Prospects fading for more H-1B visas
But some lawmakers hold out hope Congress will expand program for highly skilled workers.
By Eunice Moscoso

WASHINGTON BUREAU
Wednesday, December 05, 2007

WASHINGTON — With little time left in the Congressional calendar, high tech companies are scrambling to get an increase in H-1B visas for highly skilled workers this year, but the prospects are fading.

"Time is short, and it is a bit of a long shot, but the urgency of our situation necessitates us continuing to walk the halls of Congress," said Robert Hoffman, a vice president for government and public affairs at Oracle and co-chair of Compete America, a coalition of high-tech companies that includes Microsoft Corp. and Google, Inc. "As long as they continue to talk to us, we have reason to be hopeful."

Hoffman said he is in discussions with House leaders and other key lawmakers, hoping to attach an amendment to a larger measure. But the task is difficult because Congress is facing a heavy agenda in the final weeks of the year, including 11 "must-pass" spending bills to fund various government agencies.

U.S. businesses say the H-1B visas, which allow well-educated foreigners to work in the U.S. for up to six years, are vital to the economy and to competition in a global market. Thousands of citizens of foreign countries educated at U.S. universities are sent away, shipping future leaders and innovators elsewhere, they say.

Jeff Lande, senior vice president of the Information Technology Association of America, which represents more than 300 companies, said getting more visas is his top priority and there's certainly a chance that it will happen.

Lawmakers who strongly support the expansion also said there is still hope.

"There's always a chance," said Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas.

The number of H-1B visas allowed by law has fluctuated in recent years in response to the U.S. economy and the highs and lows of the tech industry, and it is now set by Congress at 65,000. In addition, 20,000 more citizens of foreign countries with advanced degrees from American universities are allowed to work in the U. S.

This year, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services returned thousands of petitions for H-1B visas after receiving more than 133,000 applications in two days.

Critics say that the program depresses wages for U.S. workers and has many flaws, including limited enforcement mechanisms.

Legislation designed to protect U.S. workers from being displaced by H-1B employees has also stalled in Congress. The measure by Sens. Richard Durbin, D-Ill., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, would stop businesses from hiring H-1B workers who are outsourced to other companies and would give the Department of Labor more authority to conduct employer investigations.

Durbin said it is unlikely that an H-1B increase would pass this year. "I doubt it. We're running out of time."
http://www.statesman.com/business/conte ... 5visa.html