How IT companies exploited the H1B visa program and ended up getting banned

The latest buzz among NRIs and IT aspirants with the dream to live the American life through “onsite” opportunities is the ban on 19 IT firms based in the US for exploiting the H1B visa program. This move by the US government is one that has been long coming. The last few months has seen a lot of development in the H1B scenario; all leading to this inevitable decision.

19 companies have been banned from applying for H1B visas for a period ranging from 1 year to event 3 years depending on the violation type. These companies have been termed as H1B willful violator employers. So how exactly did these companies step over the line? Knowledge of this violation is important for every job applicant since one needs to be aware of the organization’s policy before being part of it.

The real deal with H1B

The H1B program was meant to be used for hiring foreign talent with technical skills that cannot be found locally. It there is a job role which cannot be handled by a US citizen or if it is difficult to find a talented individual for that role, then the company can get an immigrant to carry out the job. This also applies to scenarios when the locally available talent is not willing to carry out the job role and companies are pushed to hire foreign talent.

The exploitation scenario

In the last few years, the USCIS had approved over 85,000 H1B visas every year and this leniency was met with contempt by many IT firms. They started using H1B as a means of finding cheaper hire to do technical jobs that would otherwise cost them exponentially if local talent was hired for the same role. Due to the high dollar exchange rate, technically sound individuals did not mind the low pay (by US standards) and flocked in to live the American Dream.

This resulted in many American losing their job to immigrants just because it is more cost-effective for the company. Reportedly, many companies starting hiring immigrants who aren’t skilled enough for the job and then made the existing talent to train these new hires before firing the local talent! This angered a lot of people and lead to a huge expose that gained even political interest.

Implications

The government woke up in the right time last year and slashed H1B numbers to 65,000 and also doubled up the fee for the visas. The presidential candidates made statements about the H1B program and even took a stand against it. This created a lot of buzz as to what will happen to the H1B program in the future. The latest development is the ban on 19 companies for being willful violators of the system.

There are a number of professional organizations in the US that provide the right guidance to students and job seekers about the H1B and other visa programs. Make sure you research and find out what exactly you are getting into or get professional help from the experts.