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April 2, 2001 |
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H-1B Applications Slow; Debate Doesn't
Immigration service shows big companies, not dot-coms, are largest users
By Diane Rezendes Khirallah (drezende@cmp.com)
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pplications for H-1B visas in February were down roughly 50% from the same month last year, in sharp contrast to expectations by IT leaders and the U.S. Congress. Statistics released by the Immigration and Naturalization Service show there were 16,000 filings for H-1B visas in February, compared with 32,000 in February 2000.
But a spokeswoman for the INS cautions against reading too much into that figure. "It can be deceptive," she says, unless the sharp increase in applications by employers in December--the last month when the fee was $500 per H-1B employee--is taken into account. The fee went up to $1,000 per employee on Jan. 1.
The demise of many dot-coms doesn't appear to be having a major effect on the program. Most of the top 100 companies using H-1B visas are major companies, according to the INS. The top six are Cisco, Intel, Mastech, Microsoft, Motorola, and Oracle. Others include IT-heavy consulting firms such as KPMG and PricewaterhouseCoopers.
Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America, an IT trade organization, favors increasing H-1B visas. He argues that business demand this year will exceed the previous 115,000 limit, making last year's cap increase to 195,000 necessary.
But the Council for Economic Development, a research policy organization, opposes more H-1B visas, on the grounds that they "threaten to intensify the burden on an already-inefficient system." The council's reform plan calls for mandating a three-year visa term and auctioning additional visas when market demand exceeds the annual limit.
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