Hatch-ing an H-1B Increase

Date: Tuesday, October 28, 2003 3:11 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

In 1998 President Clinton vowed that he would never sign a spending
bill if it contained a rider to increase the limit on H-1Bs. He broke
that promise after high-tech corporations got more generous with their
donations to the Democratic Party. After Clinton's resistance was
softened by wads of corporate money, a last-minute tactical move was
used to incorporate the H-1B increase into the omnibus-spending bill.
As signed by President Clinton on October 21, 1998, the H-1B
legislation increased the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 115,000.

History may repeat itself, but this time we have a President who has
stated that there should be no limits on the number of H-1Bs that are
allowed into the U.S.

This time it's Sen. Hatch who might lead an effort to sneak an H-1B
increase into the omnibus budget bill. Hatch's proposal will probably
exempt foreign workers with graduate degrees from the H-1B yearly cap.
He can be expected to use the arguments that always seem to win for the
H-1B advocates - there are not enough educated Americans to satisfy the
demand of Intel etc. The underlying notion that graduate degrees are
necessary for high tech work is wrong because most high-tech jobs
require a Bachelors degree or less. Hatch and his corporate cronies
love to push the "education button" to justify H-1B increases because
it usually works. Nobody seems to notice that growing numbers of
Americans with advanced degrees can't find work.

Hatch's proposal should be considered a "code red alert" because he is
very influential and has been one of the key players behind H-1B
legislation since it's inception. As most of you that received this
newsletter observed during the recent Senate Judiciary Hearing on H-1B,
Hatch is an unabashed supporter of H-1B and will not hesitate to expand
it's scope.

Hatch's phone number is:

(202) 224-5251

You can call toll-free at (800) 648-3516 (you may have to try several
times) Ask to speak to Sen. Hatch's office.

You can email Hatch's office but be aware that he filters all replies
from people outside of his constituency.
Online Email:
http://www.senate.gov/~hatch/index.cfm?Fuseaction=Offices.Contact

(link not available)

U.S. May Ease Entry

For High-Tech Workers Senators Seek to Circumvent
Cap on Temporary Visas Amid Corporate Pressure

By MICHAEL SCHROEDER
Staff Reporter of THE WALL STREET JOURNAL

WASHINGTON -- Proposals to allow more high-technology foreign workers
into the U.S. are gaining ground on Capitol Hill, despite complaints
that plenty of Americans are available to fill the jobs.

Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Orrin Hatch (R., Utah) is pushing a
plan to circumvent the 65,000 cap on so-called H-1B temporary worker
visas by expanding exemptions, according to Senate aides familiar with
the discussions. The talks mark the first time influential senators are
pressing for a temporary increase in the limit. While it is unclear the
effort will succeed, his effort paves the way for a full airing of
visa-overhaul legislation that has already been introduced and will
likely be considered after Jan. 1.

The last-minute effort to modify the visa rules as the congressional
session winds down has been prompted by growing concern among U.S.
multinationals and high-tech companies that the current cap will
prevent thousands of expert foreign workers from entering the U.S. next
year. In addition, immigration lawyers, officials and technology trade
groups from India, and major U.S. tech companies are pushing to raise
the annual visa limit to more than 100,000. Any rule changes likely
would be
attached to a must-pass appropriation bill.

"We will continue to work with colleagues to try and find any
appropriate legislative action. But we haven't announced anything yet,"
a spokeswoman for Mr. Hatch said.

She added that any plan would include some added protections for U.S.
workers, including reinstating a $1,000 fee for each visa that would be
used to pay for retraining American workers -- a strategy aimed at
gaining Democratic agreement.

So far, an idea being pressed by Intel Corp., the giant computer chip
maker, is getting the most attention. It would exempt from the visa cap
foreign students with graduate technical degrees.

Under the current rules, only foreign H-1B holders who work at
universities or nonprofit research and development organizations don't
count against the cap. More then 30,000 such visa holders the past two
years qualified. Under legislation Mr. Hatch sponsored, the H-1B
program had expanded to 195,000 visas in 2001, but with the bust in
high-tech,
lawmakers allowed the cap to shrink back to its longstanding level of
65,000 on Sept. 30 when the higher level legally expired.

With half of the students in technical graduate programs in the U.S.
from foreign countries, Intel Chairman Andy Grove argued recently that
to maintain the U.S. competitive edge, the government should adopt a
public policy to encourage the most highly skilled foreign students to
work here.

"We are seeing behind-the-scene support for doing something," such as
expanding exemptions, said an Intel spokeswoman in Washington.

Advocates of liberalizing the visa program concede it will be a tough
sell. Sparked by rising layoffs among U.S. tech workers, a backlash of
American workers and labor unions has targeted the widespread use of
the visas as a significant cause of U.S. job woes. They contend that
U.S. companies often are replacing American workers with lesser-paid
foreign
workers.

Some companies that sponsor H-1B visa workers -- generally computer
programmers, engineers and other high-tech experts -- now are
forecasting that shortages of qualified workers will occur early next
year.

As the U.S. economy sank into recession, the use of the visas plummeted
50% from a peak of 164,000 in fiscal year 2001 to about 79,000 both
last year and for the 2003 fiscal year, ended Sept. 30, according to
the immigration unit of the Homeland Security Department. In 2002, the
U.S. had about 710,000 holders of H-1B visas, which expire after six
years.

Paul Zulkie, a Chicago immigration lawyer and president-elect of the
American Immigration Lawyers Association, claims that the 2004 cap is
closer to 35,000 because more than 22,000 applications from last year
are likely to be approved this fiscal year and nearly 7,000 H-1B visas
have been set aside for applicants from Chile and Singapore under
free-trade pacts.

The cap, which the immigration lawyers group is pressing to be
increased to 115,000, likely will be reached by March, Mr. Zulkie said.
"Congress only responds to a crisis. That will occur in the winter," he
adds.

Another strong lobbying force on the issue is India, which supplies a
majority of high-tech H-1B holders. India's National Association of
Software and Service Companies, a New Delhi trade group representing
850 international companies, which hired lobbying firm Hill & Knowlton,
is advocating a cap of between 120,000 and 130,000. Indian ministers
have assured their parliament that U.S. diplomats have been urged to
preserve the higher levels for the H-1B program, according to reports
in the Indian news media.

Write to Michael Schroeder at mike.schroeder@wsj.com

Updated October 27, 2003

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