The headlines keep screaming out that job losses are increasing with every passing day. You almost get the feeling that no one is hiring at all. That’s not exactly true. Some sectors of the economy - including some tech sectors - look like they are still doing well.
The USCIS (US Citizenship & Immigration Service) recently released data that shows that applications for work-based immigration visas remained healthy through the end of 2008. However, the top recipients of the visas were not US-based companies. Indian outsourcing firms dominated the list: four India-based companies topped the list: Infosys Technologies, Wipro, Satyam and Tata came in at one through five, respectively. At No. 5, Microsoft was the top US company on the list.
The H-1B visa program started in 1990 as a method of allowing US companies to recruit workers which were in short supply. In the 90s, when the tech markets were hot, this meant hires for the technology and engineering fields. But critics of the program have consistently criticized what has been characterized as a method of replacing US jobs.
This year, Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Richard Durbin (D-lL) have proposed a change to the visa program. The Grassley/Durbin bill would require companies which use H-1B visas to try to hire American workers first; the bill would also place restrictions on companies like Infosys Technologies that use H-1B visas for outsourcing. A similar bill, introduced in 1997, failed. But at that time, the mood of the country was very different. With a US recession in full swing, legislators are likely to be more open to the idea of “protecting” US jobs. In fact, the recent stimulus bill passed by Congress placed restrictions on the use of H-1B visa use by financial institutions that receive bailout money.
Particularly vulnerable in the bill will be outsourcing firms, which critics claim do not fill existing holes in employment but rather serve as a “training market” for foreign firms. These firms, according to those opposed to the H-1B program, bring workers to the US at little cost, train them and then return the workers to their home so they can provide tech support and other services from abroad more cheaply.
The new cycle for H-1B visa applications begins on April 1. Senators Grassley and Durbin hope to have new legislation in place by that time.
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