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Immigration Blog

H1B applicants not the best?

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Guest post by Madhu Nair

By definition, the H1B is a non-immigrant visa issued by the U.S. allowing companies to recruit foreign nationals in specialty occupations under the Immigration and Nationality Act. The act, practiced by a number of multi-national companies, has been their gateway to some of the best talents in the world. Aspiring workers from emerging economies like India and China have been quick to catch in on the rush. The practice gave companies an edge over their peers as it reduced their working capital, increased efficiency and scaled up their businesses. For employees, on the other hand, this was an opportunity to realize and live the American Dream.

But if a recent report is to be believed, the quality of H1B workers does not fit the category of “the best and the brightest”. Norman Matloff, professor of computer science at the University of California in Davis along with the Economic Policy Institute, published a study which compared U.S. and foreign IT workers’ salaries, rates of PhD awards, doctorates earned and employment in research and development to determine if H1B visa holders had skills beyond those of U.S. IT workers. As per Matloff, the study did not give any indication of exceptional talent among the H1B holders. He says, “We thus see that no best and brightest trend was found for the former foreign students in either computer science or electrical engineering,” He further writes, “On the contrary, in the CS case the former foreign students appear to be somewhat less talented on average, as indicated by their lower wages, than the Americans.”

Nevertheless, managers at top companies insist they still are not able to source the best minds domestically, forcing them to look beyond boundaries. For Peter Cappelli, professor of management and director of the Center for Human Resources at the Wharton School, this does not sound reasonable enough. In a Wall Street Journal article in October 2011, he argues, “Some of the complaints about skill shortages boil down to the fact that employers can’t get candidates to accept jobs at the wages offered. That’s an affordability problem, not a skill shortage.”

For countries such as India and China, who account for a major share in the H1B program, this should set alarm bells ringing as it may affect their nationals directly. Coming to India, the number of H1B visa approvals saw an upward trend for the year 2012. In the fiscal year 2012, 130,000 H category visas were issued as against 114,000 issued in FY 2011, an increase of 15%. The year, however, saw a 26% increase in denial rate with respect to the number of applications. The rise in denials was mainly attributed to the growing concerns over the business models used by Indian IT consulting companies. This led to heightened scrutiny by the consulate officials which saw the number of approvals go down.

With U.S. still recovering from the 2008 crash and Eurozone yet to come out of the sovereign debt crisis, the current scenario does not look good either. While there is no immediate threat to H1B workers, a relook at the quality of education may perhaps save them the axe. India and China both boast of a large number of highly skilled workers. However, with the current report out, officials and analysts in the U.S. may hesitate to hire anybody from these countries.

The solution, however complex it may be, lies in accurately nipping the problem at the source. There is a need for governments to work together towards a future void of any such conflicts that may lead to a human resource problem. The interests of US’ domestic workers need to be protected, whereas those of H1B applicants also need to be carefully studied. A pragmatic and sensible solution will not only prevent discontent among many, but also lead to a better environment at workplaces.

 

India-US Relations Blog

Sanjay Puri’s testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs

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CONGRESSIONAL TESTIMONY
THE REBALANCE TO ASIA: WHY SOUTH ASIA MATTERS
Testimony by Mr. Sanjay Puri
President and CEO
Alliance for U.S. India Business (AUSIB)
House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
March 13, 2013
Alliance for U.S.-India Business (AUSIB)
Testimony of Sanjay Puri
Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Alliance for U.S.-India Business (AUSIB)
Before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs
Subcommittee on Asia and the Pacific
“The Rebalance to Asia: Why South Asia Matters (Part II)
Wednesday, March 13, 2013

Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, and members of the Subcommittee:

Thank you very much for the opportunity to testify before you today.

From energy security to defense cooperation to bolstering our economic ties and increasing opportunities for high-skilled workers to come to the U.S. or go to India, there are serious obstacles facing the U.S. as we re-rebalance to Asia. However, I believe our mutual interests and shared values can get us where we need to be if the U.S. is committed to deepening the U.S.- India partnership which is one of the most defining of the 21st century.

For purposes of this hearing, I will leave it to others to delve into counterterrorism and intelligence cooperation, military-to-military exchanges and defense trade. My objective is to focus on four broad issues which deserve our consideration.

The four are:
1) Enhanced education collaboration which can change the dynamics of this relationship
2) STEM teacher exchange which can be a game changer for the U.S.
3) The need to allow exports of natural gas to an energy starved India
4) Why we should look beyond New Delhi to different states in India

Enhance Education Collaboration: A Hindu proverb states that you can change a nation through education. I am a firm believer in this proverb and I think it holds a key for changing U.S.-India relations. For all the short-term fixes we might talk about today, I believe education is the long-term solution which is required for the U.S.-India partnership to thrive.
The Alliance for US-India Business (AUSIB) – a not-for-profit trade organization – has been at the forefront of enhancing dialogue between both countries to create opportunities for building higher quality education because we believe that building global partnerships between U.S. and Indian universities will strengthen the bonds between our two nations. Some of the top CEO’s and policy leaders in India today are educated from U.S. Universities. They take with them the knowledge, values and experiences of the United States. They take back the generosity of the American people. This automatically creates economic and cultural bridges between the two countries. It is not a coincidence that Indian companies, led by U.S. educated CEO’s, are much more active in the U.S.-India economic relationship.

Students from India form the second largest group coming to the U.S. for higher education. But demand for higher education in India is also increasing. The Indian Higher Education sector is rising to meet global benchmarks although further efforts are needed to enhance the accessibility, funding and the quality of higher education in the country. India needs at least 500 Universities and 33,000 more colleges in the next 8 years. This alone is a $50 Billion market. India also has a great need for vocational and technical institutes which is another $2 Billion market opportunity.

Where will this additional capacity come from? If it comes from Indian universities partnering with universities and colleges in the States you represent, I believe we will be on our way to making the kind of difference that needs to be made. Through AUSIB EduNext, a higher education initiative which mobilizes organizations and drives tangible results to empower and make educational institutes more capable and future ready for purposes of preserving and promoting the values that India and the U.S. share, we have created a platform for Indian Colleges/Universities to interact and establish long term relationships with visiting U.S. universities. We focus our efforts in the fields of medicine, pharmacy, engineering, business, hotel management, energy, technology and agriculture.

Our results have led to student and faculty exchanges, joint R&D and we have created an online platform that academics on both sides can use to exchange best practices. We have hosted two of the largest U.S.-India education conclaves in 2011 and 2013 which were attended by over 100 education and policy leaders from the U.S. and over 1,000 from India. All three Provosts of Public Institutions in Iowa were represented at the highest level at this year’s conclave besides other Universities.

Governors, Members of Congress from India and the U.S., University Presidents, Provosts, Chancellors, Deans, Department Heads and senior faculty have participated in AUSIB- led delegations and we encourage universities in your district to collaborate with us or the Indian Higher Education sector so that together we can promote the highest standards of education, value systems and governance. All of our conclaves have had a strong corporate participation from the U.S. and India and I believe it is important for Universities to understand what kind of educational capability that companies need and also for companies to form a Public-Private partnership model with the Universities.

Create a STEM teacher exchange program: The second point I would make is regarding STEM education. The United States has a tremendous shortage of STEM teachers at the K-12 level. It is especially very acute in rural, inner city and remote areas. How can we expect our kids to have strong science, math skills when they do not have good teachers? India has a tremendous pool of science and math experts that also speak English. We should consider a specialized short term program that qualifies trains and brings these teachers over to the U.S. for a short duration so that we can create our own pool of STEM experts for the future. AUSIB is currently working with several states to establish a pilot program.

Allow exports of gas to an energy starved India: Currently India competes with China and Japan for buying LNG from Qatar and Australia. Generally it ends up on the short end of the stick as the growing appetite by China has made China much more aggressive. The U.S. only exports Gas to FTA countries and since India is not it needs approval. If the U.S. can find a way to have an economically viable and environmentally clear mechanism to export gas to India it would do three things: increase economic opportunity in the U.S. through exports, reduce India’s energy dependence on the Middle East and thirdly build a more strategic relationship with India given the country’s tremendous need for energy independence.

Look beyond New Delhi outward to various dynamic states in India: As India has entered a period of coalition politics, the states are much more assertive and powerful. The U.S. should build strong economic and cultural ties with these states since they will get away from the policy paralysis that sometimes affects New Delhi. AUSIB just took a delegation to the state of Punjab where the Chief Minister wants to start a Farmer to Farmer exchange with the U.S. since his state is an agriculture state and he wants to learn best practices from U.S. farmers.

There are several dynamic states in India like Maharashtra, Gujarat, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Naidu that we should engage with. I would like to make a point about the U.S. relationship with the State of Gujarat and especially its democratically elected Chief Minister Narendra Modi. His state is one of the most economically dynamic and has attracted a lot of investments from U.S. companies like Ford and GM. I have participated with other delegates from around the world at one of the premier economic summits in India hosted by the State of Gujarat called Vibrant Gujarat. However, the U.S. Government has boycotted him. While all of us stand for human rights and deplore any violation, the fact remains that after ten years of investigation, India’s Supreme Court has found no evidence against CM Modi regarding the 2002 Gujarat riots and he has been elected democratically thrice, representing more than 60 million constituents. Therefore, in my opinion, it is time for the U.S. to begin the process of engagement with CM Modi.

I thank you for your time and for holding this important hearing, and I look forward to answering your questions.

To download the PDF version of this testimony, click SanjayPuri_testimony.

Check out the video of the testimony here.

Immigration Blog

Will A New Bill Aid International Students with Ph.D.s – and Others?

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The Wall Street Journal has reported that House Judiciary Committee Chair Lamar Smith (R-TX) plans to introduce legislation to provide extra green cards for certain international students. (Find article here, registration required.)

As described, the legislation would likely have a positive impact on skilled immigrants.

For several years there has been great interest in the high tech community in exempting graduates of U.S. universities from employment-based green card quotas. In particular, the focus has been on individuals with advanced degrees from U.S. universities in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields. Some high tech executives have referred to such legislation as stapling a green card to the diploma of certain international students. In fact, a bill by Rep. Jeff Flake (R-AZ) is called the STAPLE Act (H.R. 399).

What Would New Legislation Likely Include?

The Wall Street Journal summarizes the likely contents of a new bill aimed at international students with Ph.D.s: “Rep. Lamar Smith (R., Texas), chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, said he plans to introduce legislation providing up to 10,000 visas a year to foreign students graduating from US universities with doctorates in engineering, information technology and the natural sciences.”

It is unclear from the description whether the intention is to create a new category or an exemption from the current 140,000 annual quota for employment-based green cards.

Which Universities Would Be Eligible?

A key question in any proposed legislation is whether degrees from all universities will allow international students to qualify. One concern expressed by lawmakers is a “diploma mill” could come into operation seeking to attract students by offering a way to gain a green card easier. For that reason any legislation is likely to restrict degrees to those obtained from universities in operation for a number of years and possibly only “research” universities. The definition of research universities and how many would be included in such a definition will remain an issue.

Which Degrees Would Be Eligible?

Another issue is whether legislation would be restricted to only Ph.D.s or to include recipients of masters degrees as well. Based on the Wall Street Journal article, it appears Rep. Smith would like to limit any bill to Ph.D.s. only.

A related matter is Ph.D.s in which fields. Members of Congress have focused on degrees in science, technology, engineering or mathematics (STEM) fields. It is possible Rep. Smith’s legislation would be narrower. In the interview with the Wall Street Journal, Rep. Smith mentioned engineering, information technology and the natural sciences as eligible areas.

Job Offer

It is likely any legislation would require the individual receive a job offer from an employer before being eligible for a green card.

Labor Certification

One of the most burdensome aspects of the employment-based immigration process is labor certification. That is a process that can cost employers several thousand dollars and can take 6 months to two years to gain approval from the U.S. Department of Labor. The process is meant to show no other qualified American is available to fill the job. Proving that often involves paying for advertisements and showing the results to the Department of Labor. Any exemption or special visa would be much more desirable if the applicant did not have to endure the labor certification process.

Likely Impact

Legislation limited to Ph.D. recipients would have a two-fold impact. First, it would likely allow for a green card to be received in a timely fashion for such individuals without regard to country of origin. (One assumes any legislation would exempt the recipients from the per country limit.) Even individuals who earn a Ph.D. could wait years for a green card in the employment-based second preference category if they are born in India or China. Second, adding extra visas to the employment-based immigrant category would free up numbers even for individuals who are not eligible, thereby reducing overall waiting times by a modest amount.

Rep. Smith’s bill would be notable because a bill introduced by the chairman of the committee with jurisdiction, in this case the House Judiciary Committee, has a far greater chance of moving through the legislative process than bills introduced by other members of Congress. Once introduced, it will be legislation worth watching.

 

India-US Relations Blog

India and America: common values, shared success

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By Richard G. Lugar

As Secretary of State Clinton’s recent trip to India demonstrated, these are exciting times for India, and for the India-United States relationship. India has liberalized and opened its economy, unleashing the entrepreneurial talent of its people and using its strong technology base to establish leading positions in such fields as telecommunications, information technology and pharmaceuticals.

America and India, for too long estranged during the Cold War, have developed steadily closer ties built on a uniquely strong foundation: both countries are stable, multi-ethnic democracies with a deep tradition of religious tolerance.

With a well-educated middle class that is larger than the entire U.S. population, India can be an anchor of stability in Asia and a center of economic growth. It is already the world’s second-fastest growing major economy, and bilateral trade with the U.S. has more than tripled over the past 10 years. I have worked to build a strategic partnership between the United States and India that will benefit both sides as India plays an ever-larger role on the world stage.

I am also excited by a new opportunity to match India’s entrepreneurial zeal with America’s current need for investment and jobs through the Startup Visa Act, which I introduced earlier this year. The bill would allow an immigrant entrepreneur to receive a two-year visa if he or she can show that a qualified U.S. investor is willing to invest in the immigrant’s startup venture. Many of India’s smartest and most entrepreneurial individuals are already here studying at our universities, so helping them stay to invest in their ideas would create jobs and help all Americans.

The bill would also apply to those already in the U.S. on unexpired H-1B visas, and entrepreneurs living outside the United States who already have a market presence here. If this legislation is enacted, it will help more Indians take part in the great American tradition of immigrant business success.

Another concern of Indians abroad is Pakistan, a concern I share. I believe the U.S. should use its influence to promote stability in the region, which could lead to a Pakistan that is more likely to cooperate and trade with India. That’s one of the reasons I co-sponsored the 2009 Enhanced Partnership with Pakistan Act.

The bill emphasizes economic assistance over military aid, and contains incentives for Pakistan to stabilize its democracy. It requires the Secretary of State to certify every year that Pakistan is meeting specific benchmarks of conduct, namely, that it is cooperating to dismantle supplier networks of nuclear weapons-related material, that it is making “significant efforts” to combat terrorist and extremist groups and that such groups are not receiving support from Pakistan’s military or spy service, and that it is not letting terrorist groups use Pakistan’s territory to stage attacks on other countries.

On that score, the bill specifically mentions Pakistan-based terrorist groups that threaten India as well as the United States and Afghanistan, including al Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which conducted the 2008 Mumbai attack. The legislation aims to encourage Pakistan to re-orient its armed forces to a mission more focused on counter-terrorism and counter-insurgency than regional conflict, and calls for a cut-off of assistance if the security forces are deemed to be “subverting the political or judicial processes of Pakistan.” In short, India has much to gain from the success of this legislation.

All this is part of a larger strategic engagement between India and America, which took a major step forward three years ago with the passage of the US-India nuclear cooperation agreement, a step that I strongly supported. The legislation lifted a three-decade American moratorium on nuclear trade with India and opened the door for trade in a wide range of other high-technology items, such as supercomputers and fiber optics.

Some critics called the deal a set-back for U.S. non-proliferation efforts, since India remains outside the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT). I argued, however, that it actually provides incentives for the United States and India to deepen their cooperation in stopping proliferation, and confers numerous other benefits outside the nuclear realm by paving the way for broader economic and strategic collaboration.

The remarkable deepening of US-India ties over the past decade is only a start, as the relationship has still not reached its full potential. If Indians and Indian-Americans continue to contribute their ideas, their energy and their commitment, I am sure that even more exciting days lie ahead.

(Senator Richard Lugar is the Republican leader of the U.S. Senate Foreign Relations Committee.)

Immigration Blog

Senate Hearing Sends Signals for Immigration Reform

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Similar to a House hearing held earlier this year, a July 26, 2011 Senate Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration, Refugees and Border Security hearing pointed toward agreement on the need to enact fixes to the employment-based green card system.

Committee Chair Charles Schumer (D-NY) titled the hearing “The Economic Imperative for Enacting Immigration Reform,” hoping to encourage such legislation to move forward in Congress. The hearing contained a remarkable amount of economic data and arguments in favor of liberalizing U.S. immigration laws, particularly in favor of allowing in more highly skilled immigrants.

Robert Greifeld, CEO of the NASDAQ OMX Group, testified, “Our world view must change to recognize that employers no longer have to locate jobs and workers because of physical capital requirements. Human capital is now highly mobile. The work product of STEM and other knowledge workers is just a plane ticket or an internet connection away.” He said NASDAQ supported “stapling” a green card to graduates of U.S. universities with a science, technology, engineering or math degree, and also support establishing a new visa for entrepreneurs.

Brad Smith, general counsel and senior vice president, legal and corporate affairs at Microsoft, noted the company had thousands of job openings for highly skilled positions. He also cited a 2010 University of Washington Economic Policy Research Center study that found Microsoft’s hiring of U.S. citizens, permanent residents and foreign nationals combined to create a “multiplier effect” creating 267,611 jobs in 2008 in Washington. “Through this multiplier effect, every job at Microsoft supported 5.81 jobs elsewhere in the state economy.”

Compelling Testimony on Green Card Backlog
One of the best things a Congressional hearing can do is put a human face on a problem. Dr. Puneet S. Arora, born in India and now a practicing physician in Los Angeles, CA, testified at the hearing on behalf of the organization Immigration Voice. Dr. Arora said though he had lived and worked in America for 15 years – and has two U.S. citizen children – he does not have permanent residency. He explained that due to the low annual quota for employment-based green cards combined with the per country limit, which affects potential Indian immigrants the most, he has been waiting years for permanent residence. In fact, he estimated it might be an additional 8 years of waiting before he could receive a green card.

The Old and the New
Hearings are often a way to gauge the views of members of Congress, particularly new ones. We have not heard much about their views on high skill immigration from either Senator Al Franken (D-MN) or Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT). By their questions and comments it appeared both are sympathetic to high skill immigration, particularly the plight of long-term green card holders. Senator Franken engaged in a long discussion with Dr. Arora, praising him for his previous work as a physician in Minnesota.

Veteran Senators Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Jeff Sessions (R-AL) were less sympathetic. Senator Grassley said in a statement, “As part of the solution to America’s immigration problem, some policy makers have proposed the idea of giving immigrants a green card upon graduation . . . While it is important to keep the best and the brightest, getting a degree from a U.S. institution should not equate to a fast track to citizenship for all. Should this happen, the demand for enrollment in U.S. universities by international students would only increase and further erode the opportunities for American students.” He also discussed his efforts to encourage U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services to root out fraud in H-1B and L-1 visas.

Senator Sessions scolded supporters of business immigration on the panel, saying they should not have supported comprehensive immigration reform legislation back in 2007. Sessions said he favored a point system similar to Canada’s. Under a point system, there would be no employer sponsorship and most family immigration categories would be eliminated. Instead, the government would set a maximum number of immigrants allowed in during a given year and award permanent residence only to those who achieve a specific number of points. The points would be determined based on characteristics such as age and education level.

Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith said that a point system would take power away from individual employers to hire and sponsor the foreign-born employees they think are best and instead turn those decisions over to a bureaucratic government body. As a conservative Republican who often expresses skepticism of the federal government’s ability, Sessions seemed to understand the criticism, though did not appear to change his mind.

Reform Ideas
It appears the case was made that there is greater consensus on moving forward with reforms on employment-based green cards than on H-1B temporary visas. In fact, one of the risks for employers remains that efforts to liberalize green card quotas will be met by attempts to restrict temporary visas, such as H-1B and L-1. In addition, there are those who oppose narrow fixes to the immigration system, viewing smaller bills as a possible drain on efforts to achieve a broad comprehensive approach that deals with illegal immigration as well. These types of competing interests continue to make immigration reform a challenging proposition.