Tech firms stock up on foreign talent

The demand for H-1B visas has been accelerating. After a quiet year that ended on Sept. 30, 2009, when companies did not exhaust the number of available visas, the landscape has changed in just two months.

Information Week reports that American IT companies and U.S.-based subsidies of offshore firms are continuing to aggressively recruit workers from India and other countries for jobs in the U.S. As of Dec. 8, companies operating in the U.S. had filed more than 81,500 applications for so-called H-1B visas for the fiscal year that started Oct. 1, 2009, according to the publication.

"The numbers are surprising, considering the state of the economy," Ron Hira, associate professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology, tells BusinessWeek.com. "With 15.4 million people unemployed in the U.S., employers should be able to find qualified workers here."

Supporters, including Microsoft founder Bill Gates, argue that H-1B workers provide IT companies with an essential supply of hi-tech talent not readily available. Nevertheless, the existence of this program has been highly questioned in a year that has seen the worst economic conditions since the Great Depression.

In response to the controversy, Congress has taken some action to restrict use of H-1B visas. It passed a law that limits the use of H-1B workers by companies receiving funds under the Troubled Asset Relief Program. The law requires TARP recipients to attempt to recruit Americans before they hire H-1B workers. But with the unemployment rate at 10 percent, the H-1B visa issue has gotten the attention of lawmakers who are questioning whether it needs to be fundamentally changed.

Last month, Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) introduced a bill to bar major companies that lay off U.S. workers from hiring foreign labor through H-1B and other programs. The legislation, which faces significant hurdles, would apply to companies that have cut 50 or more employees within the past year. 

"We have a responsibility to ensure that companies do not use the temporary guest-worker program to replace American workers with cheaper labor from overseas," Sanders said.

For more on the current state of  H-1B visa applications:
- see this InformationWeek.com article

Related Articles:
Bad economy sends H-1B visa holders home
Have H-1B visas lost their luster?
H-1B visa holders race against time to stay in U.S.