India Unhappy With Changes to US H1B Visa Program

[Riaz Haq]

India has recently complained to the World Trade Organization against the United States over changes to visas for skilled workers that Republican presidential candidates have targeted for elimination, according to a report in the UK's Financial Times.

The WTO revealed that India had requested consultations with the US over moves by Washington to raise fees for L1 and H1B working visas and also restrictions on the number of those visas awarded. The move is the first step in initiating a dispute at the WTO.

India's WTO complaint:

India's WTO complaint is over an increase in fees on H1B visas that the US imposed on companies with workforces comprised of more than 50 percent foreign workers. A provision included in last year's federal spending bill added a new $4,000 fee for each H1B, which India argues is discriminatory to the country under its trade agreement with the US.

Meanwhile, the annual gold rush in Silicon Valley to file applications for H1B visas has just begun, as the federal government began distributing some of the 85,000 H1B visas it is authorized to issue this fiscal  year, according to Vice News.

Indian Body Shops Infosys, TCS and Wipro Topped H1B Sponsor List in 2013

Why the Complaint?

Why is India complaining? There are two main reasons:

1. India's overall exports have suffered 18th consecutive monthly decline in February 2016, according to India's Economic Times. Exports from India amounted to US$264 billion in 2015,  down -12.4% since 2011 and down -16.9% from 2014 to 2015.

2. Most of India's IT exports to the United States are made up of wages of H1B workers brought to the United States by a handful of Indian body shops like Tata Consulting Services (TCS) and Infosys.  In 2014, 86% of the H1B visas for tech workers were granted to Indians, according to available data. Given India's heavy reliance on H1B workers for its IT exports earnings, it is natural that the Indian government gets very concerned whenever there's even a hint of the US possibly limiting H1B visas or making them more expensive.

Excluding the Indian H1B workers' pay,  such exports drop to about one-twentieth of the the amount reported by the Indian government as IT exports, according to a 2005 study by US General Accounting Office (GAO).

Cumulative Stock of H1B From 2007-2012: 775,957. Source: DICE

Indian Body Shops:

The Indian body shops like Cognizant, TCS and Infosys that rely on the H1B visa program in the US are "the shining star" of the Indian economy, and the country's largest export, according to an Indian-American professor Ron Hira who is a strong critic of the abuses of H1B program. By complaining, the Indian government and firms that rely on the program are trying to "build up a firewall so that no other reforms can come through and constrain the program in any way."

Indian Code Coolies:

H1B workers brought in by Indian body shops are described variously as "code coolies" or "H1B slaves". Some call them "indentured servants", like the ones from India who replaced slave labor after the British empire abolished slavery.

“’Indentured servants’ is a pretty accurate term because in many cases that’s exactly what’s going on,” said Phillip Griego of San Jose’s Phillip J. Griego and Associates. Over the years, Griego and his law partner, Robert Nuddleman have represented several H-1B workers in lawsuits against body shops.

Summary:

India has complained to the World Trade Organization about changes to the US H1B that mainly benefit India's body shops like Cognizant, Infosys and Tata at the expense of both US and Indian workers. US workers lose their jobs while Indian workers are exploited as wage slaves. India uses the wages of Indian H1B workers to inflate its IT export earning by as much as 20X. Proposed changes  to H1B visa program like higher fees and lower numbers threaten India's export earning which have declined for 18 months in a row.  The ongoing election debate over whether the H1B program is hurting American workers rose to public consciousness amid the Republican primary debates this year. The election outcome has the potential to negatively impact Indian H1B exports earnings.

Related Links:

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India's IT Exports Highly Exaggerated

Pakistan's Rising College Enrollment

Silicon Valley Pakistani-Americans

Pakistan Third Most Popular Among Outsourcing Countries

Upwardly Mobile Pakistan

Pakistan Among Top Outsourcing Destinations

Pakistan's IT Industry

Indian Code Coolies

Pakistan's Software Prodigy

Biotech and Genomics in Pakistan

[Riaz Haq]

Indian corporation pays record $34 million fine to settle allegations of systemic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes

https://www.ice.gov/news/releases/indian-corporation-pays-record-34...

PLANO, Texas – Infosys Limited, an Indian company involved in consulting, technology and outsourcing, has agreed to a record $34 million civil settlement based on allegations of systemic visa fraud and abuse of immigration processes, and also agreed to enhanced corporate compliance measures. The $34 million payment made by Infosys as a result of these allegations represents the largest payment ever levied in an immigration case.

This settlement was announced by U.S. Attorney John M. Bales, Eastern District of Texas. This case was investigated by special agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Department of State’s Diplomatic Security Service, and by attorneys from ICE’s Office of Principal Legal Advisor.

Infosys is located in 30 countries and in 17 U.S. cities, including a location in Plano, Texas. The Plano location is responsible for handling the immigration practices and procedures for U.S. operations of Infosys. Infosys brings foreign nationals into the United States to perform work and fulfill contracts with its customers under two visa classification programs relevant to this matter, H-1B and B-1.

The H-1B visa is a strictly regulated visa program that protects the American worker from unfair competition from overseas countries that have drastically lower labor wages. The H-1B visa allows employers to temporarily employ foreign nationals needed for certain specialty occupations. The H1-B visa also protects foreign workers and mandates that they must be paid fair wages while working in the United States. H-1B visas are limited by congress to 65,000 visas nationally per year.

However, there is no limit to B-1 visitors. And the B-1 visa program only allows foreign nationals to temporarily enter the United States, for conferences, seminars, and the like. B-1 visa holders are not allowed to work in the United States. Infosys unlawfully and fraudulently used B-1 visa visitors as though they were H-1B workers in violation of U.S. immigration law.

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TCS fined Rs 1,600 crore ($194 million) by US court for misappropriation of trade secrets


https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/information-tech/tcs-fine...

Under the terms of the court orders, TCS is liable for misappropriation of trade secret under the Defend Trade Secrets Act of 2016 of the US law.

[Riaz Haq]

Vivek Ramaswamy Breaks Social Media Silence After H-1B Visa Fallout

https://www.newsweek.com/vivek-ramaswamy-h1b-visa-fallout-breaks-so...



Ramaswamy and Musk sparked anger online for days in late December after they both showed support for H-1B visas, which bring in skilled foreign workers to the U.S.

In a lengthy post on December 26, Ramaswamy wrote on X: "The reason top tech companies often hire foreign-born & first-generation engineers over 'native' Americans isn't because of an innate American IQ deficit (a lazy & wrong explanation). A key part of it comes down to the c-word: culture. Tough questions demand tough answers & if we're really serious about fixing the problem, we have to confront the TRUTH."

He added the following day: "I've long said the current H-1B system is badly broken & needs to be gutted. It shouldn't use a lottery, it should be based on pure MERIT. It shouldn't tether workers to just one corporation. Same principles I favor today."

Ramaswamy has been largely silent on social media since December 30.

Meanwhile, Musk, the world's richest person who himself used the H-1B visa scheme, defended it in a post on December 28.

"The reason I'm in America along with so many critical people who built SpaceX, Tesla and hundreds of other companies that made America strong is because of H1B," he wrote on X.

"Take a big step back and F*** YOURSELF in the face. I will go to war on this issue the likes of which you cannot possibly comprehend."

Trump, who was previously critical of H-1B visas, sided with Ramaswamy and Musk over the issue, telling the New York Post in late December that he "always liked" them.

He also denied that he had changed his mind on the visas, telling reporters at a press conference in December in Mar-a-Lago, Florida, that "we need smart people coming into our country."

What People Are Saying
Vivek Ramaswamy posted on X on Thursday: "Dawn of a new Golden Age. Starts on Monday."

He added in a December 26 post: "Our American culture has venerated mediocrity over excellence for way too long (at least since the 90s and likely longer). That doesn't start in college, it starts YOUNG. A culture that celebrates the prom queen over the math olympiad champ, or the jock over the valedictorian, will not produce the best engineers."

President-elect Donald Trump told the New York Post on December 28: "I've always liked the visas, I have always been in favor of the visas. That's why we have them. I have many H-1B visas on my properties. I've been a believer in H-1B. I have used it many times. It's a great program."

Senator Bernie Sanders wrote in an opinion piece for Fox News on January 8: "In recent weeks, the H-1B program has sparked intense debate. Billionaires like Elon Musk claim it is crucial to our economy, arguing that the United States faces a shortage of highly skilled engineers and technology professionals. They are dead wrong. The primary purpose of H-1B and other guest worker programs is not to employ the 'best and the brightest,' but instead to replace American workers with lower-paid workers from abroad who often live as indentured servants. The cheaper it is to hire guest workers, the more money the multi-billionaire owners of large corporations make."

What Happens Next
Trump, Ramaswamy and Musk will begin work in the new administration following the President-elect's inauguration on January 20.