Is it true that America's immigration policy is driving away world's best and the brightest talents? The H-1B visa program from US which provides 65,000 visas was opened and closed on a single day, on April 2. US authorities have said that they have received some 150,000 applications. That's astounding. A section of American technology companies may ask for upping the cap including Bill Gates. But all are not for the motion.
Ron Hira, a professor form the Rochester Institute of Technology, who teaches engineering workforce issues and technology policy felt that there are serious loopholes in the visa process.
Are software and outsourcing companies paying less rates to the engineers than their US partners? Now two US senators are seeking details of high tech visas used (or misused) by India's top software companies. They are Infosys Technologies Ltd., Wipro Ltd., Tata Consultancy Services Ltd., Saytam Computer Services Ltd., Patni Computer Systems, Larsen & Toubro Infotech Ltd., I-Flex Solutions Ltd., Tech Mahindra Ltd., and Mphasis Corp.
Senator Chuck Grassley, a Republican, and Dick Durbin, a Democrat, said Tuesday they are focusing on nine India-based companies that last year used nearly 20,000 H-1B visas.
The visas, for high-skilled workers and are heavily used in the high-tech industry, are mostly used by Indian software firms that operate large centers in the U.S. to handle jobs outsourced from American companies.
It asked member companies to revive the work they had done in 2004 to "educate Americans about the vital importance of being able to source talented work and services wherever they can be produced most efficiently, thereby enabling U.S. companies to remain competitive."
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