| Submit your comments on this article |
| Economy |
| Slump Sinks H-1B Visa Program |
| 2009-10-29 |
| A coveted visa program that feeds skilled workers to top-tier U.S. technology companies and universities is on track to leave thousands of spots unfilled for the first time since 2003, a sign of how the weak economy has eroded employment even among highly trained professionals. The program, known as H-1B, has been a mainstay of Silicon Valley and Wall Street, where many companies have come to depend on securing visas for computer programmers from India or engineers from China. Last year, even as the recession began to bite, employers snapped up the 65,000 visas available in just one day. This year, however, as of Sept. 25 -- more than six months after the U.S. government began accepting applications -- only 46,700 petitions had been filed. |
| Posted by:Thaiting Slinetle7709 |
| #7 Drop H1B All ti does is depress wages of US workers - H1B are indentured servants, the companies can underpay them and threaten them loss of their sponsorhip -- then saddle them with bad working conditions which bring down the entire bunch. Allow a truly FREE MARKET in labor - either give these people green cards, or don't let them in. DOnt make them slaves to whoever holds the power of the H1B over them. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2009-10-29 11:51 |
| #6 H-1B and J-1 visas are also used in graduate medical education: most of the international medical graduates who come to the U.S. for residency training come on one of those two visa programs. |
| Posted by: Steve White 2009-10-29 11:49 |
| #5 The companies and universities have had over 25 years to grow their own domestic labor supply For companies that takes planning beyond the next quarter or two. Besides, H-1B is cheaper. Even though there are equal pay provisions, you can hire senior engineer skills into a junior engineer slot. Since your hires can't easily jump ship, it also makes them a little more malleable. What's not to like! |
| Posted by: SteveS 2009-10-29 11:08 |
| #4 The companies and universities have had over 25 years to grow their own domestic labor supply to fill the requirements. It should only take five to seven years to sponsor an American to get the skills they need, but its easier to bribe a congresscritter to bring an indenture worker in country they can have more control over. Its been labor welfare for the [once again] the politically connected. It should have returned to its original 10,000 a year long ago. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2009-10-29 08:42 |
| #3 Thought the MSM-Net News this week said only eveybody was going to CHINA, includ Amer Perts + Chin whom emigrated and came to Amer for education and training in US schools [ PAKDEFFOR ARTIC > REVERSE MIGRATION]??? |
| Posted by: JosephMendiola 2009-10-29 01:24 |
| #2 Reduce it to 0. Its indentured servanthood. Either a real green card or nix. |
| Posted by: 3dc 2009-10-29 00:36 |
| #1 Good time to reduce the limit to 45,000, then. |
| Posted by: KBK 2009-10-29 00:16 |