H-1B Visa Applications Expected to Decline, Flexible Workforce to Grow
Relaxing the regulations around immigration is often cited as part of the long-term solution to the inevitable talent shortage. At the center of this discussion is the H-1B Visa program.
Applications for visas for highly skilled immigrants are expected to decline due to the current recession, but technology companies continue to maintain that foreign-born workers represent a crucial part of the talent pool they need in order to remain competitive.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service began accepting H-1B visa applications for the upcoming fiscal year 2010 on April 1st.
This year there are 65,000 visas available for foreign workers who have the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree. There are an additional 20,000 available for those workers who have obtained an advanced degree from a U.S. university.
Last year, the USCIS received 163,000 applications during the first week of April. It was forced to use a lottery system to determine visa recipients. Although demand is expected to drop this year, most experts still predict that the visa demand will exceed supply.
The sour economic climate is also affecting the way many companies are using H-1B visas. Many of this years applications will be for employees who are currently working but were denied visas in previous lotteries, according to Robert Hoffman, vice president for government and public affairs for Oracle and co-chair of Compete America.
These workers are able to hold jobs by using an optional practical training designation, which provides a 12-month bridge between a student visa and an H-1B visa.
In other cases, companies like Microsoft are applying for H-1B visas for workers who are currently employed on L visas because they have transferred to the U.S. from a foreign location. “What you are seeing is the program being used to meet different needs this year than in previous years,” said Brad Smith, Microsoft general counsel.
As you would expect during this recession where millions of U.S. workers have lost their jobs, the H-1B visa program is under attack. For example, despite its enthusiasm for the H-1B visa program Microsoft plans to lay off as many as 5,000 employees, or 5 percent of its workforce. This only fuels the fire for critics. Similar cuts at many other companies are contributing to the backlash in Washington against H-1B visas, which detractors say deny opportunities to American workers and reduces salaries.
As part of the massive federal government stimulus package, Congress created additional H-1B visa rules for companies that receive federal bailout funding. These companies will be forced to meet a standard of proof showing that American workers are not available.
Although H-1B workers constitute a tiny portion of employees at U.S. companies, executives like Microsoft’s Smith fervently believe that their skills are critical to achieving product breakthroughs. At the root of the problem is the fact that the U.S. simply does not produce enough of its own scientists and engineers to meet the demand. For example, a 2006 study showed that 61 percent of computer science Ph.D. students in the U.S. were not citizens.
“We are going to need to continue to bring in that kind of extraordinary talent,” Microsoft’s Smith said. “We’re not talking quantitatively about a large number, but we are talking qualitatively about people who boost economic competitiveness.”
Most experts dispute the idea that a gain in H-1Bs is a loss for American workers. These are visas that work to complement the U.S. workforce. In fact, a study by the National Foundation for American Policy shows that for every H-1B position another five jobs are created.
At its root, the problem is one of talent supply and demand. One of the challenges in an economy as large and diverse as that of the United States, is that regardless of the overall employment level, there will always be localized imbalances. In addition to H-1B’s, many companies are able to find the specific talent they need by embracing the flexible workforce. For example, M Squared Consulting clients benefit from the deep bench of talent in the M Squared Consultant Network - we are able to rapidly bring proven industry and functional expertise to client engagements. This allows companies to focus on their core business while we find and manage the talent that is focused on delivering client results.
