The U.S. senate has demanded an explanation from nine Indian technology firms on how they are using the H-1B visas issued to them. Critics of the H-1B visa program have been arguing for a while that companies use such visas to bring in cheaper staff from places like India and China to replace their more expensive American staff.
Letters issued by senators Democratic Dick Durbin and Republican Chuck Grassley on May 14th are a vindication for these critics.
They have expressed three prime concerns, which will resonate well with the common man in an election year. The average annual salary of foreign workers is significantly lower than that of new U.S. graduates
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Companies often recruit foreign workers, and then outsource the individuals to other job sites or companies
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Companies often lay off American workers while continuing to employ cheaper H-1B visa holder.
These nine Indian companies are amongst the highest users of H-1B visas — between them they used 19,512 of H-1B visas (or 30% of the 65,000 visas allowed) in 2006. This leaves few visas for American and other foreign companies.
In the letters sent to these companies, the senators ask difficult questions around wages and layoffs. Some questions they ask are:
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How many U.S. citizens do you employ in the U.S.?
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What percentage of your total workforce owns H-1B visas?
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Describe your efforts to recruit Americans for the positions for which you employ H-1B workers?
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What is the average wage of your company’s H-1B visa holders?
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What is the average wage of your company’s workers who are U.S. citizens in the same occupations?
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If your company has laid off workers in the U.S., did any visa holders replace those dislocated workers?
However, Wipro has denied receiving such a letter from senate. “We have not received a letter from Senators Grassley and Durbin,” said an official spokesperson to Global Services. Infosys says it is studying the issue, while two other companies that Global Services wrote to have not yet responded.
H-1B VISAS ISSUED, 2006
| Infosys |
4,908 |
| Wipro |
4,002 |
| TCS |
3,046 |
| Satyam |
2,880 |
| Patni |
1,391 |
| Larsen & Tourbo Infotech |
947 |
| i-flex Solutions |
817 |
| Tech Mahindra |
770 |
| MphasiS |
751 |
