![]() Some Democrats and Republicans say more visas would fuel economic growth others in both parties oppose any changes unless protections for U.S. job candidates is hotly debated, and changes to the visa cap would require legislative action. Whether H-1B recipients displace qualified U.S. “To the best of our knowledge, none of our leading member companies indulge in such a practice of using subsidiaries or group companies to file multiple applications for same individual,” said Gagan Sabharwal, a director of Nasscom, a trade association that represents Indian tech companies. Such outsourcing companies are among the top procurers of H-1B visas, according to U.S. The tech giant, which has four subsidiaries, said it doesn’t file more than one petition per person.Ĭritics including Daniel Costa, an immigration expert at the Economic Policy Institute, say that of particular concern are Indian outsourcing companies that provide workers through U.S.-based subsidiaries for entry-level positions in the U.S., such as tech support at retailers and banks. universities who studied science, technology, engineering or math. H-1B holders account for about 6% of the 50,000-strong workforce atIntel Corp., which typically seeks visas for graduates of U.S. The nonimmigrant visa is valid for three years, and can be extended to six-or even longer, if the employer decides to sponsor the worker for a green card.Ĭarl Shusterman, an attorney who formerly worked for the Immigration and Naturalization Service, says a firm “playing the system” by filing several petitions for one person “disadvantages companies spending time and money trying to get a specific foreign graduate of a U.S. This year was the third in a row that H-1B visas, the number of which is capped by Congress, were oversubscribed and decided by lottery. might be the only country that distributes visas by lottery, experts say. Citizenship and Immigration Services, which oversees the visa program, said the agency doesn’t “specifically track the number of cases” where related entities documented a legitimate business need to file a petition for the same individual. “It is a best practice.” One petition was selected, he said.Ī spokeswoman for U.S. McCall said a company with four subsidiaries requested that he file four petitions this year for the same worker. ![]() ![]() “The practice is growing and will continue to grow,” said Greg McCall, a Seattle-based immigration attorney. “Some companies are being creative, within the boundaries of ambiguous regulations, to maximize their chances of winning the lottery,” said Stephen Yale-Loehr, an immigration scholar at Cornell Law School. The government permits related entities, such as a parent company and its affiliates, to file H-1B petitions for the same foreign worker if each can show a legitimate business need for the individual to fill a position. “Companies are struggling to fill their open high-skilled positions and the H-1B lottery system isn’t working.” “It is no surprise that with the system the way it is today, a lottery based on chance rather than a rational system addressing need, companies are using all legal means necessary to fill their business needs,” said Elizabeth Hyman, executive vice president of advocacy for CompTIA, an IT-industry group. Some attorneys who prepare applications believe it could be thousands. It isn’t known how many of the record 233,000 applications filed in April for the 85,000 H-1B slots this year were duplicates. Lawyers charge $2,000 to $4,000 to prepare each petition. Smaller businesses say such moves disadvantage them because they can’t afford to match them. Such practices, which aren’t illegal, likely have occurred in the past without public notice but appear to be proliferating as the economy rebounds and competition for the coveted visas intensifies, immigration lawyers say. ![]() Some workers, meanwhile, are accepting offers from multiple employers, each of whom files a petition on their behalf, the lawyers say. Immigration lawyers involved in the process say they have helped firms file multiple H-1B skilled-worker visa applications for the same person. have found ways to game a government lottery used to distribute a limited number of visas each year. Companies eager to hire foreign talent, mostly in the tech sector, and workers hoping for jobs in the U.S.
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