H-1B visa cap for FY '05 already reached
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The cap on H-1B visas granted to foreign workers, set at 65,000 for the fiscal year that began Friday, has already been reached, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services.
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In response to pressure from high-tech businesses and industry groups, Congress this weekend approved an increase in the number of H-1B visas by 20,000 but limited it to specially qualified students.
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Putting new restrictions on H1-B visas in the United States would be a barrier to trade, the president of a large Indian trade association said Wednesday. The remarks come in response to an inquiry by two U.S. senators into alleged misuse of the visas.ADVERTISEMENTIBM Information On Demand 2006Industrial Industry Leaders, please join us at IBM's premier information management global event, IBM Information On Demand 2006, October 15-20, Anaheim, CA. More IBM business and technical solutions content in one place than ever before! Select from  over 800 sessions. Register today!
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Here's a bit of advice for those of you planning IT budgets. For the next five to 10 years, set aside 10 percent to comply with new government regulations, both from the United States and from other governments in your major markets.
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NEW YORK -- The NHL salary cap will rise to $50.3 million per team next season, an increase of $6.3 million from last season, the league and players' union announced Friday.
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The US homeland security department is announcing an expedited-access program for certain foreign travelers.
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India-based Patni Computer Systems Inc. has agreed to pay $2.4 million in back wages to 607 of its H-1B visa workers, the U.S. Department of Labor said today.
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Media & professional: Â· Threshold for full grant moved up to Â£25,000  Â· Student loan 'repayment holidays' proposed
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Â· Increase to fund consular service, says Foreign Office Â· Bill is underwriting cost of ID cards, say opponents
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It has taken us about 20 years of nonenforcement of immigration law -- since the 1986 amnesty -- to get into our current untenable situation. It may take a period of time to correct the problem.
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(InfoWorld) - TheÂ U.S. congressman who chairs a House Judiciary subcommittee says Congress could pass an immigration reform bill by July, including lifting the limit on how many high-tech engineers can come to the U.S. for jobs. Representative Howard Berman, a Democrat from California, made the prediction while speaking at the first ever Tech Industry Summit in San Jose, California. "It could pass both houses by July, go to conference, and be on the president's desk by September," Berman said. Immigration reform deals largely with the 12 million illegal immigrants living and working in the U.S., but another provision of the bill affects technology companies in particular. Tech companies want the limit on H1-B visas raised to 115,000 per year, from 65,000, a limit that has already been reached for 2007. H1-B is the type of visa granted to skilled foreign workers in "specialty occupations," including IT, so that they can work in the U.S. "There is significant urgency on this issue," said Pamela Passman, vice president of global corporate affairs for Microsoft, also speaking at the summit. About half the students enrolled in engineering schools in the U.S. are foreign nationals who have to return to their home countries after earning their degrees, depriving U.S. companies of the chance to hire them,Â  Passman said. Republican President George W. Bush proposed a guest worker program for illegal immigrants, but opposition from within his own party kept the legislation from passing in 2006. Now, with Democrats in control of both houses of Congress and Democrats generally endorsing the guest worker program, passage is more likely, Berman said. Berman is chairman of the Judiciary Subcommittee on Intellectual Property, which will be considering patent reform legislation. Tech companies have long complained about people who buy up patents just to collect license fees, but many small inventors own patents and don't have the means to bring the patented products to market, so they license the patents to others. Reform is also expected to focus on the quality of patents granted. Tech groups have pushed for better funding for the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office and a post-patent review process as a way to challenge patents that may not be deserved. "I think determining validity and infringement could be settled more quickly in a nonfederal court system environment," said Berman. The Tech Policy Summit is expected to draw 300 people to Silicon Valley, including technology industry figures, organizers of technology lobbying groups in Washington, D.C., and lawmakers. Technology companies had not been active in lobbying the federal government 20 years ago but have been forced to get involved as Internet-related issues like privacy protection, cybersecurity, and intellectual property disputes have emerged, said Gary Fazzino, vice president of governmental affairs at Hewlett-Packard.
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The defeat of an immigration reform bill in the U.S. Senate was a blow to efforts to raise the annual cap on H-1B visas, but IT industry groups can still pursue other legislative options.
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Most employers that offered retiree health benefits this year will continue to do so in 2005. But the percentage of employers that are dropping retiree benefits for current retirees will rise to 11% in 2005
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Here's what businesses need to know about Visa's new Payment Application Security Mandates.
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Several of the tax provisions that expired at the end of 2005 and may be renewed in tax legislation being considered by Congress:
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(InfoWorld) - That explosive H-1B YouTube video offering advice on how to hire foreign workers instead of Americans has gotten the attention of U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lamar Smith (R-Texas), who called it evidence of abuse of the visa program. Both men want a federal investigation and are seeking answers from the law firm that posted the original video on YouTube. In a letter to U.S. Department of Labor Secretary Elaine Chao, Grassley and Smith characterized the video as "exposing the blatant disregard for American workers and deliberate attempt to bring in cheaper foreign workers through the H-1B program." They also want the labor secretary to review the video and investigate "the law firm's unethical procedures and advice to clients." In the video, a person identified as Lawrence Lebowitz, an attorney at the firm Cohen & Grigsby PC in Pittsburgh, Penn., explains how U.S. companies can avoid hiring U.S. workers. "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker," said Lebowitz in the video. "And that, in a sense, sounds funny, but it's what we are trying to do here." Grassley and Smith also wrote Cohen & Grigsby, noting that "your firm's video advises employers how to hire only foreign labor, while making it nearly impossible for a qualified American worker to get the job.... While many companies insist that they are not participating in fraud, many are finding loopholes around government rules and regulations in order to bring in cheaper foreign workers. These loopholes lead to abuse that ultimately displace qualified Americans. The abuse is evident thanks to a video produced by your firm...." They also noted that the video "advises potential employers that they can fulfill" Labor Department hiring requirements "by advertising the position in places where they will not find the most qualified applicants. Your firm asserts that an employer can advertise in regional publications with limited circulation, while internally listing the job for a foreign worker. We would like you to please explain how this practice does not constitute outright discrimination based on nationality and why your firm so blatantly promotes this type of behavior." The law firm had taped a seminar on immigration law it held in May and then posted the video on YouTube, possibly for training purposes. The firm has not responded to repeated requests for comment this week. The two letters, dated today, were initially posted online at the University of California, Davis by Norman Matloff, a professor of computer science at the school and one of the longest-standing critics of the H-1B program. Matloff, in an e-mail said, "This 'YouTube-Gate' incident should be an eye opener for people in the press and in Congress who have been taking the industry lobbyists at face value all these years." The tape was brought to light by the Programmers Guild, a Summit, N.J.-based professional association after guild president Kim Berry said he was alerted to it by activists. He made a copy of an excerpt, added in some subtitles to annotate the tape, mixed in some music for dramatic effect, and posted the new version on YouTube. "My hope is that this proof on video will open some eyes to this sham," said Berry.
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Facing case backlogs, administration to grant thousands of legal immigrants permanent status.