H1B 2009

Applications for H1-B Visas for 2009 workers were filed from April 1-7, 2008. The H1B Visa allows foreign non-immigrant technical workers to enter into the United States to fill technical jobs in industries such as IT, programming, science research, medical research, engineering, and others.

Immigration attorneys have indicated that they believe the majority of the alloted positions will once again go to workers from India, as current estimates are that 60-70% of all applications will originate from there. H1-B Proponents Proponents say that H1-B visas allow specifically skilled foreign workers to fill positions that there are not enough Americans to fill. They say that the H1-B visa allows America to attract the best workers from around the world. They argue that without expansion of the H1-B visa program, these jobs will move overseas, and support positions that would otherwise be filled by Americans will move overseas as well. Microsoft, for example, has said they have opened an office in Vancouver because of difficulty getting visas for foreign workers. Proponents also say that, since the H1B visa limit has been hit on or before the beginning of the fiscal year for the past four years, this is proof the program needs to be expanded. H1-B Opponents Some opponents say the H1-B visa is nothing more than a "back door" opening for foreign migrants to move to the U.S. with the intention of becoming permanent residents, and that they are taking jobs that could be filled by native-born Americans. They also argue that these immigrants send their money home, sapping it from the US economy. Others say that, since an H1-B visa holder who loses a job will also quickly lose his or her visa and be forced to move back to his or her home country, the program amounts to nothing more than a modern version of indentured servitude. Another argument against the H1-B visa program is that it depresses wages in the computer industry. H1B Options Senators Dick Durbin and Chuck Grassley have proposed capping H1-B visas on a company by company basis, preventing corporations whose staff are comprised of 50% or more H1-B and/or L-1 visa holders from obtaining more H-1B visas. According to a BusinessWeek study, 33% of H1-B visas overall and 80% of visas for the top 10 Hi-B visa obtaining companies go to Indian outsourcing companies. Some question whether the outsourcing companies are merely bringing Indians to the United States to train them in jobs currently performed by Americans, so they can cut the American jobs and outsource them to India for far less money.

Fast Facts:

1. Applications accepted April 1-7, 2008
2. Current allotment: 65,000
3. Cap reached: April 8, 2008
4. 65% are between 25 and 34
5. 2003: 27% from India
6. Estimated 150,000+ applications will be turned in
7. Begin work as early as October 1st, 2008
8. Pending legislation to increase allotment to 195,000 annually