Showing posts with label H1-B. Show all posts
Showing posts with label H1-B. Show all posts

Saturday, August 8, 2009

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US reopens H-2B visa programme for foreign workers

The US has resumed accepting applications for the H-2B foreign temporary worker visa after receiving far fewer petitions from US employers than anticipated.

The congressionally mandated annual cap for H-2B visas sought by semi-skilled Indian workers is 66,000, and the government has issued only 40,640 this fiscal year, which ends Sep 30.

"Because of the low visa issuance rate, (US Citizenship and Immigration Services, USCIS) is reopening the filing period to allow employers to file additional petitions for qualified H-2B temporary foreign non-agricultural workers," the agency said in a statement.

While H-1B visas permit foreign nationals to work in the US on short-term projects as a prelude to a green card, the H-2B programme enables US employers to bring foreign nationals to the US to fill temporary non-agricultural positions for which there is a shortage of available workers.

Typically, H-2B workers fill labour needs in areas such as construction, health care, landscaping, food service and hospitality.

Normally, the number of applications for temporary work visas from US employers far outstrip the number available, but the recession has reduced demand.

The number of petitions from employers trying to bring foreigners to work permanently in the US has declined dramatically over the last two years.

The H-1B visas coveted by Indian techies too have gone abegging this year. USCIS has received approximately 45,000 H-1B petitions counting toward the Congressionally-mandated 65,000 cap.

Meanwhile, USCIS figures show government has received about half the number of employer-sponsored applications for work-based green cards in fiscal years 2008 and 2009 than it did in each of the previous years.

There were almost 235,000 applications submitted in fiscal 2007, almost 104,000 the following year, and fewer than 36,000 through the first eight months of fiscal 2009.

In fiscal year 2007, the latest year for which the statistics were available, most applicants came from India, Mexico, the Philippines, China and Korea, according to the Department of Labour.

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

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H1B Cap : July 24, 2009 Update

The H1B cap count remains unchanged. The USCIS issued a count of the cases received as of July 24, 2009, which was identical to the previous one. There have been 44,900 regular cap cases and 20,000 advanced-degree cap cases filed for the fiscal year 2010 limits. As of this writing, the USCIS continues to accept cases under both the regular and advanced-degree caps.

Monday, August 3, 2009

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Congress may push India's IT firms to Mexico with H-1B crackdown: ComputerWorld

Source: ComputerWorld
If U.S. clamps down on visas, India's alternative may be Mexico and NAFTA.

As Indian firms fight the threat of H-1B restrictions, IT services companies might not leave their fate to politics. In an effort to reduce their need for visas, they may look to increase their presence south of the border.

Indian IT firms have boosted operations in Mexico in recent years to serve Latin American and U.S. customers. One advantage to doing so involves the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), which enables Mexican and Canadian professionals to work in the U.S. without an H-1B visa.

In other words, Indian firms could send employees to Mexico, and then move some of their Mexican workers to the U.S. under the auspices of the treaty. The Mexican workers would not need an H-1B visa to work in the U.S., though they would need what's called a TN visa. That visa is available to Mexican and Canadian nationals who qualify under a number of professional categories and meet specific education and experience requirements.

If Indian companies set up a visa safety net in Mexico it will be because of concerns about legislation from U.S. Sens. Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa), and Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.). Of particularly concern is the bill's so-called "50-50" rule that limits the number of workers on H-1B or L-1 visas to half of a firm's total U.S. headcount. The majority of Indian companies in the U.S. have far more people working with visas than not.

The NAFTA benefit -- essentially allowing Indian companies to move relatively lower cost workers in and out of the U.S. without the H-1B visa -- was cited this week by Phaneesh Murthy, president and CEO of IT services firm iGate Corp., in Fremont Calif. IGate has the majority of its 6,500-plus workforce in India.

Murthy told analysts during an earnings call that U.S. visa restrictions could prompt his company to increase work in Mexico.

"We will probably utilize a higher growth in our Mexican center by having more people come from Mexico to the U.S., where they don't need the H-1B because of being part of NAFTA," said Murthy, according to a transcript on the financial site Seeking Alpha. "So, I think our business models will change and we are ready for those changes in business model," he said.

Many of the major Indian firms have operations in Mexico. MexicoIT, an industry group in Mexico City, said there are 500,000 IT professionals in the country, with another 65,000 graduating each year from colleges with degrees in IT-related skills. While costs are higher in Mexico than in India, Alfredo Pacheco, CEO of MexicoIT, said the difference is only about 10% to 12%.

Put in perspective, Mexico today is little more than a niche location for the large Indian firms. For instance, Mumbai-based Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) announced last month its third delivery center in Mexico with plans for 500 workers. TCS has 142,000 workers worldwide, but 92% of those workers are Indian, with the rest scattered around the world, according to company data.

Another way Indian firms can reduce their reliance on H-1B visas is to complete more of their U.S. customer work offshore. That's something U.S.-based IT providers have been trying to emulate. Eric Simonson, managing principal of research at the Everest Group, in Dallas, said between 75% and 80% of the workers at the Indian firms work offshore. In its most recent quarter, TCS cited improvements in its offshore ratio; Simonson believes it's because the vendor's customers are "more comfortable with how the model is developing and willing to push the the needle a little more."

There has been no action yet on the Grassley/Durbin legislation. Sen. Chuck Schumer, (D-N.Y.), hopes to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill by Labor Day that would bring a different approach to the H-1B visa issue. If there are restrictions on H-1B visas, NAFTA's provisions provide interesting possibilities for the Indian firms.

The NAFTA Professional TN visa is not capped; it's good for three years, and can be extended, according to Anastasia Tonello, a parter at Laura Devine Attorneys LLC in New York. Compared to the H-1B, it is also much easier to get, she said. Technology workers would likely seek TN visas as either computer systems analysts or as management consultants.

Jorge Pinto, professor of international business at Pace University in New York, said Mexico is coming into its own as a technology provider and more Mexican students are studying engineering in the U.S. Although the cost of living in Mexico is cheaper, Pinto doesn't see the main benefit of using Mexican workers as saving money. Instead, it's more a way of having an increasingly educated talent pool that is a short flight away from the U.S. "The advantage is not really cheap labor, it's a much more complicated matter," he said.

Lynn McNeal, a partner at outsourcing advisory firm TPI Inc. in Houston, doesn't believe that Mexico competes as well as lower-cost countries in Latin American, but its proximity to the U.S. already attracts significant investment. "The trend is well under way, regardless of the threat from Congress," he said.

Wednesday, July 29, 2009

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U.S. Scientists See H1-B Visas as Major Issue Against Progress, Says Survey

Source: eWeek
A new survey by the Pew Research Center has found that, while the American public holds a high opinion of scientists, a minority feel that U.S. scientific achievements are best in the world. At the same time, scientists felt the biggest impediments to their research were lack of funding and difficulties in the H1-B visa process for foreign scientists and students.

The nation's scientists see H1-B visa issues as a major barrier to scientific achievement, according to a new survey by the Pew Research Center.

Some 56 percent surveyed felt that issues with the visa process for foreign students and scientists represented a massive impediment, second only to the 87 percent who saw lack of funding as a “very serious” or “serious” problem.

Whether or not those issues are actually slowing down progress, U.S. scientific achievements might have something of a PR problem. The survey found that only 17 percent of the U.S. public thought that U.S. scientific achievements are best in the world; some 27 percent felt that the country’s advances in science, medicine and technology were its greatest achievements.

This somewhat pessimistic view was tempered by the public’s largely positive view of science and scientists, with 84 percent "mostly positive" on science’s effect on society, and 70 percent feeling that scientists contributed "a lot" to society’s well-being. For the latter category, the only two professions that ranked higher were teachers and members of the military.

The Pew Research Center also collaborated with the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) to conduct the same survey with 2,500 scientists, some 49 percent of whom rated U.S. scientific achievements as best in the world. Scientists, despite the largely positive support for them and their endeavors, had a somewhat more negative view of the public, with 85 percent of them citing the general populace’s lack of scientific knowledge as a problem for science, and 49 percent feeling that the "public expects solutions to problems too quickly."

With regard to that lack of scientific knowledge, the survey found that the public was more illuminated on topics that applied more personally to their lives. For example, around 91 percent could say that aspirin is recommended to prevent heart attacks, and 82 percent could say that GPS technology is reliant on satellites. However, only 52 percent could say what distinguished stem cells from other cells, and 46 percent knew that electrons were smaller than atoms.

Scientists and the public seemed to have diverging opinions on several key issues. Specifically, 87 percent of scientists believe in evolution and natural selection, while 32 percent of the public thought of evolution as fact. Along the same lines, 84 percent of scientists believe that global warming is a reality caused by human activity, while 49 percent of the public thought likewise.

The dichotomy continues into the area of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, which 93 percent of scientists support versus 58 percent of the public. The one area of relative agreement is universal vaccinations, where 82 percent of scientists and 69 percent of the public think that all children should be vaccinated.
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Tech workers lose H-1B case

The US Court of Appeals in Philadelphia has ruled against the tech workers who have been fighting a federal decision to allow foreign students to work on a student visa from one year to 29 months, according to a news report in Computer World.

The Programmers Guild and others fighting the student visa extension argued that the extension was a kind of backdoor H-1B increase that intensifies competition in the labour market. This in turn hurt wages and job prospects of US workers.

The decision in the case, however, is said to have been made on technical issues and not on merit. In 2008, the US District Court was reportedly asked in a lawsuit to issue a preliminary injunction to block the student visa extension. However, the Judge Faith Hochberg ruled that the opponents did not have legal standing to bring the case since they weren't directly affected by the extension.
The appellate court, in its decision dated July 17, affirmed the lower court's decision.

The student visa extension was approved during President Bush's administration and subsequently backed by President Obama. The high demand for H-1B visas made the Bush administration extend the visa in 2008. The concern then is said to be that students failing to get a visa would return.

However, the recession in the country has changed that. Of the 85,000 visas available under the cap, 20,000 still remain, unlike 2008, when it took just a few days for the entire cap to get filled.
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Analysis: The next H-1B fight begins by Labor Day

Source: ComputerWorld
Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill by Labor Day that seems certain to include a way to increase the H-1B cap.

Sen. Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.) plans to introduce a comprehensive immigration reform bill by Labor Day that seems certain to include a way to increase the H-1B cap. By introducing the bill in the worse possible economic climate, and then citing Labor Day as his deadline for introducing it, you could almost argue that Schumer is egging on his opponents. But that's not new for him. Among the people he has enlisted to help him is Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan, who testified this year at an immigration committee hearing that the cap protects U.S. workers from global competition, creating a "privileged elite."

Schumer's view follows naturally from his unabashed support of the H-1B visa program and his belief that foreign workers are critical to U.S. economic success. And as head of the Senate Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security, Schumer is in a position to make changes.

Schumer outlined his plans in an interview with Associated Press last week; the bill is still being drafted.

The Senate has had no problem approving increases in the H-1B cap in the past. The Comprehensive Immigration Reform Act of 2006, for instance, proposed raising the cap on H-1B visas to 115,000 and included a market-cap provision that allowed the the number of visas to grow by 20% a year if the prior cap was reached.

The cap is now set at 85,000, which includes 20,000 that are set aside for people who earn masters degree.

This time around, Schumer may take a different approach on high-skilled immigration.

One proposal that may get traction in Congress would create an independent commission to manage employment-based visas. The commission would determine whether there are labor shortages and have the authority to make annual adjustments on the cap based on economic need. That idea was pitched by the AFL-CIO in April. Schumer will also have to deal with Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), both of whom are on the immigration subcommittee and have introduced legislation restricting H-1B use to the ire of Indian government and industry groups, in particular. Durbin and Grassley are among the harshest critics of the H-1B visa.

In a speech last month before an immigration policy group, Schumer outlined what he wants to achieve when it comes to high skilled workers.

"We must encourage the world's best and brightest individuals to come to the United States and create new technologies and business that will employ countless American workers, but must discourage businesses from using our immigration laws as a means to obtain temporary and less-expensive foreign labor to replace capable American workers," said Schumer. Schumer also endorsed a report in 2007, Sustaining New York's and the U.S. Global Financial Services Leadership, prepared by McKinsey & Co., that called for increasing access to H-1B visas to help keep the financial services industry competitive. President Barack Obama has appointed a top McKinsey official, Diana Farrell, to serve in his administration as a deputy economic advisor.

Angela Kelly, vice president for immigration policy and advocacy at the Center for American Progress, a Washington-based group that's headed John Podesta, President Clinton's former chief of staff, said an element of any immigration reform bill would have to be its labor protections.

"How do we ensure that by bringing these workers in we're not disadvantaging American workers and how do we invest in our folks for the long haul, so that we've got kids in computer science, math, and engineering programs, which are right now, frankly, dominated by kids who aren't from the U.S. That's the reality and we need to deal with it," she said, in a conference call with reporters.

Tuesday, July 28, 2009

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Why Skilled Immigrants Are Leaving the U.S.: BusinessWeek

-Other Lands of Opportunity: China and India
-Green Card Applicants Have a Long Wait
-New research shows that highly skilled workers are returning home for brighter career prospects and a better quality of life.

Lured by the prospect of climbing to the top of his field, New Delhi native Swaroop Ganguly came to the US 10 years ago and earned a PhD in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Texas at Austin in 2005. He became an expert in an emerging technology called spintronics, used to power semiconductors, and worked at several chip companies, including Freescale Semiconductor. But Ganguly, now 32, is moving back to India this summer.

Although he has been doing postdoctoral work at the University of Texas, he figures his prospects for research and professional development are probably better in his home country. "I feel quite excited about going back," he says.

Ganguly has already accepted a job as a professor of electrical engineering at the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay. The position will pay a fraction of the salary he had been earning in the private sector—about $15,000 compared with $100,000—but it will offer considerably more job security and the freedom to do the exploratory research he wants to do. "The real lure of being in the US is to do really innovative work, but the space for that seems to be shrinking," he says. "The Indian government is putting a huge amount of funding into science and technology, so even if they can't pay high salaries, it's an attractive prospect."

Ganguly is one of a number of highly skilled immigrants preparing to leave the US as the nation's economy slows. With the US unemployment rate approaching double digits, job opportunities are diminishing and calls to restrict immigration have gotten louder. Those who favor tightening the rules argue that US citizens should get first priority for jobs.

A Blow to Prospects for Economic Recovery
But the issue is tricky when it comes to the most educated and skilled immigrants—people like Ganguly. When well-paid individuals leave the country, that cuts into already depleted tax revenues for state and local governments. The departure of top talent in technology and science may also undercut the prospects for a recovery in the US, many economists say. These immigrants often start companies and come up with technological breakthroughs, creating new job opportunities for all.

"We benefit from a flow of really smart people coming here to work in our companies and start new ones," says David Hart, a professor of public policy at George Mason University in Arlington, Va., who co-authored a study on immigrant entrepreneurship released this month. "It's important that the US remain a magnet for people who fuel innovation and growth."

The Obama Administration has said it will push for comprehensive immigration reform later this year, but it's unclear if any legislation will pass or how it would affect skilled immigrants. One unresolved issue is how to define a "skilled" immigrant. While many politicians would support policies to attract the most educated and highly paid, there is more controversy over foreign workers who come into the US on H-1B visas, which require only a bachelor's degree and, in many cases, modest salaries. Senator Charles Schumer (D-N.Y.), chairman of the Senate immigration subcommittee, said in June that US policy will aim to "encourage the world's best and brightest individuals to come to the US and create the new technologies and businesses...but must discourage businesses from using our immigration laws as a means to obtain temporary and less expensive foreign labour."

Other Lands of Opportunity: China and India
Advocates for skilled immigrants emphasise the value they create and warn against developing overly restrictive policies. Dr. Jan Vilcek, a professor of microbiology at New York University School of Medicine, defected from Czechoslovakia in 1964 and is now renowned in his field for treatments he developed for chronic illnesses such as Crohn's disease. He co-founded a New York-based nonprofit called the Vilcek Foundation to enhance the public profile of exceptional immigrants. "Foreign-born entrepreneurs and scientists are a tremendous asset to the US economy," Vilcek says. "It is tragic that bureaucratic obstacles are preventing more talented and motivated people from helping to get us out of the economic slump."

For now, economic woes—and to a lesser extent, immigration policies—are the most acute problem driving departures from the US A study by Duke University professor and Harvard researcher Vivek Wadhwa, for example, found that among Chinese nationals who emigrated to the US and later returned home, 72% said they thought professional opportunities were better in China. Among Indians who returned home, 56% said the same of their country. Wadhwa estimates that as many as 200,000 skilled workers from India and China will go home over the next five years, compared with roughly 100,000 over the past 20 years.

"We're in a recession, and there is enough good talent now [in the US], but long term, it will hurt like you won't believe," says Wadhwa, who is also a BusinessWeek.com columnist. "Losing critical talent means arming the US's competition. The next Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), or Apple (AAPL) could be launched in Shanghai or Bangalore."

Green Card Applicants Have a Long Wait
Kapil, a 33-year-old software consultant for IBM (IBM) in Silicon Valley, shares Vilcek's frustration. (Kapil asked that his last name not be used out of concern for his job.) He joined IBM in 2001 with the hope of gaining permanent residency in the US so he could ultimately start his own company. IBM filed an application for his green card for permanent residence in 2004, and he has yet to receive it. Due to limits that allow for just 9,800 green cards per year per country, the wait for people from India and China can be up to 10 years. Kapil estimates that his five-year wait could stretch into 7 or 10. In the meantime, he remains on an H-1B visa tied to IBM, where he must keep the same position to remain in the green card queue. He's earning six figures now, he says, but suspects he could earn more if he had the freedom to change jobs. "I'm not allowed to advance, and it's really frustrating," says Kapil. "At this point, I'm losing my patience."

Kapil is eager to found a startup. He has developed the technology for an online job-search engine that taps into social networks such as Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn. He says he is considering launching it from India. "Most likely, I am heading back," he says. "In a way, I feel cheated. I've contributed, paid taxes, and even picked up a California accent. But it's not enough."

Arun Kumar, 30, is also in the US on an H-1B visa and is considering moving to Canada. Kumar, who lives just north of Philadelphia, works for a US bank and is helping to develop a startup within the company. His employer, the name of which he asked not be used, put in his application for a green card last year. Kumar realises that it could take years for his application to move through the queue, and he's growing restless to start his own business. He has the capital to launch his product, an educational tool to help sixth- to eighth-graders learn math and science. But he doesn't want to do so in the US because assuming a new job or even changing titles within his own company would nullify his existing green card application. Kumar and his wife are now considering moving to Toronto, where they could more quickly become permanent residents.

"I feel restricted here," says Kumar. "I understand the US has a responsibility to its citizens, and I understand its dilemma. But the country would be better off if it could isolate and identify skilled workers who want to come here and build things and welcome them in."
Source: BusinessWeek

Monday, July 27, 2009

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Open gates for foreign workers, Bill Gates tells US

Bill Gates, the first citizen of commercial mass computing, vouched for an open source US immigration policy, raised hands for India’s unique national ID project, and smiled aside the threat posed to his Windows home base by Google’s planned operating system as he embarked on his sixth visit to India, this time to receive an honour for his efforts in social work.

The co-founder of Microsoft and its current nonexecutive chairman told a CEO Forum on Friday that his firm would like to participate in the unique ID project, which envisages a biometric-based national ID for every Indian citizen.

Mr Gates also met Nandan Nilekani, the cofounder of Infosys, and the man the government has put in charge of rolling out the ID project. He said the project could help in areas such as immunisation of children to detect who’s left out of the process. “Banking and healthcare are two applications we would like to see on top of the list under the programme,” Mr Gates said.

On immigration, he reiterated his well-stated stand urging the US government to increase the number of foreign workers entering the US. “I have been speaking out against immigration restrictions in the US. Free exchange of talent is a very important thing,” Mr Gates, who requested the US Congress to reform immigration policies last year, told a press conference.

He also asked Indian companies to focus more on research, citing the low number of PhDs produced by the country. India produces about a quarter million engineering graduates and around 100 PhDs. The US, on the other hand, has 70,000 engineering graduates and 1,500 PhDs, over 250 of them from India.
“Companies need to be a big part of this. The IT industry in India has matured to a point where it (research ) can be on their agenda,” he said.

The potential threat posed by Google, the search engine behemoth that is now entering Microsoft’s mainstay operating systems platform, was “fun” , said Mr Gates who pointed out his own firms efforts at relaunching its search platform with its new search engine Bing that has made a dent in the market.

“Google has done a lot of good work but we think search should be dramatically better in the next 1-3 years. We have hired great people who are doing innovative work to make it more competitive,” he said. Mr Gates said search has changed from a list of top 10 links to a place where people go to organise a trip, buy a gift or learn something new.
Source: IndiaTimes

Saturday, July 25, 2009

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Bill Gates: US curbs on talent a mistake

Microsoft founder Bill Gates said it would be a "big mistake" if the US imposes curbs on the entry of skilled workers from abroad, putting his weight behind "smart people" from countries like India who want to work overseas.

"I can't make any predictions. Immigration policy could get more difficult. Microsoft as a company is very vocal. It would be a big mistake," Gates, here for overseeing the philanthropic activities of his foundation, said in an interaction with India Inc.

"The US Congress is very tough on immigration. But why not make an exception for smart people?" said Gates while addressing an interactive session organised by the National Association of Software and Service Companies (Nasscom).

Even though Gates now devotes most of his time to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, he has always been vocal about his support for migrant professionals that is reflected in the number of such workers at the
Microsoft offices in the US.

Gates said he was also keen to partner India in its ambitious plan to issue a single identity card and number to its 1.17 billion citizens for which a new authority has been formed under Infosys Technologies co-founder Nandan Nilekani.

"Microsoft wants to be part of the Unique Identification Authority of India project," he said, adding that he hoped to meet with Nilekani to discuss the issue.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

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Wipro hires more locals in projects abroad

Wipro today said it was taking preventive steps to stem discontent in the US at outsourcing. “As a company, we have taken pro-active action,” said chairman Azim Premji during a press conference to announce the annual results. “Today, about 30 per cent of the people who are working (on our projects) in overseas countries are locals. That is one area of insurance we have built.”

It is understood that the company is hiring more local people in overseas markets for front-end sales and support roles. It is having more locals as client managers in key areas like the US and Europe.

“Our experience is that the total cost to the company on overseas (local) people is equal or less than the cost of sending people on H1-B visas from here,” said Premji.
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India should keep up pressure on US on protectionism: Premji

Wipro chairman Azim Premji on Wednesday said India should continue to exert pressure on the United States not to switch over to an era of protectionism.

Premji said the visit of the US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to India had stated that Washington would not "switch over to protectionism".

"I think our Prime Minister (Manmohan Singh) and the External Affairs Minister (S M Krishna) have taken this up at the appropriate levels in Washington", he told reporters in response to questions. "The Prime Minister has taken this up three times with President Barack Obama," he said.

So, as of now, the issue seemed to have been contained, the Chairman of the software major, listed on New York Stock Exchange, said.

"But one should be alert to the fact that the US is facing an unprecedented degree of unemployment...excess of 9.8 per cent", Premji said, adding, one should continue to keep the pressure on the US not to "switch over to the methodology of protectionism".

He also said Wipro was taking proactive steps to increase the number of local people in its workforce in overseas operations. Today, locals constitute as much as 30 per cent of its headcount overseas.

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

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Clinton, in India, says 'outsourcing is a concern for many'

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton ended her trip to India on Monday with a promise to improve cooperation on high-tech trade between the two countries, but she offered no specifics about how that will be accomplished.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton finished up her trip to India on Monday with a promise to improve cooperation on high-tech trade between the two countries, but she offered no specifics about how that will be accomplished.

Instead, Clinton left with an agreement that the two countries will continue talking "with the objective of facilitating smoother trade in high technology between the two economies."

That statement appears to be an effort to lessen protectionist fears in India triggered by a number of events, including a comment in May, by President Barack Obama that the U.S. has developed a tax code "that says you should pay lower taxes if you create a job in Bangalore, India, than if you create one in Buffalo, N.Y."

But what has really drawn the concern of India's tech industry is the threat of action by Congress, namely legislation by Sens. Chuck Grassley, (R-Iowa), and Dick Durbin, (D-Ill.), that would set a number of restrictions on overseas firms that need H-1B visas to deliver their services.

In an interview on NDTV (New Delhi Television Ltd.), Clinton was asked about the concerns of India's business community by reporter Barkha Dutt. (Excerpt begins at the 8:50 minute mark.)

"Outsourcing is such a big issue for the Indian business community. We all remember President Obama's great metaphor of 'say yes to Buffalo, no to Bangalore' -- is this an unavoidable protectionism given the global economic meltdown?" asked Dutt.

"I think it's a friendly competition," said Clinton, who went on to explain that any country "is going to want to make sure we have enough jobs for our people. What President Obama has said is we do not want a return to protectionism."

"So we have to figure out how we are going to work together," said Clinton. "Outsourcing is a concern for many communities and businesses in my country, so how we handle that is something that we're very focused on doing in a way that doesn't disrupt the great flow of trade and services that go between our countries."

The agreement that the U.S. signed in India will be taken up by what is being called the High Technology Cooperation Dialog.

"I think the critical issue is whether all stakeholders have a voice in the policymaking process," said Ron Hira, an assistant professor of public policy at the Rochester Institute of Technology and author of Outsourcing America. "To date, U.S. workers, especially American IT workers, have had no official channel with which to promote their interests," he said.

Hira said that it is clear that both U.S. business interests and Indian business interests are represented in the talks, 'But is there anyone representing the interests of U.S. workers? The answer is no. Since they are absent, or a more accurate description would be 'excluded,' American IT workers' interests can easily be ignored by politicians in the State and Commerce Department(s)," said Hira.

Monday, July 20, 2009

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TCS makes no H1B visa application this fiscal

Tata Consultancy Services has not filed for a single H1B visa this year mainly due to its focus on shifting more work to low-cost destinations such as India and China.

Moreover, the company already has around 18,000 employees with valid H1B visas, both in India and overseas, said Mr Ajoy Mukherjee, Vice-President and Head Global Human Resources.

TCS relocated over 1,000 of its overseas staff during the quarter ended June 30 to increase offshoring revenues. The move had a positive impact of about 95 basis points on the company’s margins.

According to him, bringing back staff to India is beneficial for TCS, its clients and its employees. “If you shift work offshore, the customer’s overall costs reduce. It is advantageous for TCS because margins are obviously higher when you deliver from an offshore location. For employees too, it is good as they get to work in their home base,” said Mr Mukherjee.

The people who were called back were stationed at its centres in the US, the UK, Europe and Asia-Pacific.

“These are not the sales people but those involved in actual projects and delivery. Instead of doing it from the customer’s location, they would now carry forward from our India location,” he said. TCS feels that there is ‘more scope left’ to move work and people onshore.
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TCS recalls 1,200 from the US

In a bid to reduce costs and increased offshoring focus, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), India’s largest information technology company, has recalled close to 1,200 employees from the US and has decided not to hand out any salary increment this year.

The company had announced a 10 per cent increment across the board during the last financial year. TCS has almost frozen its lateral (experienced) hiring and will look at this only on an as-required basis. Instead, it will hire fresh college pass-outs. Over the next three quarters, it will hire 24,885 young men and women from various campuses.

As large users of information technology services abroad have cut their budgets, companies like TCS have been looking at ways to control costs. Employees account for over 50 per cent of TCS’ revenue; hence, the company has relooked its salary bill and policy on hiring.

Though there will be no increments this year, employees will still get a component of their variable pay. “We have two components to the variable pay: One that is paid every month and the other that is paid at the end of the quarter. This quarter we will pay that as well,” said TCS Vice-president and Head (global human resources) Ajoy Mukherjee.

Mukherjee, however, added that the company will promote over 9,000 employees, who could not be promoted last year due to cost issues. “We were looking at this every quarter but it could not be done,” said Mukherjee.

TCS has also not filed for a single H1-B visa, which allows people to work in the US, till date this year. The company, as of now, has about 18,000 people with valid visas (H1-B and L1). “We do have sufficient people with valid visas. The 18,000 employees include those who are already in the US. Looking at this, we decided not to apply for any fresh H1-B visa,” said Mukherjee.
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US does not want protectionism: Clinton

Allaying fears about the reported anti-outsourcing stance of the Barack Obama administration, US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on Sunday said that America does not want a return to protectionism.

"What President Obama has said (is) that we do not want a return to protectionism when Congress passed the provision in our stimulus bill," Clinton, who is on a visit to India, told private news channel in an interview.

The US government has imposed certain restrictions on companies receiving bailout funds from hiring foreign workers.

"... So he (Obama) has really tried to speak against protectionism and to make sure our administration does not in any way give credence to it," she said.

Regarding outsourcing, Clinton said that it is a concern for many businesses in the US but should not be affecting the trade flow between the two countries.

"Outsourcing is a concern for many community and businesses in my country.

"So how we handle that is something that we are very focused on doing ... that it does not disrupt the great flow of trade and services that go between our two countries," she asserted.

Saturday, July 18, 2009

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H1B Cap : July 10, 2009 Update

The H1B cap count moved backward slightly, with a count of 44,900 as of July 10, 2009. No explanation was provided for the decrease. Both the advanced-degree and regular caps remain open for FY2010.
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IT cos go slow on H-1B visas

India’s second-largest information technology services provider, Infosys Technologies, has applied for a mere 405 visas till date for financial year 2009-10 — its lowest application count in recent years.

While the company did not provide figures for the comparable quarter of the last financial year, HR head and member of the Infosys board, Mohandas Pai, confirmed that “the number of visa applications this year has come down, essentially because demand is down and so is the volume of work”.

The company made 4,800 H-1B visa applications in the financial year ending March 31, 2009 (the cost of one H-1B visa is said to be around $3,000 — around Rs 1.45 lakh). On a cumulative basis, Infosys had 8,700 H-1B visa holders on its rolls as of December 31, 2008. This came down to 8,200 by March 31, 2009. “We are self-sufficient on the visa front,” noted Pai.

Infosys reasons that client budgets are now more short-term in nature, which requires fewer onsite employees than in the past. Infosys’ top rivals, TCS and Wipro, are said to have applied for fewer H-1B visa applications this year, too. While they refused to divulge the numbers, the top three IT firms are understood to have recalled about 1,000 workers each in the June quarter as part of greater offshore leverage.

Moreover, the recently-introduced Grassley-Durbin Bill in the US aims to set tougher wage standards, which may increase salaries for H-1B workers, as well as impose limits on the number of visa workers to 50 per cent of the workforce. In a bid to meet these requirement and hire more locals (read foreigners), Infosys will hire more than 1,000 people from outside India in 2009-10.

All these factors have resulted in even the current year’s H-1B visa quota of 65,000 not being filled. As of July 10, approximately 44,900 applications were filed against the application cap for the fiscal 2010 programme. Compare this with the figures in 2007 and 2008, when the 65,000 cap was met in under two days.

Friday, July 17, 2009

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Indian IT companies avoid sending people abroad

Indian IT companies are restricting their request for H-1B visas this year. Even though exact figures are not known, it is understood that so far, Infosys, Wipro and TCS have recalled as many as 1000 workers each in the June quarter this year.

Infosys has applied for just 405 H-1B visas till this date for the financial year 2009-10, the count is lowest in recent years. "The number of visa applications this year has come down, essentially because demand is down and so is the volume of work," said Mohandas Pai, HR head and member of the Infosys board to Business Standard.

According to Business Standard, Infosys made 4,800 H-1B visa applications in the financial year ending March 31, 2009. The cost of one H-1B visa is said to be around $3,000, that is, around Rs.1.45 lakh. Overall, Infosys has 8,700 H-1B visa holders on its rolls as of December 31, 2008. But this figure came down to 8,200 by March 31, 2009.

Infosys defends its decision by saying that there have been many changes due to global economic slowdown and client budgets are now more short-term in nature which will only require few employees.

Recently, the U.S government introduced Grassley-Durbin Bill which aims to set tougher wage standards, which may increase salaries for H-1B workers but it will also impose limits on the number of visa workers to 50 percent of the workforce. In order to match these changes, Infosys plans to hire more than 1,000 people from outside India in 2009-10.

Currently, India has an H-1B visas quota of 65,000 and so far (till July 10), around 44,900 applications are filed. If we compare this with the figures in 2007 and 2008, the 65,000 cap was met in less than two days.
Source: SiliconIndia

Monday, July 13, 2009

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Infosys to replace Indian staff overseas with local talent

With an increasing protectionist stance in the US, Infosys has decided to replace its Indian staff working overseas with local talent. But while recruitment is on track overseas, back home increments and hiring are frozen and employee numbers dipped reports CNBC-TV18’s Kritika Saxena.

Infosys is going slow on hiring, and plans no increments or salary cuts for its offshore employees. Infosys will maintain its onsite-offshore mix but will look at replacing Indian employees with local talent. It attributes this change in stance to a soft job market and the pressure of protectionism overseas.

Says Mohandas Pai, Member of Board & Director-HR, Infosys, "It will be a replacement in the sense that you will have a person hired locally to work there replacing a deputy who goes from here. So to the extent that you will not add to the on site staff if there is no work so it will be a replacement."

Infosys says there will be no difference in the salaries given to locals or Indians.It's headcount seems to have marginally fallen by 1% this quarter. Reason, low gross additions at 3538, a 39% drop from 4935 last quarter. Another reason is the outplacement of 617 non-performers and an exit of 750 employees. But Infosys says that days of poaching by competitors are over and the employees had left the company for further education.

“If you look at people who left us to go to other companies, the percentage actually comes down. Normally it is about 45% and right now it has come down to maybe about 18%,“ Pai said. The good news is that no salary cut is expected for now. Infosys is betting big on investment for sales and marketing, it will honour all its hiring commitments, but tread a cautious path till mid 2010 by when it expects recovery returning to the IT sector.

Friday, July 10, 2009

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H1B Cap : July 3, 2009 Update

The H1B cap count continues to inch forward, with an approximate count of 45,000 as of July 3, 2009. This is a slight increase over the last count. As of this writing, both the advanced-degree and regular caps remain open for FY2010.