Thought Garage

The H1B and L1 Visa Reform Bill is back again. The bill attempts to close loopholes that would otherwise let firms abuse the program and replace US work force instead of complementing US workforce.

I do not believe this would threaten the India’s outsourcing Industry at large, but many do as per this news report found at Yahoo. My own understanding is that currently the H1B visa program has been abused by some, for sure. And it is better for all parties to have a fair system and prevent any abuses. While it may change hiring practices by some Indian IT vendors that rely on loop holes, it benefits India in the long run. There are so many things that are currently ‘normal’ in this whole H1B, are not fair, to those who truly deserve the opportunity to work in US.

Read the complete Press Release here.  Key Excerpts from the Press release:

• The Durbin-Grassley bill would mend the H-1B visa program, not end it, making reasonable reforms while not reducing the number of H-1B visas that are available.
• Require all employers who want to hire an H-1B guest-worker to first make a good-faith attempt to recruit a qualified American worker. Employers would be prohibited from using H-1B visa holders to displace qualified American workers.
• Prohibit the blatantly discriminatory practice of “H-1B only” ads and prohibit employers from hiring additional H-1B and L-1 guest-workers if more than 50% of their employees are H-1B and L-1 visa holders.
• The Durbin-Grassley bill would institute a number of reforms to the L-1 visa program, including establishing for the first time a process to investigate, audit and penalize L-1 visa abuses.

You can Read the full text of the Bill here:

The H-1B and L-1 Visa Reform Act (S. 887) (PDF File)

Its no longer a hearsay or a rumor that some Professionals on H1B had trouble getting Visa stampings in their home countries.  When I first shared a similar story with friends and colleagues almost a couple of months ago, most of them didn’t believe and suspected that there must be something not appropriate with that professional, so encountered issues with Visa stamping. Listen to this NPR’s Market Place story that reports that lots of H1B professionals that left for India recently had trouble coming back.

 

Homeland Security Secretary Janet Napolitano testified before the Senate Judiciary Committee this week. She said her agency is stepping up checks on the H-1B visa program. Those are the visas that let highly skilled foreign professionals work in the U.S. when no qualified American can be found.

Professionals from India — often tech workers — have generally taken a big chunk of those visas. But a lot of them are now finding it harder to get them renewed. So they’re stuck in their home country.

Source: Market Place

It was reported in that story that Homeland Security has stepped up security checks on the H1B visa program and your Visa renewal may take much longer time than it normally do. I would also assume, the current economic conditions have some say in those decisions as well.  With the growing unemployment in almost all sectors, it would be difficult for most employers to justify continue hiring a H1B. So if you are leaving for your home country that need to have Visa renewed, be prepared to wait for a long time.

Most important things to take care of are your current job with your employer and any payments that must be made. Discuss with your employer the possibility of delays and try to setup your laptop such that you can work from India if the need arises. That will ensure you get at least your regular paychecks and keep your cash flow for payments. If it is not possible, make sure to have alternate arrangements for any regular payments. Leave enough reserve in your bank to handle any contingencies or have your friends take care for some.

Also, take all the information required to make any adjustments to all your Loans, Credit Card payments, Apartment leases etc. so that if the need arises you can contact right from India itself and negotiate better terms. Many times, your friends may not be able to discuss even though they may have all the information.

As per USCIS notification issued on 9th April it has received just 42000 applications for h1b 2010 under general cap. However it received just about 20000 for advanced degree quota.

For both categories, applications will still be accepted.

Top 25 Consumers of H1B in 2007 (that account to almost 20,000 Visas) now have to speak up about how they use H1B applicants.  Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley have sent letters to these companies seeking answers to an array of questions that will reveal how these companies use H1B petitions. Click here to view a copy of the letter.

I guess, this is particularly relevant in the wake of two new bills submitted to increase the numerical limitation on H1Bs.

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA) sent a letter  today to the top 25 recipients of approved H-1B visa petitions in 2007, seeking detailed information on how each firm uses the visa program. These firms were responsible for nearly 20,000 of the available H-1B visas last year.

1. Infosys Technologies Ltd.,
2. Wipro Limited,
3. Satyam Computer Services Ltd.,
4. Cognizant Tech Solutions,
5. Microsoft Corporation,
6. Tata Consultancy Services Ltd.,
7. Patni Computer Systems Inc.,
8. US Technology Resources LLC,
9. I-Flex Solutions Inc.,
10. Intel Corporation,
11. Accenture LLP,
12. Cisco Systems Inc.,
13. Ernst & Young LLP,
14. Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd.,
15. Deloitte & Touche LLP,
16. Google Inc.,
17. Mphasis Corporation,
18. University of Illinois at Chicago,
19. American Unit Inc.,
20. Jsmn International Inc.,
21. Objectwin Technology Inc.,
22. Deloitte Consulting,
23. Prince Georges County Public Schools,
24. JPMorgan Chase and Co., and
25. Motorola Inc.

Source: United States Senator Chuck Grassley of Iowa

Numbers don’t lie

It is quite evident from the numbers that, a very significant number of those companies are from India and as I understand the nature and intent of their H1B applicants is to come and work for US clients and coordinate out sourcing efforts and in most cases moving more jobs to India.

Another interesting issue is, as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates said in his testimony that companies like Microsoft may loose edge as they fail to garner global talent. In short, they are not getting enough H1Bs as other Indian counter parts are consuming a lot more and becoming a direct competitor for H1Bs.

So, what will happen now?

So how this problem is solved? Will Increase in H1B  solve this issue? Or restricting Indian counter parts will reduce the impact?

If USCIS just increase the numbers, what is the guarantee that non-US companies won’t consume a higher number again and leading to the same situation as today?

Can Indian companies offer a justification that stand a chance?

It is quite interesting to see how Indian companies defend their high numbers with reference to Competition and innovation argument in USA. Lack of such a justifiable explanation could definitely lead to restrictions imposed on these companies that may restrict if not prevent these companies getting such a high number  of H1Bs.

Update: Full List of H1B Consumers of 2007 can be accessed here in an excel sheet at Information Week :  Excel File