US Senate Plans Crackdown on Visa “Abusers”

Proposed US immigration reform may include tough rules to weed out IT sourcing companies that are believed to abuse the H-1B visa system for skilled scientists and researchers. Program abuses include undercutting wages and hiring workers with skills that duplicate those already available among US workers. Top recipients of H-1B visas include Indian firms, with a bulk of their employees based in that nation. Some outsourcing firms place visa holders into US positions to learn skills before relying on them to provide training to employees in India. Despite the ultimate aim of promoting innovation and jobs for US workers, current H-1B regulations may encourage a “conveyor belt” mentality. Proposals under consideration would lift the H-1B cap; favor companies that hire more US workers, augmenting them with foreign workers who seek green cards and permanent status; and require higher wages. Anna Fifield, Financial Times, concludes that the US is displaying “rare political consensus on outsourcing as an economic evil.” – YaleGlobal