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Do visas hurt U.S. workers?

Thousands of skilled professionals from overseas work for less money in positions Americans want, critics say.

Sarah Ryley / The Detroit News

Shown are the top 10 H-1B visas applicants for jobs in or originating in Michigan during fiscal year 2005. The number of workers the company actually received is likely a fraction of that amount.

1. Syntel Inc., Troy: Application represents 24,900 jobs. An IT outsourcing, offshoring and staffing firm, 79 percent of its 1,422 U.S. employees are on visas and receive wages $12,336 less than the industry average. Local clients include General Motors, Ford Motor Company and DaimlerChrysler Corp.
2. Infosys Technologies Ltd., Bangalore, India: 5,877 jobs. One of India's largest IT outsourcing firms, 87 percent of its 8,000 U.S. employees are here on visas and act as liaisons between clients and U.S. operations, offers H-1B wages $13,537 below industry average. Does not release client information.
3. Covansys Corp., Farmington Hills: 2,585 jobs. An IT staffing and outsourcing firm with 67 percent of its staff located in India, offers H-1B wages $9,760 below the industry average. Henry Ford Health System, Ford, Visteon Controls and GM are its largest local clients.
4. The Tata Group, Mumbai, India: 935 jobs. An outsourcing, offshoring and staffing firm with a specialized automotive center in Troy, offers H-1B wages $22,016 below industry average. One of its first U.S. jobs was archiving the crime database for the Detroit Police Department. Ford is one of its top local clients.
5. Wipro, Ltd., Bangalore, India: 610 jobs. An outsourcing firm with the majority of its U.S. workforce on visas earning wages $17,074 below industry average. Was one of six to receive a contract from General Motors this year.
6. University of Michigan, Ann Arbor: 451 jobs. Applications mainly for assistant and associate professors, assistant research scientists and research fellows.
7. Technosoft Corp., Southfield: 429 jobs. Primarily a staffing firm, offers H-1B wages $16,200 below industry average. Ford and DaimlerChrysler are its largest clients. 8. Insolexen, Novi: 355 jobs. Acquired by Ohio-based Perficient, a consulting and contracting firm that has Comerica as one of its local clients. Offers wages $26,288 below industry average.
9. Satyam Computer Services Ltd., Hyderabad, India: 341 jobs. A consulting, contracting and staffing firm that offers wages $15,235 below industry average.
10. Ved Software Services Inc., Farmington Hills: 315 jobs. An outsourcing and staffing firm that offers H1-B wages $23,984 below industry average. Amway Corp., DaimlerChrysler and Kelly Services are its largest local clients.
Sources: 2005 Labor Condition Application filings, company websites, 2005 and 2006 SEC filings, "The bottom of the pay scale: Wages for H-1B computer programmers," published in 2005 by the Center for Immigration Studies.
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Should Congress increase the number of annual H-1B visas for skilled foreign workers?

This year, thousands of people from around the world will come to Metro Detroit through the federal government's skilled worker visa program. Many are among the best in their fields, and will develop software used for automotive design, handle the financials of Fortune 500 companies or work in hospitals doing everything from saving lives to coaching children through surgery.

Others will take jobs at Michigan and India-based technical firms and earn three-quarters of the market wage for their profession. Critics of the program say these workers will take jobs away from Americans, during a time when thousands of computer professionals are submitting resumes to the talent bank run by the Michigan Works! jobs agency.

As Congress considers increasing the annual cap of 85,000 visas for skilled workers, called H-1B visas, critics are citing recent studies that highlight the program's abuses, particularly in computer-related professions.