As if visa processing isn't uncertain enough in its own right, the big
H-1B blunder by the INS has left many foreign workers in an even more precarious
situation. While law makers and corporate decision makers continue to duke it out over
whether and how to limit these ever-sought- after specialty worker visas, many are left to
ponder their potential futures as H-1B holders. And all this at a time when the United
States is experiencing a significant shortage of technology workers. Go figure.
H-1B visas enable notably skilled
foreign workers--often those in high tech jobs--to come to the U.S. to fill specific
positions. The cap for the last fiscal year was 115,000, and was hit in August of 1999.
The current demand for high-techies has companies fighting for a higher cap as human
resource execs bite their nails trying to do their jobs. One pending bill even requests an
additional 65,000 visas for those with advanced degrees, and many still call that a
conservative number. To add a little more spice to the mix, with the presidential election
coming up in November, this has naturally become a major political debate with high stakes
for those involved.
Things started to go awry last
year when a possible combination of software and human error glitches at the Immigration
and Naturalization Service resulted in the agency's granting of 10,000 to 20,000 too many
H-1B visas for the period ending September 30th.
Initially, employees panicked
that some 10,000 to 20,000 employees could conceivably be told to pack it up and head
home. It won't happen, promises the INS, which has thus far made some vague references to
a "compromise with Congress" and has contracted Big Five accounting firm KPMG
Peat Marwick to conduct an audit of the H-1B count FY 1999, with recommendations for
improvements.
In a letter to Attorney General
Reno, Senator Abraham pointed out that the INS' own instructions on how to count visas
need to be carefully scrutinized as a possibly major contributing factor to the errors.
Apparently, there may be a mix up between tabulations of approvals and actual conferral of
visas.
Also cited is "evidence from
INS' own instruction sheets and briefings that it has been inflating the visa count,"
which means we really don't know for sure how high or low the miscount actually is. Leave
it to the good old INS to leave us back at square one, scratching our heads.
The agency also recently
announced that last June's statement on the number of H-1B visas filed in fiscal 1998 by
the top 20 U.S. companies, was filled with inaccuracies. Interestingly enough, one of
those companies was KPMG.
According to INS spokeswoman
Eyleen Schmidt, the INS is holding off on any and all decisions until the count is in.
KPMG is expected to deliver later this month, but a detailed report on causes and
recommendations won't be in until Late winter or early spring.
There are two things that
definitely won't happen says the INS: The agency will not revoke any already approved H-1B
visa petitions (phew), nor will it assign the surplus to previous years when a quota was
unmet (shucks).
But the agency is still
considering a deduction of the surplus from this year's quota, and that has many critics
up in arms. Citing the political heat involved, however, many suspect that Congress may
not want to cut into the cap when the GOP has, in fact, been eyeing an increase with
growing enthusiasm.
These reporting problems and
uncertainties are not being taken lightly by employers who make major hiring and
organizational decisions based on the numbers they thought they could count on.
But the INS has promised to clean
up its act, and quickly.
We shall see.
*This article originally appeared in Immigration Newsman, the print newspaper for all
immigrants in America.
~To subscribe to this newspaper:
e-mail: ImmNewsman@aol.com
| 