Tech slowdown hits H-1B visa grants

Computerworld - WASHINGTON -- The number of H-1B visas issued to foreign high-tech workers is less than half what it was last year, apparently because of the economic downturn.
Immigration authorities had granted 60,500 H-1B visas by the end of the first three quarters on June 30, representing a 54% drop from the same period last year. "The demand is gone," said U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman Dan Kane.
The final tally for this year will probably be far short of the congressionally approved cap limiting the number of H-1B visas the INS can issue in any given year. That cap is set at 195,000 for this federal fiscal year, which ends Sept. 30.
The INS isn't forecasting a total for this year but has approximately 18,500 pending applications.
Last year, the INS approved 163,200 H-1B visa petitions against a cap of 195,000. Although the cap wasn't reached, the number of H-1B visas issued still represented a record number for what has been a controversial program.
Congress, under pressure from high-tech lobbying groups, raised the cap from 115,000 to 195,000 in fiscal 2000. The cap will remain at 195,000 during fiscal 2003 but is scheduled to be sliced to 65,000 in 2004.
High-tech groups are expected to begin lobbying Congress next year to increase that 65,000 cap, but the ongoing demand shortfalls could make that lobbying effort difficult, said Lynn Shotwell, director of government relations at the American Council of International Personnel Inc. in Washington.
But Shotwell added, "I don't think there is any harm in having unused visa numbers. I would hate to see us put ourselves in a situation where the cap goes back down to 65,000 and the economy heats up and suddenly you can't get workers in that you need."
Critics of the H-1B program contend that foreign workers are being hired through this program because they are willing to work for lower wages and fewer benefits. Industry groups argue that many H-1B workers were trained by U.S. universities and have specific job skills that are in short supply.
A study by the INS of H-1B occupations in 1999 and 2000 found that about 54% of H-1B visa holders were working in computer-related occupations. The next largest group, 13%, held architecture, engineering and surveying occupations. Other occupations eligible for H-1B visas include education, medicine, art, writing, fashion modeling and entertainment.

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