Have H-1B visas lost their luster?

Since the economic slowdown began last autumn, there has been increasing controversy around H-1B visas--those temporary job visas that allow non-Americans to live and work in the United States, many of them in technology.

There are 85,000 H-1B visas active each year, and there is increasing concern about why non-Americans get these jobs over Americans when the unemployment rate is so low. The latest unemployment rate is 8.5 percent nationally, although it is much higher in some states that have been hit hard.

We report this week on the annual application process and how the number of applications is down so far this year. This year, as the unemployment rate rises, the trend for H-1B visas is down. Those opposing H-1B visas have argued in the past that there are plenty of Americans for these jobs. And this year, industries across the board, including technology, are finding out that this is true.

We hope a better process will be developed for temporary work visas for foreign workers--whether they are engineers, IT experts or school teachers. And we hope that companies that are able to hire more American IT workers to fill their talent gaps will step up to the plate and do so. - Judi