H-1B visa: TCS, Infosys, Wipro accused of abuse

Amidst Congressional debate on the comprehensive immigration reform, a top US Senator has accused big Indian IT companies- TCS, Infosys and Wipro - of abusing the H-1B visa system.
"There are some specific abuses of H-1B," Senator Richard Durbin, said during a Congressional hearing on immigration reform by the powerful Senate Judiciary Committee on Monday, during which the lawmakers discussed threadbare the H-1B visa issues.
In fact, Senator Durbin went on to brand the top Indian IT companies as outsourcing firms. "These outsourcing firms like Infosys, Wipro, Tata and others -- Americans would be shocked to know that the H-1B visas are not going to Microsoft; they're going to these firms, largely in India, who are finding workers, engineers, who will work at low wages in the US for three years and pay a fee to Infosys or these companies," Durbin alleged.
"I think that is an abuse of what we're trying to achieve here. Most people would think, well, Microsoft needs these folks, and they'd be shocked to know that most of the H-1B visas are not going to companies like yours; they're going to these outsourcing companies," Durbin alleged.
He said this during the hearing in which two Indian Americans testified before the committee and supported the allegations of the Senator against Indian IT firms.
Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice president, legal and corporate affairs, Microsoft, too supported the Senator on the issue.
"I personally think it's important that we both recognise the need for these firms to evolve their business model -- I've had these conversations myself with them in India -- that encourages them to focus on hiring more people in the US," he told lawmakers in response to a question.
The proposed comprehensive immigration bill if passed by the Congress and signed into law by the US President would bar companies from hiring people on H-1B visa if 50 per cent of their employees are not Americans.
The US India Business Council and Confederation of Indian Industry have opposed such a move and said that this is against the spirit of India US strategic relationship.

Current H-1B visa system incredibly disruptive, Microsoft tells US lawmakers

 

The current H-1B visa system, the numerical limit of which was set by the Congress in 1990, is incredibly disruptive to business planning and operations of US employers, software giant Microsoft told lawmakers on Monday.

The company came out in support of the comprehensive immigration reform which recommends substantial increase in the H-1B visas.
Referring to the fact that the US received 40,000 more applications for H-1B visas this year and the cap was reached in the first week itself, Brad Smith, general counsel and executive vice-president, legal and corporate affairs, Microsoft Corp, told a congressional hearing that running out of H-1B visas this quickly has significant consequences for the economy.

He said: "This year, employers are faced with a scenario in which one-third of the H-1B petitions that they submitted will be rejected in the H-1B lottery.
"These are 40,000 positions that will remain unfilled despite the fact that qualified candidates have been identified and job offers have been extended after a careful, intensive recruiting process in a very competitive market for talent. This is incredibly disruptive to the business planning and operations of US employers."
In his prepared statement, Smith said Microsoft entered this year's H-1B cap season knowing that "we could not file H-B petitions for 250 candidates we had identified for job offers" simply because the cap would be exhausted in the first week, a full two months before their graduation dates in June.
"Among the H-1B petitions we were able to file this year, we will likely have more than 200 additional candidates to whom job offers were extended, but who will not be selected in the H-1B lottery. When this happens, we don't simply rescind these offers of employment," he said.

Smith added: "We begin the process of identifying alternative options for employing these talented individuals at one of our subsidiaries abroad.
"The inability to employ these individuals in the US means the loss of work that was intended to be performed in the US and along with it, the output and productivity our business groups were planning, not to mention the potential tax revenues and economic activity associated with the salaries for those jobs."
He said these immigration challenges also have very real consequences for the talent US is trying to attract.

Smith said some potential hires are unwilling to jump over all of the hurdles presented by the H-1B cap and will simply walk away from the offer of employment in the US, opting to instead pursue alternative options in their home countries.
"A few specific examples from our own experience will help illustrate the tangible impact to these individuals. Last year, we were unable to file an H-1B petition for one of our candidates before the H-1B cap was exhausted due to his graduation date.

"The inability to start working for us in the US was incredibly distressing to him, not only because of the delay in staring a job he was excited for, but also because of an uncertain political situation in his home country," he said.
The company has filed an H-1B petition for him under this year's H-1B cap, a year and a half after his original offer of employment was extended, Smith said.
In the meantime, he continues to wait on the sidelines for the approval of the petition, he added.
"This year, we extended offers of employment to two candidates who happen to be engaged to one another. Again, due to the timing of graduation dates, only one of them could have an H-1B petition filed before the cap was reached," Smith said.
This couple is now confronted with the reality of being separated in order for one to pursue employment with Microsoft in the US while the other seeks options abroad, he added.
Smith said: "Without reform to address these unnecessary impediments in the H-1B program, these kinds of challenges will deter future high skilled immigrants from investing their skills in our economy."