DEMAND for SKILLED Foreign Workers Exceeds Allotted Supply
"Two days later, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, introduced a bill that would raise the annual cap to 195,000. Smith said the temporary increase in the allotments would help businesses and give Congress a chance to reform the H-1B program, which critics say is prone to abuse."
If BUSH and OUR Congress are not outsourcing our jobs they are importing workers to do the jobs that are left in the United States.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/hea ... 66914.html
April 2, 2008, 12:10AM
High-tech firms playing visa lottery
Demand for skilled foreign workers exceeds allotted supply
By SUSAN CARROLL
Copyright 2008 Houston Chronicle
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AT A GLANCE
According to Department of Homeland Security statistics from 2006:
•432,000: Estimated H1-B visa holders nationwide.
•33,000: Estimated H1-B visa holders in Texas.
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Complete coverage of immigration issues Sridhar Kora's Tuesday morning began as an anxious waiting game, a roll of the dice that the success of his business depends upon.
Kora, vice president of Oceanapps, a Houston software consulting company, spent a portion of the day keeping tabs on a FedEx shipment of visa applications enroute to an immigration processing center in Vermont, hoping that his luck would improve this year. Once again, the competition is on for coveted H1-B visas, which allow U.S. companies to petition for highly skilled foreign workers in fields including technology and engineering.
Last spring, Kora's company applied for 20 visas through the program, but the nationwide demand was so overwhelming — with more than 123,000 applicants for 65,000 slots — that U.S. immigration officials entered the applications in a lottery system. Kora came away with 10 of 20 visas he needed for computer programmers.
"This year is supposed to be worse," Kora said. "It's been very difficult for us to get all of the employees we need."
On Tuesday, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services opened the five-day application period for the H1-B program for the 2008-09 fiscal year.
The H1-B program has been heavily criticized by business leaders who say the cap on visas leaves American companies at a competitive disadvantage. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates testified March 12 before Congress that the federal cap on highly skilled foreign worker hinders businesses from attracting top talent.
Two days later, Rep. Lamar Smith, R-San Antonio, introduced a bill that would raise the annual cap to 195,000. Smith said the temporary increase in the allotments would help businesses and give Congress a chance to reform the H-1B program, which critics say is prone to abuse.
"The American economy thrives on high-tech companies that require high-tech workers to remain globally competitive," Smith said in a statement. "H-1B visas are necessary to ensure that these companies have the resources and workers required to succeed."
Some white-collar American workers have protested the proposed expansion of H1-B. John Miano, a 45-year-old programmer who owns a New Jersey software consulting company, testified in Congress in March 2006 that the program lets companies replace Americans with foreign workers at lower wages.
"The H1-B statutes are the best legislation money can buy," he said in an interview Tuesday. "This law has been deliberately written to allow abuse to go on with impunity. This program is a cheap labor program. It contains loopholes that allow employers to legally pay H1-B workers ... significantly less than U.S. workers."
The program is designed to import educated and skilled workers for jobs that American companies cannot fill. The visas are generally issued for three years, and renewable for another three.
A study released in March by the National Foundation for American Policy, an immigration research group in Washington, D.C., found that the limit on H-1B visas is likely to have the "unintended consequence" of pushing more work to other countries.
HISD exempt from cap
The research group cited a survey that found 65 percent of technology companies had hired more people or outsourced work outside the United States in response to the H1-B shortage.
Supporters of the program say it helps fill critical gaps for companies, particularly with a shortage of math and science specialists. The Houston Independent School District hires teachers through the H1-B program, and as an educational institution is exempt from the 65,000 cap, said Audrey Gomez, with HISD human resources.
Gomez said the district typically applies for H1-B applicants in specialized fields, including math, science and bilingual and special education, which she said are generally difficult positions for many districts to fill.
"You want to use every resource possible to have the best teacher, the best talent, people who can relate to your students," Gomez said. "That's what we're always looking for. And it will always be an option there."
For business owners like Kora, who are anxious to learn the outcome of the visa lottery, USCIS officials urged patience.
Immigration officials were waiting until the filing period ended to count the applications.
Kora said he hopes his company has better odds than last year, though he wasn't optimistic. "We depend on them," he added.
susan.carroll@chron.com
