Uncle Sam's Mother's Day Gift - 30,000 more H-1Bs
Uncle Sam's Mother's Day Gift - 30,000 more H-1Bs
Date: Sunday, May 08, 2005 2:39 PM
JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER
by Rob Sanchez
May 08, 2005 No. 1252
The USCIS has reached a decision on who will get the additional 20,000
H-1B visas that Congress approved last year. They decided to abide by
the law as mandated by Congress that requires them to only issue these
new visas to foreign students who graduated from U.S. universities with
a graduate degree. If you recall from my previous newsletters the CIS
said that they were considering using the 20,000 allotment for all
H-1Bs, not just U.S. graduates.
I believe the USCIS announcement was not made because they care about
Congress or the Constitution, and they certainly aren't doing this
because of pressure from the non-existent voices of protest from
American workers. I predicted why the USCIS would follow the
Congressional mandate on March 10, in the newsletter titled "USCIS
Usurps Congress on H-1B":
My guess is that the USCIS will not get away with this
change since CompeteAmerica opposes it. Our shaky
coalition of activists has about a 100% track record of
losing when we object to laws or regulations that destroy
American jobs, but Harris Miller almost always wins.
That's because he has lots of money and he knows how to
use that money to bribe Congress and woo the press.
CompeteAmerica released a declaration of victory that confirms my
prediction:
``It was the right thing to do and the best thing to do,''
said Sandra Boyd, chair of the pro-business group
Compete America, which lobbied Congress to expand the H-1B
cap with extra visas reserved for applicants holding advanced
U.S. degrees. ``The agency certainly heard from us, and they
heard from members of Congress. I don't know if there was
anyone on the other side of the issue.''
I haven't found anything in the U.S. media that explains why
CompeteAmerica was so adamant about how the 20,000 visas would be
issued, but fortunately the Indian press can often be used to fill in
the blanks. Simply put, this rule announcement means an increase in
revenue for universities who are desperate to enroll more foreign
students to supplement their falling enrollments in science and
technology.
"... it [the CIS decision] is a considerable revenue generator
to these universities;
One Congressional source told rediff.com that 'the framers of
this legislation for the increased cap were assured support
for it only if the ultimate benefit was to both American
universities and industry.'
Another issue that was mentioned by the CIS was the "mistake" they made
when they issued an additional 10,000 visas over the 65,000 limit. Many
articles are appearing in newspapers that the CIS has tightened up
their rules so this won't happen again. The CIS announcement contained
a vague statement that they will improve their accounting procedures
and they never mentioned a desire to correct their mistake. Instead of
deducting the 10,000 visas from the 20,000 additional visas, they will
instead issue 95,000 visas for the year 2005.
http://www.ilw.com/lawyers/immigdaily/news/2005,0506-h1b.shtm
USCIS is revising 8 CFR 214.2(h)(8)(ii) in its entirety to
properly reflect that USCIS tracks petitions or applications
subject to numerical limits, not by individual petition
receipt numbers, but by monitoring the total number of
petitions (including the number of beneficiaries when
necessary) filed within a given fiscal year. This
revision applies to all H nonimmigrant classifications
subject to numerical limits.
These visas will go on the open market the day after Mother's day. Most
mothers in the U.S. would not feel very honored if they knew that our
government is doing everything they can to make sure that their sons
and daughters will not be able to have meaningful careers.
This is how the numbers will add up for 2005.
2005 Cap................... 65,000
Congressional Increase .... 20,000
USCIS Mistake.............. 10,000
Total Non-exempt visas .... 95,000
In case you think that our universities and employers will be happy
with 95,000 visas, think again! They will use the increased numbers of
visas issued to pressure Congress to lift the visa cap. For fiscal year
2005, the government received more than 100,000 petitions for
first-time H-1Bs (that number doesn't include renewals), which means
that employers are ready to gobble up all of the available visas, and
they will use that to demand an increase. Read what the immigration
lawyers are already saying:
Tech industry groups had asked Congress last fall to
approve more than 20,000 additional visas. If the visas
being released next week are quickly claimed -- as some
immigration attorneys have been predicting -- tech groups
are likely to cite that as a reason to raise the visa
cap further.
100,000 H-1B petitions shows that there are many willing employers, and
the India Times says that there is a growing line of willing workers.
This situation would seem to meet the Bush criterion for allowing more
guest-workers into the U.S.
For hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign students in
the US, who have been anxiously awaiting news regarding
the additional 20,000 H-1B (work permit) visas - which
were announced early this year for fiscal 05 - the wait
may finally be over.
The Informationweek article contained an interesting piece of trivia
for those of you into statistics: in fiscal years 2002 and 2003 about
38% of the H-1B petitions were for computer-related occupations.
"Computer-related" includes almost anyone who works with computers.
This means that more than 62% of the H-1B visas are issued to
non-programming jobs such as teachers, accountants, nurses, physicians
etc.
Articles Used for This Newsletter
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/11578780.htm
H-1B standards tightened
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=162101462
Government Set To Issue 20,000 New H-1B Visas
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1094599.cms
Get ready for 20k more H-1B visas
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/may/06visa.htm
Additional H1-B visas come with a rider
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.computerworld.com/careertopics/careers/story/0,10801,101522,00.html
Feds to release 20,000 H-1B visas next week
The extra visas were approved last fall by Congress
News Story by Patrick Thibodeau
MAY 04, 2005 (COMPUTERWORLD) - Federal officials will open the doors to
an additional 20,000 foreign workers under the H-1B visa program
beginning May 12, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services
department said today (download PDF).
USCIS also said that the visas would be granted only to foreign workers
with at least a master's-level degree from a U.S. academic institution.
Congress approved the additional 20,000 visas last year after U.S.
technology firms and academic groups complained that the reduced
65,000-worker cap was too low to meet demand. Opponents of the
controversial visa cap, which had previously been set at 195,000, argue
that the influx of skilled foreign workers is costing U.S. citizens and
permanent residents jobs.
The 65,000 H-1B visas approved by Congress for the fiscal year that
began last Oct. 1 were taken in a day.
The release of the 20,000 additional visas comes after a delay and some
controversy. Last month, USCIS roiled backers of the cap increase when
it said that the 20,000 additional visas would be available to all
qualified applicants -- not just those holding an advanced degree from
U.S. universities (see story).
Sandra Boyd, who heads Compete America, a Washington-based group
representing more than 200 corporations and universities, said that
change would be contrary to the intent of the H-1B Visa Reform Act of
2004. Evidently, USCIS agreed.
In an interview today, Boyd said the agency had made the "right
interpretation" of the law with the regulations that will be published
in the Federal Register on May 12. She also said the agency's apparent
indecision over how to handle the visa allocation created much
uncertainty for U.S. employers, as well as for prospective visa-holding
employees.
"There was a lot of confusion about whether people would be offered
jobs," said Boyd. "It made it impossible to plan, and it all seemed
pretty unnecessary."
Tech industry groups had asked Congress last fall to approve more than
20,000 additional visas. If the visas being released next week are
quickly claimed -- as some immigration attorneys have been predicting
-- tech groups are likely to cite that as a reason to raise the visa
cap further.
Last week, H-1B visa supporters got some help from Microsoft Corp.
Chairman Bill Gates, who said that preventing "smart people" from
entering the country by placing a cap on H-1B visas "doesn't make
sense." (see story)
But in an interview with Computerworld this week (see story), Gerald
Cohen, founder and CEO of New York-based Information Builders Inc.,
said Gates is "full of it. He's going there [to China and India]
because it's just cheaper."
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.siliconvalley.com/mld/siliconvalley/11578780.htm
Posted on Fri, May. 06, 2005
H-1B standards tightened
RULES REQUIRE U.S. MASTER'S DEGREE; BUSINESS GROUPS, VALLEY ARE PLEASED
By Karl Schoenberger
Mercury News
In a move that will be welcomed by Silicon Valley companies,
immigration authorities have reversed a controversial interpretation of
new legislation on foreign workers that would have shrunk the number of
visas for highly educated technology workers.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services caused a furor in March
when the agency said it would not require higher educational standards
from applicants for the 20,000 H-1B visas Congress set aside for
workers with advanced degrees from U.S. universities.
Those visas were on top of the 65,000 annual limit for ordinary H-1B
visa applications, which require only bachelor's degrees from skilled
guest workers.
But the agency quietly disclosed in a notice on its Web site Wednesday
that it had reversed its decision and that qualified applicants for the
20,000 additional H-1B visas should have a ``minimum master's level
degree from a U.S. academic institution.'' The notice said USCIS would
begin taking applications on May 12 -- two months behind schedule.
``It was the right thing to do and the best thing to do,'' said Sandra
Boyd, chair of the pro-business group Compete America, which lobbied
Congress to expand the H-1B cap with extra visas reserved for
applicants holding advanced U.S. degrees. ``The agency certainly heard
from us, and they heard from members of Congress. I don't know if there
was anyone on the other side of the issue.''
Critics allege that the immigration agency initially gave a loose
interpretation to the H-1B Visa Reform Act of 2004 because it had
mistakenly accepted as many as 10,000 too many applications for the
current fiscal year's 65,000 regular H-1B visas and needed to find
slots for those workers. But agency spokesman Chris Bently said
Thursday the two issues were never related, and that the USCIS has
improved its counting mechanisms to prevent granting visas beyond the
annual cap.
The delay in implementation of the legislation, which passed Congress
in November, has caused disruption in hiring plans for many companies
in Silicon Valley and placed students in limbo.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://informationweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=162101462
Government Set To Issue 20,000 New H-1B Visas
There is a catch: To qualify for the additional H-1B visas, immigrant
workers must hold a graduate degree from a U.S. institution.
By Eric Chabrow, InformationWeek
May 4, 2005
A new law designed to ease the H-1B visa cap will allow an extra 20,000
foreign workers into the United States this year, provided they hold a
master's degree or higher from an American institution, according to
new regulations forwarded by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Services on Wednesday to the Federal Register, the official daily
publication for rules and notices of federal agencies.
The H-1B visa program is designed to help employers hire foreign
workers with special expertise when such know-how can't be found among
American workers. Though that's the spirit of the law, it's not
required, a Citizenship and Immigration Services spokesman says. The
law requires employers to treat H-1B holders the same as American
citizens, giving them, for instance, the prevailing wage for their
skills.
Congress had placed a cap of 65,000 on H-1B visas to be issued a year.
However, under pressure from industry, including the IT sector,
Congress last fall voted to exempt 20,000 foreign workers from that
cap, provided they earned a graduate degree from an American college or
university. An initial interpretation of that law would have counted as
exempt American graduate-degree holders who received one of the 65,000
visas already issued. About one-quarter, roughly 16,000, of the 65,000
visas already went to such graduates. Thus, according to the original
interpretation, only about 4,000 of the new visas need be earmarked to
graduate-degree holders of American institutions, leaving the remaining
16,000 up for grabs among all eligible foreign workers.
Not so, says Citizenship and Immigration. All 20,000 of the new visas
will be "limited solely to those aliens who have received a master's or
higher degree from a U.S. institution of higher education," an agency
statement says.
Citizenship and Immigration won't accept any application for the new
H-1B visas until May 12. Applications received beforehand will be
rejected. Also, Citizenship and Immigration--a branch of the Department
of Homeland Security--has suspended electronic filing of petitions from
employers seeking these 20,000 visas in order to ensure fairness to
companies that might not have broadband Internet links. The government
suggests applicants use overnight courier services to deliver
petitions. Once the 20,000 visas have been issued, the government will
resume using E-filings for future H-1B visa applications. The address
to submit an H-1B exemption petition is: USCIS Vermont Service Center,
1A Lemnah Drive, St. Albans, VT 05479-7001.
Beginning in fiscal year 2006, Citizenship and Immigration will exempt
the first 20,000 H-1B petitions reflecting holders of U.S.-earned
graduate degrees from the H-1B cap.
For the current fiscal year, the government received more than 100,000
petitions for first-time H-1Bs. The visas last for three years and can
be renewed for an additional three years. There's no limit on how many
renewed H-1B petitions can be granted. In addition, no limit exists for
H-1B visas issued for employment at colleges, not-for-profit
organizations, and government research groups.
The government doesn't keep tabs on the number of H-1B visa holders
working but does track the number of petitions for the visas by
occupation. In fiscal years 2002 and 2003, the latest years for which
figures are available, about 38% of petitions--new ones and
renewals--were for computer-related occupations. About one-quarter of
those petitions were first-time applicants; about half were for
renewals. That suggests either less demand for IT professionals than
earlier years or that IT employees are more likely to stay in the
United States than other professionals.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1094599.cms
Get ready for 20k more H-1B visas
CANDICE ZACHARIAHS
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, MAY 02, 2005 02:51:01 AM]
Sign into earnIndiatimes points
MUMBAI: For hundreds, if not thousands, of foreign students in the US,
ho have been anxiously awaiting news regarding the additional 20,000
H-1B (work permit) visas - which were announced early this year for
fiscal 05 - the wait may finally be over. Reports indicate that the
regulation implementing the 20,000 H-1Bs has been cleared by the US
Office of Management and Budget and sent back to the Department of
Homeland Security.
It is expected that the regulation could be signed by the DHS and
published in the Federal Register as early as this week.
Once this happens, and depending on the rules laid out, employers can
begin filing H-1B petitions for their foreign employees. "The
importance of this number (20,000 H-1Bs) is that the work can begin as
soon as the petition is approved and, with the premium processing
programme, one can hopefully get an approval in a matter of a few
days," says PJ Patel, an immigration attorney in New York.
However, it is still unclear whether the additional 20,000 work visas
will be open to all applicants or simply limited to graduates from US
institutions with masters and higher level degrees. It is also unclear
what course of action will be open to those who have already filed H-1B
applications for 05-06, but may want to be considered for the
earlier start date that these additional visas allow.
The announcement will put to rest the fears of many Indian students,
whose legal status in the US ends before October 1, which is the start
date for the regular H-1Bs issued under the 65,000 annual quota.
For a number of students who graduated last year and began their
optional practical training (OPT) - which allows students to legally
live and work in the US for a year after graduation - soon after, their
status in America would expire in the months before October. That would
mean three or four months of waiting for the employer before the
foreign national could begin working again.
Many students feared that their companies may not wait that long. "If
the prospective employee is an attractive match for the
employers needs they would go out of their way to employ them.
However, the larger and/or more reputed the organisation, the more they
are able to dictate terms," says Poorvi Chothani, an immigration
attorney.
Ms Chothani also sites the cost to the employer of the H-1B process (up
to $2,000 in many cases). "This additional cost may not deter the
employer, per se, but coupled with the sometimes cumbersome, H-1B
filing process and potential requests for further evidence issued by
USCIS that need lengthy responses, it occasionally plays out as an
impediment, she adds.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://inhome.rediff.com/money/2005/may/06visa.htm
Additional H1-B visas come with a rider
Aziz Haniffa in Washington DC | May 06, 2005 16:40 IST
Why has the United States suddenly decided to announce an additional
20,000 visas to foreign workers in the H1-B category, mainly availed by
Indian information technology professionals?
Sources say the US Citizenship and Immigration Services officially
forwarded to the Federal Register regulations for publication on May 12
that an additional 20,000 H1-B visas under tremendous Congressional
pressure to implement the H1-B Reform Act of 2004 to the letter.
But the additional 20,000 H1-B visas come with a rider.
These will be available 'solely to those aliens who have received a
master's degree or a higher degree from a US institution of higher
education.'
The USCIS said it would reopen the filing period for the (US) fiscal
year 2005, beginning May 12, wherein US employers can submit
applications for these 20,000 H1-B visas that are in addition to the
Congressionally mandated annual cap of 65,000 H1-B visas, that were
snapped up on October 1, 2004, the very first day of fiscal year 2005.
USCIS, revising its original order, announced on March 8 that the
20,000 additional H1-B visas would be thrown open for all qualified
non-immigrant aliens, and not only for those graduating from a master's
or a higher degree programme from an American college or university.
Congressional sources told rediff.com that lawmakers who had drafted
the legislation -- for the additional 20,000 H1-B visas to be made
available only for foreign students with a master's or PhD from an
American institution of higher learning -- had 'gone ballistic' when
USCIS had put out the announcement that all qualified non-immigrant
aliens and not just those with an American degree could apply.
Sources said that the lawmakers had informed USCIS 'in no uncertain
terms' that this could not be allowed because 'it is a
misinterpretation of the law.'
There is a two-fold rationale, said sources, behind Congress allowing
for this increase:
To restrict the additional visas to those who graduated from American
institutions of higher learning vis-a-vis an incentive for foreign
students to attend US universities, as it is a considerable revenue
generator to these universities; and
To use the services of these students to work in the US and help
America maintain its competitive edge in the information technology
sector, instead of these students going off immediately to work in
other countries that would pose a direct threat to the US industry.
One Congressional source told rediff.com that 'the framers of this
legislation for the increased cap were assured support for it only if
the ultimate benefit was to both American universities and industry.'
Many, who were against any increase in the number of H1-B visas as they
believe that H1-Bs put Americans out of jobs for cheaper foreign
skilled workers, would not have supported the legislation if it were
just an increase in the number of H1-B visas with no strings attached,
sources said.
Thus, when the USCIS threw open the additional visas to all qualified
non-immigrants, 'these guys in Congress simply went ballistic and told
the immigration guys not to open these visas to all skilled foreign
professionals.
However, Chris Bentley, chief USCIS spokesman in Washington, denied
that the agency succumbed to Congressional pressure and said, "What we
did in March was that we released information saying that there was a
possibility it (an advanced degree from a US institution) might be not
be required. But in the conclusion review process, this was the
determination that was made -- that the intent of Congress, the intent
of the Reform Act, was to limit it to master's or higher degree holders
from US institutions of higher learning."
"I wouldn't characterise our interaction with the Congress as ballistic
or anything adversarial," he asserted. "What happens during the entire
process is that we communicate back and forth and we try to make sure
that we have open lines of communication so we know exactly what's
happening--what each of our parties are thinking."
Asked why then the USCIS had pre-empted this review process and made an
announcement that the additional 20,000 H-1Bs would be available to all
qualified applicants, confusing employers as well as prospective
visa-applicants, Bentley said, "It certainly was not meant to give
anyone any false hopes. It was meant to be as open as we possibly could
be about the process we were going through and to let people know
exactly what we were thinking at the time."
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