H-1B politics shifts to backroom as vote nears
High-tech's leading advocate in the immigration bill fight, Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah), has bought himself some time, perhaps until Tuesday, to try get the immigration bill changed to the liking of the tech industry.
Negotiations are underway to come up with a compromise where Hatch gets a block of amendments and, in return, U.S. Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), gets Hatch's support for the entire immigration bill, according to sources.
Schumer is one of the leaders of the so-called "gang of eight," the bipartisan group that developed the comprehensive immigration bill.
If Hatch had enough support for his amendments on Senate Judiciary Committee, he could have asked for a vote. But he didn't have the votes. Read more...
American tech workers lose out in H-1B lottery
Some tech companies won the lottery this week -- not the virtual one creating overnight Bitcoin millionaires, but an actual lottery granting skilled-worker visas known as H-1Bs. However, if Congress answers the tech industry's calls to raise the numbers of visas, it could lead to a hemorrhaging of American tech jobs, opponents warn. Read more...
H-1B demand this year will be fast, furious
The U.S. begins accepting new H-1B visa petitions on Monday, April 1, and fast demand is expected. This is going to be followed by much fury.
Industry proponents of the H-1B visa will argue -- at megaphone strength -- that high demand is evidence of both an improving economy and need for skilled workers.
Opponents will counter that H-1B visa employees are displacing U.S. workers, and will point in particular to H-1B visa demand by offshore outsourcing companies. Read more...
Judge throws out Palmer H-1B suit against Infosys
A U.S. District Court judge today threw out a lawsuit filed against Infosys brought by former employee Jay Palmer.
In his ruling, Alabama federal Judge Myron Thompson almost seemed apologetic, but cited technicalities in Alabama state law that hurt Palmer's case against the Bangalore, India-based outsourcing firm,.
Palmer, a federal whistleblower, alleged that Infosys illegally used foreign workers on client projects.
In his lawsuit, Palmer claimed he was harassed at work, sidelined and even received death threats for refusing to participate in an alleged Infosys scheme to use workers on business visitor, or B-1 visas, for tasks that required an H-1B work visa. Read more...
With H-1B cap reached, Congress has three options
The H-1B cap for next year was reached this week, completing the annual petition process at the fastest pace since the start of the 'great recession.
The quick pace may prompt Congress to act on new legislation to appease the tech industry and its demands for access to foreign workers. It has several options, including some that do not include a controversial direct cap increase.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service announced Monday that the cap of 85,000 H-1B visas was met on Monday, just two months after the start of petition submissions on April 1. The federal government's fiscal year begins Oct. 1. Read more...
Obama’s H-1B answer in forum may haunt him
Until President Barack Obama responded to a question about H-1B visas during an online forum last week, the administration had said little about the controversial program.
But that has changed, thanks to the question posed by Jennifer Wedel of Fort Worth, Texas.
Wedel wanted to know why the government continues to issue H-1B visas when many U.S. tech workers are jobless. Her husband, Darin Wedel, a semiconductor engineer, was laid off from his full-time job at Texas Instruments three years ago following a plant shutdown, she told Obama. Read more...
Obama confronted on H-1B use during Google+ hangout
President Barack Obama faced perhaps his toughest and most direct question ever on the H-1B program by a Texas woman during an online town hall Monday.
The woman, Jennifer Wedel, was polite and direct but tenacious in getting the president to reveal some of his views about the H-1B program whe she asked: "Why does the government continue to issue and extend H-1b visas when there are tons of Americans just like my husband with no job?" Her husband is a semiconductor engineer.
Weddel succeeded in getting Obama to acknowledge that there should be limits to the H-1B program.
The visa "should be reserved only for those companies that say they cannot find somebody in that particular field," Obama said.
The H-1B program is also heavily used by offshore outsourcing companies that transfer IT work overseas. See: The top 10 H-1B visa users in the U.S. Read more...
This year’s H-1B cap is reached at quicker pace
The annual H-1B cap has been reached for this year, according to the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, and at a pace that is two months ahead of last year.
The U.S. issues 85,000 H-1B visas each year under its cap, with 20,000 of that number set aside for advanced degree graduates of U.S. universities.
The USCIS, which begins accepting H-1B petitions on April 1 of each year, announced on Wednesday that the openings for fiscal 2012 have been filled. Read more...
Outsourced and fired, IT workers fight back
On the day they were fired early last year, about 40 IT employees at Molina Healthcare Inc. had been gathered in a conference room for what they were told would be a planning meeting. At the same time, laptop computers were being collected from the assembled workers' desks.
During the meeting, Molina's then-CIO, Amir Desai, informed the workers that they were being laid off for financial reasons, "not because of [their] performance."
The layoffs came amid rising tensions over a number of issues, including the expanding role of an offshore IT contractor at Molina.
The workers raised the concerns with Desai during the meeting. Read more...
A guide to H-1B, green card reform
Unlike with the debt limit debate, there is bipartisan interest in Congress in reforming high-skill immigration. New legislation is on its way, and here's what to watch for.
What bills have been introduced or are coming?
In the House, the most important Democratic initiative is from Silicon Valley's Zoe Lofgren. Her bill will make green cards available to students who earn advanced degrees in science, technology, engineering and mathematics, so called STEM graduates. However, her bill isn't expected to go anywhere.
The person to watch instead is U.S. Rep., Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who heads the House Judiciary Committee. Smith appears interested in some limited immigration changes expected in a bill from Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-Utah). This bill, which is due "soon," is expected to call for elimination of the per-country limits on green cards. Read more...
Another key Republican calls for H-1B cap hike
There has been no rush by employers for H-1B visas since the recession began, but there is an increasing rhetorical push in the U.S. House to raise the visa cap.
At a special hearing by the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in San Jose, Calif. Monday on high-tech growth policies, its chairman, Rep. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.), called for a liberalization of the H-1B cap.
Issa said that "there seems little doubt that federal policies and regulations have played a large role in hampering growth." Among other things, he cited the H-1B visa cap in his prepared remarks. Read more...