US Senate imposes strict conditions on H-1B hiring

Lalit K Jha

Washington, Feb 7 (PTI) In what could be seen as a
setback to Indian IT professionals, the US Senate has voted
for imposing strict conditions on hiring of people with H-1B
visas by American companies receiving federal bailout money.

The amendment to the pending stimulus bill restricting
the hiring of foreign workers, passed by the Senate through a
voice vote Friday, was a watered-down version of what was
introduced earlier.

The original amendment had called for a blanket ban on
H-1B hiring by companies that would have received money under
the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TRAP).

The amendment approved by the Senate was co-sponsored by
Republican Senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, and independent
Senator from Vermont, Bernie sanders.

The modified amendment requires that a company receiving
TARP funds and applying for workers under the H-1B process
must operate as an "H-1B dependent company."

This means, explained Grassley in a statement, that the
companies will still be able to hire H-1B visa holders, but
must comply with the H-1B dependent employer rules which
include attesting to actively recruiting American workers; not
displacing American workers with H-1B visa holders; and not
replacing laid off American workers with foreign workers.

"Hiring American workers for limited available jobs
should be a top priority for businesses taking taxpayer money
through the TARP bailout programme," Grassley said.

With the unemployment rate at 7.6 per cent, there is no
need for companies to hire foreign guest workers through the
H1-B programme when there are plenty of qualified Americans
looking for jobs, he argued.

Even as he supports the H-1B programme, which has mostly
benefitted Indian techies, Grassley said there is an urgent
need for a reform in it.

The programme should be used in the way it was intended –
as a temporary measure to supplement a company's need for
hi-tech or specialised workers when none are available in the
US, he said.

In another statement, Sanders said the amendment would
require bailed-out banks, where there have been layoffs, to
hire only Americans for two years.

"The very least we can do is to make sure that banks
receiving a taxpayer bailout are not allowed to import cheaper
labour from overseas while they are laying off American
workers," Sanders said.

"Wall Street caused the crisis, millions of people lost
jobs, including 100,000 in financial institutions. Now they
want to bring in foreign workers," Sanders said, adding: "Talk
about adding insult to injury."