It should be obvious to even the casual observer that critics are using the Indian companies to attack H-1B visas more generally. After all, the Indian companies cited generally already have more than 15 per cent of their US workforce on H-1B visas, which means that under US law they must adhere to stricter labour rules on recruiting and not displacing US workers.
Almost all of the major legislative changes sought by Senators Grassley and Durbin would make it far harder for US companies to hire H-1B visa holders.
Any foreign country looking to attract more investment from US companies should be cheering for the Durbin-Grassley provisions to become law.
In his letter to Microsoft boss Bill Gates, Senator Grassley also said that the answer to the lack of skilled American workers is not to import foreign workers, but to educate Americans. Would you agree?
It is ironic to ask this question of Bill Gates, since probably no American in history has given more money to charity, through his foundation, to help improve US education. There is a $1,500 scholarship/training fee that US companies pay for each H-1B professional they hire [also for visa renewals].
To date, companies have received little credit for the nearly $2 billion in these H-1B training and scholarship fees that they have paid just since 1999, which have funded 40,000 scholarships for American students.
So, companies are funding scholarships for Americans with every H-1B hired. Moreover, in addition to company philanthropy, tax data show that US businesses pay $91 billion a year in local taxes to support public education in America.
Also, no one is saying we shouldn't educate more Americans. US companies that hire H-1B visa holders already employ 85 to 99 per cent US residents, so they would be foolish not to want a well-educated US labour force.
But to say we need to wait another decade to see if we can improve education, before letting companies hire skilled foreign nationals, only encourages US companies to expand overseas, rather than in the United States.
Image: Employees at the Wipro call center in New Delhi. | Photograph: STR/AFP/Getty Images
Also read: The classy new Hyderabad international airport
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