Senate Investigates Nine Indian Firms Over H1-B Visas
In an article published by Business Process Management Today , Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Dick Durbin (D-Illinois) are investigating nine firms who accounted for nearly one-third of the H1-B visas offered last year. The nine firms represent either the parent or American subsidiary of some of the largest Indian outsourcers in the market, including Infosys, Wipro, Tata, Satyam and Mphasis.
Contention for the precious few H1-B work visas has increased over the years, as organizations are increasingly challenged to secure highly skilled, foreign-based employees. In fact, the volume of H1-B visa requests has overwhelmed US Citizen and Immigration Services, forcing them to release an announcement last Friday stating their data centers are in a backlog for processing.
According to the Department of Labor:
The H-1B program allows an employer to temporarily employ a foreign worker in the U.S. on a nonimmigrant basis in a specialty occupation or as a fashion model of distinguished merit and ability. A specialty occupation requires the theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and a bachelor’s degree or the equivalent in the specific specialty (e.g., sciences, medicine and health care, education, biotechnology, and business specialties, etc…). Current laws limit the number of foreign workers who may be issued a visa or otherwise be provided H-1B status to 65,000.
To combat the growing problem, a nonprofit organization called Compete America has lauched a campaign to change the current program and process for H1-B applicants. Regarding themselves as the “Alliance for a Competitive Workforce”, Compete America is supported by some of the largest employers and industry associations in the nation, ranging from Coke and Microsoft to SHRM and the US Chamber of Commerce.
Called into question is both the number of applications made available each year as well as the process by which applicants are selected. Implications of fraud and abuse run rampant as organizations scramble to secure these precious visas.
Let’s keep the conversation going.