, 4,559 in 2007
Wipro (WIT, India): 2,678 H-1B visas approved in 2008; 2,567 in 2007
Satyam (SAY, India): 1,917 H-1B visas approved in 2008; 1,396 in 2007
Tata (TCS.BO, India): 1,539 H-1B visas approved in 2008; 797 in 2007
Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT): 1,018 H-1B visas approved in 2008; 959 in 2007
Google (NASDAQ:GOOG): 248 H-1B visas approved in 2008
Lehman Brothers: 130 H-1B visas approved in 2008

In fiscal year 2007, six of the top 10 visa recipients were based in India; two others among the top 10, Cognizant Technology Solutions (CTSH) and UST Global, are headquartered in the U.S. but have most of their operations in India, according to BusinessWeek

• The H-1B program, which started in 1990, was set up to allow U.S. companies to import the best and brightest in technology, engineering, and other fields when such workers are in short supply domestically.
• The H-1B visa program is currently capped at 65,000 per year, with another 20,000 set aside for advanced-degree graduates of U.S. universities.

USCIS will begin taking H-1B applications for the next fiscal year on April 1 and will distribute the new visas on Oct. 1.

Source: U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Service (USCIS)

Microsoft slashes contract worker rates by 10 pct

According to AP, CNBC: “Microsoft Corp. is slashing overtime, hours and pay for U.S. temporary workers as part of an overall push to curb expenses during the recession.

Microsoft will cut what it pays the staffing agencies by 10 percent for current projects and won’t raise the rate it pays for temporary workers who return after a mandatory annual 100-day break. The company also plans to reduce overtime and the total number of hours clocked by temporary workers.”

~News submitted by upthecreek

Stimulus package sets H-1B limits, leaves out E-Verify mandate

A provision requiring banks receiving federal bailout funds to give hiring priority to U.S. workers over foreigners with H-1B visas made it into the final version of the economic stimulus bill that President Barack Obama signed last week.

But House and Senate negotiators dropped a separate proposal that would have forced all employers benefiting from stimulus money to use the government’s Web-based E-Verify system to vet the employment status of their workers.

Source: ComputerWorld

Report finds fraud in 20% of H-1B applications

Federal investigators discovered fraud in more than 20 percent of applications they examined in which employers were requesting H-1B visas to hire foreign professionals in the U.S., a finding they called a “significant vulnerability.”

In a report released late last year, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service cited one especially egregious case in which an employer petitioned for a business-development analyst position but later told investigators the worker would be doing laundry and maintaining washing machines.

Source: The Seattle Times

U.S. announces arrests in several states alleging H1B visa fraud

According to ComputerWorld: ” Federal agents on Thursday said they arrested 11 people in six states in a crackdown on H-1B visa fraud and unsealed documents that detail how the visa process was used to undercut the salaries of U.S. workers.”

“The arrests were carried out by federal, state and local agents working in Iowa, California, Massachusetts, Texas, Pennsylvania, Kentucky and New Jersey. The government’s action “is the result of an extensive, ongoing investigation into suspected H-1B visa fraud, mail fraud and conspiracy,” said Matthew Whitaker, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Iowa, in a statement.”

“The company that seemed to get the most attention from federal authorities is Vision Systems Group Inc., which authorities said had its principal places of business in Somerset and South Plainfield, N.J., and an office in Coon Rapids, Iowa. The company was cited in a 10-count indictment.”

ComputerWorld worte on October, 2008: “An internal report by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) examining the H-1B visa program has found evidence of forged documents and fake degrees, and even “shell” companies giving addresses of fake locations.”

Update: The government arrested on conspiracy and mail fraud Shiva Neeli in Boston, Ramakrishna Maguluri in Atlanta, Villiappan Subbaiah in Dallas, Suresh Pola in Pennsylvania, Karambir Yadav in Louisville, Ky., Amit Justa and Venkata Guduru, both in New Jersey, and Vijay Myneni in San Jose. Charged with conspiracy, mail fraud and wire fraud was Vishnu Reddy in Los Angeles and Chockalingam Palaniappan in San Jose, who operated a company named Pacific West Corp. in Santa Clara, Calif.

Senate bill would bar H-1B hiring at firms receiving bailout money

According to ComputerWorld: “Financial services firms that receive federal bailout money will be prohibited from hiring H-1B workers if legislation introduced last night in the U.S. Senate wins adoption. The bill would bar any recipient of the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP), the program being used by the government to purchase some $700 billion of bad mortgage assets, from hiring anyone on an H-1B visa.”

~ News submitted by Kirk R.

H-1B, offshoring supporters get key Obama Administration posts

President Barack Obama has filled some of his top White House posts with people who not only support expanding the H-1B visa program, but also see offshore outsourcing as a plus for the U.S. economy. That group includes the president’s new pick to run the Commerce Department, Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.).

But another one of Obama’s choices, Diana Farrell, may be just as important in shaping White House policy. The former director of the McKinsey Global Institute, McKinsey & Co.’s economics research arm, Farrell has been tapped to serve on the National Economic Council and as deputy economic adviser to the president.

McKinsey, a management consulting firm, has published research that argues that offshore outsourcing to low-wage countries brings “substantial benefits” to the U.S. Its studies and reports have been cited by the tech industry in support of the H-1B visa program.

Source: Computerworld

AP Investigation: Banks sought foreign workers

According to AP Investigation: “Banks collecting billions of dollars in federal bailout money sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers to the U.S. for high-paying jobs, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.”

“The dozen banks receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.”

“It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government limits the number of visas it grants to 85,000 each year among all U.S. employers.”

“During the last three months of 2008, the largest banks that received taxpayer loans announced more than 100,000 layoffs. The number of foreign workers included among those laid off is unknown.”

Source: Yahoo Finance

~News submitted by Ben

Microsoft to Layoff Some H-1B Holders

In wake of impending layoffs, Microsoft has released a preliminary response to a U.S. Senator who wants the software giant to cut non-citizens first.

Microsoft’s answer states that it will indeed layoff a significant number of H-1B temporary work visa holders but that their visiting worker status will not be the primary criterion when it comes to deciding who will stay and who will go.

Microsoft officials said they will respond to Senator Grassley’s request for a direct response. However, while the company’s initial response is polite, it doesn’t say it will meet Grassley’s request.

Source: internetnews.com

Report: Obama gives peek into H-1B policy

According to EETimes: ” SAN JOSE, Calif. — If President-elect Barack Obama appoints Arizona Gov. Janet Napolitano to head the Department of Homeland Security, the move would have significant implications on the incoming administration’s policy on H-1B visas, according to a report.“