Tight visa rules and their impact on the U.S. economy and business is a subject that never fails to spark controversy. The recent changes to the H-1B and L-1 visas rules have been a flashpoint of debate in the Tech Industry.

In a discussion at the Library of Congress earlier this year, Microsoft Corp. Chairman, Bill Gates, suggested to “get rid of the H-1B visa caps,” finding the numerical limitation for technology workers “questionable,” suggesting that “the theory behind the H-1B” (cap) is “too many smart people are coming” to temporarily work in this country. Gates said that America’s competitiveness will suffer with increased technological capacity abroad, especially in the face of growing high-level research institutions in China and India. Responding to a question about policy changes Gates would make if he were king, he said “I’d certainly get rid of the H1B visa cap,” and then added “That’s one of the easiest decisions.” Gates and other leading technology executives have pressed Congress aggressively to let them hire more foreign employees by raising visa limits. Gates and Richard Rashid, senior vice president for Microsoft Research, both complained that the company cannot find enough qualified computer science applicants, and that the H1B visa limit, which now stands at 65,000 workers per year, has hurt their ability to attract top IT workers.

Among many others of the same mind set is Craig Barrett, Chief Executive Officer of California-based semiconductor giant Intel. Earlier this year, Barrett told New York Times columnist (and a fellow proponent of unlimited visas for foreign workers) Thomas Friedman that his company can be totally successful without ever employing another American.

The 65-year-old Barrett, who became Intel’s chairman on May 18, 2005, has long highlighted what he views as the shortcomings of U.S. policies. Heaping scorn on policies that keep green cards out of the hands of foreign graduates of U.S. universities, Barrett minced few words about his distaste for the federal bureaucracy.

“Turning away educated people who want to immigrate to the United States “has to be the dumbest thing in the world,” he said. “We allow people in the United States who are either here illegally and at the lower level of the value-add or work-force chain – the weak, the sick, the infirm,” he added. “We allow everybody in but the value-add people who have educational capabilities and the ability to contribute to the economy. If we haven’t got it backward I don’t know what we’re doing,” he said.

Organization heads in India too share views similar to those of their American counterparts while debating stricter visa rules. “U.S. companies will have trouble getting IT professionals to service its requirements if the present 65,000 cap on H-1 B visas remains. The impact of the visa cap will not be felt by the Indian software industry in the macro level,” said Kiran Karnik, president, Nasscom (National Association of Software and Service Companies).

Critics on the other hand have blasted the H-1B program as undermining U.S. workers, being ripe for abuse and fuelling the shift of skilled workers overseas.

The debate may be never-ending however, it’s in the interest of U.S. employers to follow the rules and keep pace with them. We at VisaPro encourage our readers to plan ahead and not wait until the last moment to file H-1B petitions. Please read the news item H-1B Update: Latest Filing numbers for FY 2005 & 2006 to learn more about the latest H-1B filing numbers. For more information on H-1B cap issues please contact VisaPro.

Source: http://www.visapro.com/Immigration-News/?a=294&z=48