US Senators take outsourcing firms to woodshed over H-1B use

Two US Senators – -a Democrat and a Republican no less – are taking aim at nine prominent outsourcing companies demanding that they explain their use of the H-1B program.  In letter mailed to the companies on Monday, Senators. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Dick Durbin, D-Ill., stated:   “We have been concerned about reported fraud and abuse of the H-1B and L visa programs, and their impact on American workers. We are also concerned that the program is not being used as Congress intended.” The companies in question used some 20,000 or 30% of the 65,000 H-1B’s issued this year.  The letters, posted on Grassley’s Web site, were addressed to Infosys,  Wipro,  Tata, Saytam, Patni Systems, Larsen & Toubro, I-Flex,  Tech Mahindra Americas and Mphasis. Federal law makes 65,000 H-1B visas are available each year for workers in specialty fields such as computer programmers, engineers, architects, accountants, doctors, college professors and fashion models. Another 20,000 visas are available for foreign workers with at least a master’s degree from a U.S. college or university.  The high-tech industry has long complained that too few visas are available. Microsoft for example has long been a proponent of increasing the H-1B limit. The Information Technology Industry Council (ITIC), whose backers include Apple, Dell, eBay and Intel, last year asked that the cap be raised to 115,000.  This spring the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service said it had reached its limit for 2008 H-1B visa petitions within a day of the set deadline – the fast time ever. The government agency reported it had received about 150,000 applications for 65,000 slots in one day. The Senators’  letter also wants to address pay: “Some groups, such as the Programmers Guild, have analyzed the wages paid to H-1B visa holders. They have found that the average annual salary of foreign workers is significantly lower than that of new U.S. graduates.  Second, a number of consulting firms reportedly recruit foreign workers and then outsource the individuals to other job sites or companies. Many of the top 20 companies that used H-1B visas in 2006 are firms, such as yours, that specialize in offshore outsourcing.  “Third, a number of firms have allegedly laid off American workers while continuing to employ H-1B visa holders. The American people are concerned about such lay offs at a time when the demand for visa issuances and the recruitment of foreign workers appear to be increasing. “ The letters are sure to generate more heat over an already hot topic.  Many experts thought some immigration reform might get passed this year and  the H-1B program could be part of that.  But observers say political contentiousness and issues such as the ones brought up by these letter s will only serve to squash such changes. A copy of the letter sent to Infosys – which could make as much as $4 billion I revenue this year —  included the following questions: NUMBERS How many United States citizens do you employ in the United States? Is your company an H-1B dependent employer? How many visa petitions did you submit to the Citizenship and Immigration Service for Fiscal Year 2007? Of the total number of petitions requested, how many have been approved for Fiscal Year 2007, if known? How many H-1B visa holders is your company currently employing? What percentage of your total workforce are H-1B visa holders? What is the average age of the H-1B visa holders that your company currently employs? What is the average number of years of experience of your employed H-1B visa holders? Please describe your efforts to recruit Americans for the positions for which you employ H-1B workers.  WAGES What is the average wage of your company’s H-1B visa holders? What is the median wage? What is the highest and the lowest salaries for those H-1B visa holders currently employed by your company? What is the average wage of your company’s workers who are United States citizens in the same occupations?  OUTSOURCING Of the 4,908 visas your company received in 2006, how many of those workers are currently employed and paid by Infosys Technologies Limited? Of the 4,908 visas your company received in 2006, how many were outsourced to other companies and how many employees’ salaries were paid for by a firm other than Infosys Technologies Limited?  LAY OFFS Has your company experienced any layoffs in the United States in the past year? Any lay offs in 2005? If so, how many people lost their jobs? If your company has laid off workers in the United States, what job positions were part of that lay off? If your company has laid off workers in the United States, how many of those workers were H-1B visa holders? If your company has laid off workers in the United States, did any H-1B visa holders replace those dislocated workers, or take over any of the laid off employee’s job responsibilities? We appreciate your cooperation, and respectfully request that you respond to our questions no later than May 29, 2007.  Sincerely,Charles E. GrassleyUnited States Senator