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Anger Grows in India over U.S. Visa Rules
Business Week ^ | 24 Feb 2009 | Mehul Srivastava

Posted on 02/26/2009 2:30:52 PM PST by BGHater

It's protectionism, say Indian critics, that Congress has banned companies receiving bailout money from hiring foreigners on H-1B visas

With the economies in the U.S. and India both struggling and with unemployment rising,the outsourcing of American jobs to Indian workers has become an even more explosive issue. That's leading business leaders,politicians,and ordinary citizens in both countries to focus on a controversial visa program,the H-1B, that allows a limited number of foreigners to work at U.S. companies for up to six years. Critics have long claimed the program allows high-paying software-writing and engineering jobs at companies and state governments to go to foreigners.

On Feb. 23,the H-1B critics got a new round of ammunition. Data released by the U.S. Citizen & Immigration Services showed that in 2008,for the second year running, many of these visas went to Indian IT services companies that were sending engineers to the U.S. temporarily to work. In effect, a visa that had been designed for U.S. corporations to remain competitive at a time of talent shortage had become a blessing for the U.S. operations of global Indian companies, allowing them to send engineers from India, rather than hiring locally.

The news comes at a time when many Indians already suspect the U.S. is trying to put a squeeze on the country's successful outsourcing industry. Each year, the American government hands out 65,000 H-1B visas, and Indian engineers receive many of them. However, as part of President Obama's economic stimulus package, Congress passed provisions to bar any U.S. company that receives bailout dollars from directly hiring workers on these H-1B visas.

Fueling India's Diaspora

In India, there has been a swift outcry. "This is just irrational protectionism," says Montek Singh Ahluwalia, deputy chairman of India's Planning Commission. "It makes no economic sense at all."

(Excerpt) Read more at businessweek.com ...


TOPICS: Business/Economy; Foreign Affairs
KEYWORDS: economy; h1b; india; offshoring; outsourcing; visa
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To: Cronos

I’m not educated on the process enough to have an opinion on the numbers for these visas, but I don’t like India inserting itself into our political process. Can they? Sure. Do I like them telling us what to do? NO.


41 posted on 02/27/2009 11:21:34 AM PST by brytlea (Proud descendent of Andrew Kent, Alamo Defender)
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To: Cronos

Hey, it’s a tempest in a teapot.

The H1 policy was started by BushOne, and enthusiastically supported by Clinton and BushTwo. The focus is on India, but other nations benefit, Irishmen on Cape Cod, Poles in Maine.....

As it is, research, and not only services are moving to places like India, and while that is not remotely any threat to American innovation currently, America should at least be aware that innovations from say GE Labs in India might start having an impact soon, like the recent cheap laptop and the neoCar, ($2500 a pop) by Tata.


42 posted on 02/27/2009 12:09:14 PM PST by swarthyguy ("We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds," ISI Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha)
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To: MahatmaGandu

I am ignorant? You are the one who launched into a tirade when I asked you how you are able to tell when someone is of lower caste and someone is not? Answer the question instead of exploding your sorry ass and making it clear what an insecure fool with a loud mouth you are. FYI, I am Indian. I believe I have enough knowledge to more than just comment on the subject. And FYI, Gandu = Ass (like the hind-side - derriere). You chose a very appropriate login name.

AND NO!!! CASTE IS NOT EQUAL TO CLASS - There are poor Brahmins and super rich people of the Scheduled Caste. You have NO KNOWLEDGE, NO STANDING and NO BASIS to comment on India’s caste system. SO STFU.


43 posted on 02/27/2009 6:39:39 PM PST by MimirsWell (Scipio Pakistanus)
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To: MimirsWell
AND NO!!! CASTE IS NOT EQUAL TO CLASS

That's what I said: Caste =/= class.

You were couching my comments as if they were some sort of class warfare socialism thing and they are not. क्षमा- माफी चाहता/ चाहती हुँ

44 posted on 02/28/2009 8:48:26 AM PST by MahatmaGandu (Remember, remember, the twenty-sixth of November.)
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To: brytlea
I’m not educated on the process enough to have an opinion on the numbers for these visas, but I don’t like India inserting itself into our political process. Can they? Sure. Do I like them telling us what to do? NO.

Valid statement, however, my response is "Does their 'telling us what to do' change a d*** thing?" No. They can say what they like, and whatever loud pronouncements are purely for THEIR domestic audience (just like I suspect all the talk about cutting H1B numbers in the US are purely for domestic posturing and won't translate into reality
45 posted on 03/02/2009 3:16:53 AM PST by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delenda est)
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To: Cronos; swarthyguy; brytlea
If they cut all the H1Bs and cut off the means for legal immigrants to enter the US, then the companies can just hire in legal entities outside the US.

I have no problem with intelligent immigrants to the U.S. but that era ended with the Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 which allowed unlimited chain migration of the world's underclass.

46 posted on 03/02/2009 7:39:34 AM PST by AreaMan
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To: AreaMan
What are you trying to say? First you say that you don't mind intelligent immigrants. Then you say "no, that era (of allowing intelligent immigrants) ended in 1965", then contradicting again you say you don't want unlimited chain migration of the world's underclass.

What are you trying to say? That we allow folks who come to the US to get their Masters and Phds etc to stay on, or that you don't even want those people?
47 posted on 03/02/2009 8:53:35 AM PST by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delenda est)
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To: Cronos
What are you trying to say?

Here is what I am trying to say.

Giving American companies special permission to undercut the labor market by issuing special visas is wrong.

LEGAL Immigration by the world's best and brightest to the U.S. is A-Ok with me.
BUT, the era of "the world's best and brightest" coming to the U.S. to become Americans IS OVER.
Unlimited chain migration of the world's underclass and illegal immigration along with nobody wanting to become an American has pretty much f**ked us all.

Is that clear?

Look, english is my second language but other than sending you a crayon drawing...I can't make it any clearer.

48 posted on 03/02/2009 9:05:10 AM PST by AreaMan
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To: AreaMan
Ok, that's clearer. English is your second language?

Anyway, so you say that the era of the world's best and brightest coming to the US to become Americans is over. That would be terrible for the US. That would mean that the best and brightest would remain in their countries and the US will lose its dominance.
49 posted on 03/02/2009 9:48:15 AM PST by Cronos (Ceterum censeo, Mecca et Medina delenda est)
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To: BGHater

THE H1B program is a joke, its a scam and it should have died a long time ago, 65000 is more than enough visas for legitimate needs. Companies however don’t use it legitimately they abuse it and cheat.

The H1B is to white collar what the illegal immigrant is to blue collar, pure and simple.


50 posted on 03/02/2009 9:49:58 AM PST by HamiltonJay
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To: AreaMan

So, you have two issues.

One is the illegals, who don’t compete with H1 type jobs, perhaps in the tourist industry on some of the other work visas.

Second, intelligence, if the H1 by itself isn’t at least an indicator of technical skills(your opinion may vary depending upon the particular vagaries of h1 bodyshop salesmanship), then these are pretty much the very people you want.

Check out the makeup of PhD level employment in America, many of them are foreigners who found their skills very lucrative in the USA, they were allowed entry often through an H1.

Not a mindless free immigration type myself, my career got outsourced during the first REPUBLICAN instigated wave of outsourcing when BushOne began the H1 program.

It was all rubberstamping then, I know, because I moved into the bodyshop business from being a mainframe systems techtype.


51 posted on 03/02/2009 11:12:02 AM PST by swarthyguy ("We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds," ISI Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha)
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To: swarthyguy
Second, intelligence, if the H1 by itself isn’t at least an indicator of technical skills(your opinion may vary depending upon the particular vagaries of h1 bodyshop salesmanship), then these are pretty much the very people you want.

My point is we don't need the H1b program. It is just a way to undercut the local domestic pool.

I'd want the smart people to come to the U.S. to stay and become Americans.

52 posted on 03/02/2009 11:27:50 AM PST by AreaMan
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To: AreaMan

No skin off my back.

I’m absolutely a neutral on the H1 issue.

Many, however, do stay and eventually get naturalized.

Heck, the originial impetus for the H1B program was because Americans were making too much money and software salaries were skyrocketing in the 80’s.

BushOne said it was a crisis, the Indians sold guys like GE’s Jack Welch and others on programmers from India, and voila, a flood of Indians in America by the early 90’s.


53 posted on 03/02/2009 11:31:43 AM PST by swarthyguy ("We may be crazy in Pakistan, but not completely out of our minds," ISI Gen. Ahmed Shujaa Pasha)
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To: AreaMan

Chain migration really is a big part of the problem.


54 posted on 03/02/2009 11:52:47 AM PST by brytlea (Proud descendent of Andrew Kent, Alamo Defender)
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To: Cronos

I don’t know if it can change policy.


55 posted on 03/02/2009 11:54:55 AM PST by brytlea (Proud descendent of Andrew Kent, Alamo Defender)
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To: MahatmaGandu; MimirsWell

Dear Gandu,

>>Welcome to dealing with Indians. The lower caste people are generally just fine, but the upper tiers of their social order are arrogant bastards in the extreme.

Oooh. Someone’s burning away inside I see. All that hate, daubed with generalizations, dripping with racism, sans sufficient understanding of the subject to be mouthed off on.... smella of Pakiness.

Tch tch, and what for Gandu? Such a sorry attitude shall merely affect your own precious health, Gandu.

>>but see they have to establish their superiority over you so getting you to kiss their ass is the point.

Attaboy, Gandu. Seems Gandu’s been kissing yindian a$$ bigtime. Hence, the burning passion to hit back by mouthing off any inanities that may come to mind.

You go, Gandu! I’ll cheer your noble effort in what small way moi can.

May the Lord bless you, Gandu.


56 posted on 03/03/2009 5:43:30 PM PST by voletti (There's no place, I can be, since I found, serenity.)
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