A new legislation, the Immigration Driving Entrepreneurship in America (IDEA) Act of 2011, was introduced in the US Congress on Tuesday night. If the Bill comes into force, it holds good news for Indian science and technology students in the US but mixed news for companies sending workers on H-1B visas.
The IDEA Act is sponsored by Congresswoman Zoe Lofgren ? Democrat from California ? and seeks to make it easier for foreign-born students who graduate with advanced degrees from US universities to obtain green cards. It allows businesses to attract and retain successful innovators by creating a new ?EB-1? green card category for advanced degree holders in science, technology, engineering and mathematics from certain US universities who excel.
However, the legislation also proposes changes in the H-1B visa regime, widely used by Indian IT services firms to send workers on onshore projects. It seeks to prohibit displacement of US workers and proposes to strengthen recruitment requirements; the Bill requires employers to recruit US workers before hiring an H-1B worker. It also requires that if more H-1B applications are filed than H-1B visas remaining on a given date, applications that offer the highest wage levels be considered first. Importantly, the Bill also seeks to change the duration of the visa. H-1B is granted for three years and can be extended for another three thereafter. The new Bill seeks to do away with the extension.
Experts said that the present Bill may not cause much disruption to the businesses of Indian firms. ?I don?t see the demand for H-1B exceeding the quota allotted in the coming years. Indian IT firms are applying for less and less H-1B visas because much of the work can now be done offshore,? an industry executive who did not want to be named said. According to a CLSA report, Indian firms used 5,042 H1-B visas in 2009, 12,810 in 2008 and 12,597 in 2007.
Another executive said that there would be a marginal impact on outsourcing although the Bill appeared to be protectionist in outlook. He welcomed the proposed H1-B reforms that would now allow the spouse of the visa holder to apply for work authorisation in the US and allow holders to accept promotions. ?In short, the Bill aims to retain the best Indian and Chinese students in the US at a time when the country appears to be bracing for an innovation deficit,? he said.
Indian IT industry lobby Nasscom did not comment on the development. The Bill has the support of technology multinationals such as Intel. In a blog, Intel?s director of government relations Peter Muller said that under the current visa system, foreign-born employees hired to work permanently in the US must secure an H-1B visa. ?While this visa designation permits an employee to work in the United States, it impedes that employee?s ability to advance in the company, restricts the employee?s spouse from working and otherwise limits the options available to the employee. Not only is this system difficult for the employee, but it makes working in a US Intel facility less attractive to many of the people we want to hire.?
He added: ?Currently, some Intel employees are left waiting for as many as 10 years for green cards because not enough permanent-residency visas are available. As a high-tech company in a global innovation race and an employer proud of being a great place to work, this is unacceptable. It is imperative that employees receive permanent resident status in a timely manner.?