Posted on 06/03/2006 8:46:56 PM PDT by nickcarraway
The US government has reached the cap on the much in demand H1-B visas for 2007 even though the fiscal year does not start until October 1, the Citizenship and Immigration Services has announced.
The USCIS began accepting applications for the H1-B petitions for Fiscal 2007 on April 1 and the cap was reached on May 26 and hence high tech firms will have to wait until April 1, 2007 for applications for Fiscal 2008 that begins on October 1, 2007.
The H1-B visas, given to skilled professionals, are in demand among many Indian hi-tech workers.
The Congressionally mandated cap currently is 65,000 and the Senate recently passed its version of an Immigration Bill that increases the H1-B cap to 115,000 every year with a built in increase of 20 per cent annually.
The Senate version is proceeding to a Conference Committee, as it has to be reconciled with a House Bill passed late last year. There is nothing in the House version on the H1-Bs and hence the uncertainty.
Hi-tech companies that are pressuring Congress to increase the cap with a view to meeting the demand are pointing out that this is the fourth year in a row that the H1-B cap has been reached even before the start of the Fiscal Year.
The H1-B visas programme is dear to the Silicon Valley as its lobbyists helped convince the Congress to increase the number of annual H1-B visas to 115,000 in 1999 and then to 195,000 through fiscal year 2003. After that, the cap became 65,000.
The USCIS has said in a statement that there are exemptions to the Cap such as the Visa Reform Act of 2004 that allowed 20,000 petitions for those who have earned Master's Degrees or higher from American institutions.
This group does not come under the annual cap provisions. And for fiscal 2007 the USCIS has said that it has received approximately 5830 petitions.
Jobs Americans will not do.
Maybe they'll have to start rehiring the hundreds of thousands of technology workers who were laid off after the Dotcom bomb - what a concept.
Every position held by a H1-B visa holder should be listed in a published directory to enable Americans to apply. A review procedure would be needed but these are American jobs.
Oh please. The companies send them to training classes when they arrive here. This is about companies paying lower wages, not bringing "skilled professionals" to do work Americans cannot do.
That's definitely an important point. We believe in capitalism and merit, so we shouldn't complain if we fail to do what it takes to succeed. We need to have a culture that promotes hard work, education, not settling for mediocrity, etc. We live in the U.S., we have every advantage, we shouldn't waste that.
And I just got finished giving my son a "talk" about choosing a career that will earn him a good pay. I told him Engineering was the career to aim for. Do you think that's not true anymore?
Amen. Currently the pay rate for an engineering position in India is about $15,000/yr. Of course the cost of living is also about 1/3 of the average US urban location. Is it any wonder those visas fill up as fast as they appear.
Where have you found info. on engineering salaries in India? I've been looking for at least a year.
Yes, that is no longer true that engineering is a worthwhile career in the US.. The money people have destroyed it. I have 2 engineering degrees and today that won't get you anywhere. Today I can get a contract position in no time that will last at least 3 months and pay about what I made in 1992.
I couldn't agree more! You are absolutely right.
Thanks for the info, to the both of you!
I guess that, whether or not Engineering majors are in hot demand, it's still a better bet than what my son is aiming for - professional baseball player. ;-) I keep telling him, yes, you should aim for your dream, but just in case that doesn't work out... there's engineering, computer science, accounting, or a medical field...
I wonder how many L-1 visas are being abused by near-fraudulent applications as a result.
Really? There are permanent full-time engineering jobs with state worker benefits going begging here in NY. A shortage of engineering graduates in the US has created a tight job market, forcing private companies to raise salaries in order to compete for scarce engineers. Even with state worker benefits and job security, NYS can't compete. In some areas (downstate especially, due to high cost of living) we have trouble filling jobs like truck drivers and heavy truck/diesel mechanics because nobody wants to do those jobs even at state worker pay and benefits.
A buddy of mine got driven out of teaching by incompenent administrators, and went back to engineering. He landed a job with a private firm right away- had two offers to choose from, in fact. He's on the fast track, because he's very good at what he does, and doesn't give his bosses grief.
Jobs Americans taught in government schools are too stupid to do.
Yes, things have changed for the worse but there are still engineering jobs available at all levels. The company I work for needs engineers and offers $5K referral bonuses to employees bring in talent (providing they are hired). I work in an electrical/mechanical environment and it is fairly stable. Its a completely different story for the software / IT types though - mostly done overseas. Lots of the people I work with have been there for 25 or 35 years. Many of the new college grad hires only last 2 or 3 years before they move on - frequently to careers outside of engineering.
The "money people" are inherently in a better position. Those that deal with the money are higher up on the power structure of a company and usually have more opportunities for higher pay.
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