H-1B visa changes imminent
October 14 2008 by Robbie Ragless
An internal report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has found as many as one in five H-1B visas are affected by fraud of technical violations prompting a call for increased restrictions.
The report found violations in 21% of 246 randomly selected H-1B visas including underpaid and working in other jobs than those they were hired for.
Many technology companies rely on the H-1B visa scheme,
which allows companies to employ foreign nationals on a temporary basis, to
fill roles that require specialized or technical skills. The US awards
65,000 H-1B visas each year, with a further 20,000 visas reserved for foreign
workers with US graduate level qualifications.
Industry executives including Bill Gates have lobbied the government to
increase the number of visas awarded, although the program has been criticized
for giving jobs to foreign workers rather than to US citizens.
US
Senator Chuck Grassley is sponsoring a bill to reform the H-1B scheme,
which would pledge that they had made a good-faith effort to hire American
workers first and that the H-1B visa holder will not displace an American
worker. The reforms would also prevent the outsourcing of H-1B workers through
employment agencies, and would increase scrutiny of applicants.
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