H1 B High Tech Visa numbers lowered- opposed by
major corporations APA NEWS (Asian
Pacific American) Nov/Dec 2003 - Volume 2 Issue No. 1 Silicon Valley, CA: With the high tech boom now officially over,
the expansion program for H1B visas- which passed overwhelmingly in
2000, was sharply reduced to 65,000 by US Congress for the next fiscal
year. This is down from a high of 195,000 visas a year in 2001. In year
2000 alone, 45% of these visas were issued to High tech workers from
India, with China (8%), Canada (5%), Philippines (3%) trailed behind,
according to INS and Congressional Research Service reports.
With a sour economy hitting California hard, at a recent protest in
Pleasanton, several workers complained about being laid-off in favor of
retaining lower paid H1 B workers With signs ranging from “Will Work
for Food” to more militant ones; some even complained about being
forced to train their own replacement H1B worker. Many out-of-work high
tech workers complained that even with the lowered number of visas, it
would take jobs away from native workers.
However, many industry analysts disagree, saying that the H1B program
functioned just the way it was designed- when the economy was booming
and workers were in demand- more H1B were needed. Now that the jobs are
no longer there, the numbers have been reduced.
Several major corporations, including Microsoft, had lobbied US
Congress very hard to retain the number of visas, saying that their
competitiveness would be hurt if high quality workers were not hired.
Many companies have indicated that the inability to get well trained,
quality workers would force then to outsource the jobs- also resulting
in a net loss of jobs. India, China and Philippines are the favorite
target destinations for current software needs.
According to IT analyst firm Gartner, offshore outsourcing is expected
to reach US$1.8 billion in 2003, a 38 percent increase from the 2002
total of $1.3 billion, with India getting a bulk of the contracts.
Current trends include support centers and back office to the major
corporations like G.E, American Express, J.P Morgan Chase etc.
Recently, Microsoft announced relocation of its customer support
division from Texas and North Carolina to India- employing 800 workers
at each site.
IEEE- the Institute of Electrical Engineers, which has been in the
forefront of such battles with US Congress, has also blamed the
outsourcing problem on the heads of the guest workers on H1 B visa.
IEEE sources also complain that the guest workers learn the system and
help in getting outsourcing contracts to their native country. “This is
ridiculous, you can’t have it both ways” says a laid off worker on H1B
visa. “We are the first to be laid off, and in any case, if people like
us are better trained and can do a better job - isn’t it better for
America?”
Well, looks like the corporate big wigs seem to agree. Even President
Bush has reportedly stated his opposition to a drastic reduction in H1B
visas, according to immigration attorney Paresh Shah of Los Angeles,
who specifically asked him the question at a fundraiser.
SOURCES:
http://www.ieeeusa.org/forum/POSITIONS/h1b.html
-U.S. Congress, Congressional Research Seervice, Immigration:
Legislative Issues on Nonimmigrant Professional Specialty (H-1B)
Workers (CRS Report RL 30498), Jan 23, 2003.
-U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Servvice, Statistical Yearbook of
the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 2001 Washington; Government
Printing Office.
-U.S. Department of Labor, Office of the Inspector General, The
Department of Labor's Foreign Labor Certification Programs: U.S.
General Accounting Office, H-1B Foreign Workers; Better Controls Needed
to Help Employers and Protect Workers, (GAO/HEHS-00-157), Sep 2000; and
U.S. General Accounting Office, High Skill Training: Grants from H-1B
Visa Fees Meet Specific Workforce Needs But a Varying Skill Levels
(GAO- 02-881), Sep 2002.
Sam Rao
Contributing Writer APA NEWS (Asian
Pacific American) Nov/Dec 2003 - Volume 2 Issue No. 1
