Long-Prized Tech Visas For US Entry Lose Cachet

Source: Wall Street Journal

A visa program designed to supply skilled foreign workers to companies in the U.S. has slowed sharply, attracting about 50% fewer petitions so far this year than last year, and 80% fewer than in 2009.

Several factors have contributed to the decline in H-1B visas, including the lackluster pace of the U.S. recovery, more opportunities for skilled workers in their home nations and higher visa fees, which appear to have spurred Indian companies operating in the U.S. to seek fewer visas. Attacks on the program by congressional foes of U.S. immigration policies have also cast a shadow over it.

U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services told The Wall Street Journal this week that it received about 8,000 H-1B petitions from businesses in April, the first month the agency accepts them for the fiscal year beginning Oct. 1. That compares with 16,500 petitions in April 2010 and about 45,000 in April 2009, according to USCIS.

"It's baffling that H-1Bs aren't picking up if the economy is stronger," said Steve Miller, a Seattle attorney who prepares petitions for employers in high tech, retail and other sectors.

Read more: http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20110506-716104.html

Time to put some of the unemployed skilled US workforce back to work.

Not really baffling to anyone that has worked with the skillsets possessed by 90% of the visa holders. They are cheaper than local college grads, that is it. Finally, companies are learning from their past mistakes.

If you see the economy as "stronger" when only the people on top are doing well.

I've seriously considered trying to learn some basic Hindi to avoid the communications "issues" with a large number of the team.

This program is an outrage and we have Clinton, Bush and Obama to thank for it.

I can justify every single H1B holder that works for us, because I hired many of them. Most were hired for their foreign accounting, legal and regulatory experience. You can't teach somebody to be an experienced French tax accountant.

L1's are the new rage, but because people seem to think lashing out at a particular passport stamp is more productive than prosecuting visa fraud it is more or less ignored. Millions of Indian college students are "employed" by companies they have never stepped foot in for the purpose of being granted an L1 visa as a transferee down the road.

There is no cap on L1 visas and in most cases you will receive far more scrutiny applying for a tourist visa than an L1 work visa.