Who Gets H-1B Visas? Check Out This List

Five of the top 10 were Indian outsourcers, but Microsoft is number three, IBM number eight, and Oracle USA number nine. The New York City Public School system ranks 22nd on the list.

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee, Senior Writer, InformationWeek

May 17, 2007

20 Min Read
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Criticism by federal legislators is mounting against Indian outsourcing firms that use the H-1B visa foreign worker program to staff their U.S. operations. Critics claim that the Indian firms skirt regulations and use the visas to train workers in the U.S. to facilitate moving jobs offshore.

A government list obtained by InformationWeek of the top 200 companies receiving H-1B visas for foreign workers last year reveals that five of the top 10 were Indian outsourcers. The complete list of 200, however, shows a mix of foreign companies, U.S. technology vendors, and American universities. Microsoft is number three on the list, IBM number eight, and Oracle USA number nine. The New York City Public School system ranks twenty-second on the list, with 642 H-1B visas received last year.

Earlier this week, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, sent letters to the CEOs of nine Indian firms asking for details about how they use their H-1B visas. The companies, including Infosys, Satyam, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, are among the top users of the visas.

Last year, the nine Indian firms collectively were issued 19,512 of the 65,000 H-1B visas granted, according to the list. (In addition to the 65,000 granted annually, the U.S. also issues H-1B visas to 20,000 foreign students who received advanced degrees from U.S. universities.)

As of press time, none of the nine Indian companies has responded to the Durbin-Grassley letters, according to a Durbin spokesman. However, a statement by the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an organization that represents Indian IT firms, defended the practice:

"The Indian IT industry and NASSCOM do not see this as an immigration-related issue but one related to international trade, and would urge that work permits and intra-company transfers should not be intermingled and confused with immigration. Work permits are primarily a tool for facilitating trade and allow global companies to bring key staff to the US on temporary assignments, just as US staff often travel across the world for temporary assignments and this is clearly different from immigration."

Although H-1B visas are most frequently used to employ foreign-born technology workers, it's important to note that the visas also are used to hire professionals in other occupations, including nurses and other health-care workers, university professors, lawyers, engineers, and architects.

The Top 200 H-1B Employers Of 2006(1 - 100)

Rank

Company

No. of visas

1

INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED

4908

2

WIPRO LIMITED

4002

3

MICROSOFT CORPORATION

3117

4

TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED

3046

5

SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES LTD

2880

6

COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS U S CORP

2226

7

PATNI COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC

1391

8

IBM CORPORATION

1130

9

ORACLE USA INC

1022

10

LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH LIMITED

947

11

HCL AMERICA INC

910

12

DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP

890

13

CISCO SYSTEMS INC

828

14

INTEL CORP

828

15

I-FLEX SOLUTIONS INC

817

16

ERNST & YOUNG LLP

774

17

TECH MAHINDRA AMERICAS INC

770

18

MOTOROLA INC

760

19

MPHASIS CORPORATION

751

20

DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP

665

21

LANCESOFT INC

645

22

NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS

642

23

ACCENTURE LLP

637

24

JPMORGAN CHASE & CO

632

25

POLARIS SOFTWARE LAB INDIA LTD

611

26

COVANSYS CORPORATION

611

27

PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP

591

28

QUALCOMM INCORPORATED

533

29

GOLDMAN SACHS & CO

529

30

KPMG LLP

476

31

MARLABS INC

475

32

UNIV OF MICHIGAN

437

33

UNIV OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO

434

34

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA

432

35

THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV MED INSTS

432

36

SYNTEL CONSULTING INC

416

37

CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC

413

38

BEARINGPOINT INC

413

39

UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND

404

40

KEANE INC

386

41

HTC GLOBAL SERVICES INC

382

42

IGATE MASTECH INC AN IGATE COMPANY

378

43

HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES INC

362

44

CAPITAL ONE SERVICES INC

362

45

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY

355

46

LEHMAN BROTHERS INC

352

47

YAHOO INC

347

48

US TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES LLC

339

49

INTELLIGROUP INC

336

50

HEWLETT PACKARD CO

333

51

RAPIDIGM INC

330

52

MERRILL LYNCH & CO INC

329

53

GOOGLE INC

328

54

CITIBANK N A

322

55

DIS NATIONAL INSTS OF HEALTH DHHS

322

56

YALE UNIVERSITY

316

57

NOKIA INC

314

58

TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC

313

59

CAPGEMINI U S LLC

309

60

HARVARD UNIVERSITY

308

61

EMC CORPORATION

305

62

SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC

303

63

RITE AID CORPORATION

301

64

BLOOMBERG

298

65

GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY

292

66

AMGEN INC

289

67

MCKINSEY & COMPANY INC US

286

68

MORGAN STANLEY

285

69

STANFORD UNIVERSITY

279

70

WASHINGTON UNIV IN ST LOUIS

278

71

VERIZON DATA SVCS INC

276

72

NYC-HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER

276

73

UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH

275

74

INDIANA UNIVERSITY

273

75

OHIO STATE UNIV

271

76

EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP INC

269

77

UNIV OF MINNESOTA

269

78

AMTEX SYSTEMS INC

268

79

UW MADISON

268

80

STATE UNIV OF NY AT STONY BROOK

262

81

AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES INC

262

82

CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION

256

83

DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT

255

84

UNIV OF CA DAVIS

254

85

NORTHWESTERN UNIV

251

86

SYNTEL INC

250

87

UNIV OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA

247

88

GLOBALCYNEX INC

247

89

KANBAY INCORPORATED

246

90

AMERICAN SOLUTIONS INC

242

91

UNIV OF FLORIDA INTL CENTER

240

92

UCLA

239

93

DUKE UNIV UNIV MED CTR & AFFIL INS

238

94

MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER

236

95

BANK OF AMERICA N A

236

96

SOFTWARE RESEARCH GROUP INC

234

97

BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE

234

98

MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL

232

99

CIBER INC

232

100

VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD

230


Continue on to the 2nd half of the list (101 - 200)

The Top 200 H-1B Employers Of 2006(101 - 200)

Rank

Company

No. of visas

101

EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC

226

102

VOLT TECHNICAL RESOURCES LLC

224

103

OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY

223

104

COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP INC

222

105

US TECH SOLUTIONS INC

221

106

SYMANTEC CORP

220

107

JSMN INTERNATIONAL INC

218

108

UBS AG

216

109

CVS PHARMACY

213

110

THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY

213

111

UNIV OF WASHINGTON

213

112

NORTEL NETWORKS INC

212

113

UNIV OF CA SAN FRANCISCO

211

114

UNIVERSITY OF MA MEDICAL SCHOOL

210

115

SPRINT UNITED MANAGEMENT COMPANY

209

116

HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRIC

209

117

PURDUE UNIV

208

118

GLOBAL CONSULTANTS INC

207

119

EMORY UNIVERSITY

207

120

UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER

207

121

UNIV OF COLORADO

207

122

VANDERBILT UNIV

205

123

OBJECTWIN TECHNOLOGY INC

205

124

DIASPARK INC

204

125

HSBC BANK USA N A

203

126

EBUSINESS APPLICATION SOLUTIONS

203

127

BROADCOM CORP

203

128

PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHS

203

129

MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC

202

130

COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS INC

198

131

TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY

198

132

APPLIED MATERIALS INC

195

133

SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORP

194

134

UNIV OF IOWA

194

135

IBM GLOBAL SVCS IGS INDIA PVT LTD

194

136

DELOITTE TAX LLP

194

137

CUMMINS INC

193

138

ITECH US INC

191

139

COMPUWARE CORPORATION

189

140

INTL STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS OFFICE

186

141

UNIVERSITY OF CA SAN DIEGO

185

142

WALGREEN CO

184

143

HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE

184

144

USC

183

145

VISION SYSTEMS GROUP INC

182

146

T MOBILE USA INC

180

147

MULTIVISION INC

178

148

EDS ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS

177

149

MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECH

175

150

CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY

174

151

CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV

173

152

UNC CHAPEL HILL

173

153

THE UNIV OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM

172

154

DEUTSCHE BANK AG

170

155

CATERPILLAR INC

170

156

HALLMARK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES INC

169

157

CYBERTHINK INC

169

158

CORPORATE COMPUTER SERVICES INC

167

159

ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC

167

160

MEGASOFT CONSULTANTS INC

166

161

ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS INC

165

162

FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR INC

163

163

UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AT

163

164

FIRST TEK TECHNOLOGIES INC

161

165

MICHIGAN STATE UNIV

161

166

RESEARCH FDN OF THE STATE UNIV OF

160

167

COMSYS SERVICES LLC

160

168

VIRGINIA TECH

160

169

JUNIPER NETWORKS INC

160

170

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

158

171

IOWA STATE UNIV

157

172

UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA

157

173

FEDEX CORPORATE SVCS INC

157

174

CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON LLC

156

175

BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY

156

176

VERIZON SERVICES CORP

156

177

EBAY INC

155

178

AJILON LLC D B A AJILON CONSULTING

154

179

GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION

153

180

CAMO TECHNOLOGIES INC

152

181

MARVELL SEMICONDUCTOR INC

151

182

CMC AMERICAS INC

150

183

THE UNIV OF TEXAS M D ANDERSON CAN

149

184

NVIDIA CORPORATION

149

185

AT&T SERVICES INC

147

186

WEILL MED COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIV

146

187

AXIOM SYSTEMS INC

146

188

WAYNE STATE UNIV

146

189

MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER

146

190

NC STATE UNIV

146

191

GENENTECH INC

146

192

MAKRO TECHNOLOGIES INC

145

193

SVAM INTERNATIONAL INC

144

194

MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER

143

195

NUTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS

143

196

XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES INC

143

197

AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC

143

198

LOUISIANA STATE UNIV

142

199

FANNIE MAE

141

200

MINDTREE CONSULTING PVT LTD

141

About the Author

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee

Senior Writer, InformationWeek

Marianne Kolbasuk McGee is a former editor for InformationWeek.

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