US senators to limit IT migrant workers to US


By Veronica Uy
INQUIRER.net
First Posted 12:49:00 04/06/2009

Filed Under: Unemployment, Employment, World Financial Crisis, Justice & Rights, Laws, Migration


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Close this MANILA, Philippines—(UPDATE) Two United States senators are seeking to limit migrant information technology professionals to the US who are allowed through the H1-B visa program, it was learned Monday.

The H-1B visa program allows American companies and universities to employ temporary migrant workers who have the equivalent of a US bachelor's degree in a job category that is considered by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services to be a "specialty occupation," often in high-tech industry. Supporters say the H-1B program helps the American economy by allowing companies to hire needed foreign workers.

According to recruitment expert Emmanuel Geslani, the cap for IT and health service professionals this year is set at 85,000 H-1B visas. He said Asians, mostly Indians, usually get most of the visas.

However, US Senators Richard Durbin (Democrat-Illinois) and Charles Grassley (Republican-Iowa) want to review US immigration policy that they say might be taking American jobs from Americans.

“The reality is that too many H-1B visas are being used to facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries. Some employers have abused the H-1B program, using it to bypass qualified Americans,â€