India shows concerns to US over rejection of H1B, L1 visas

[OhioChick]

Source: Economic Times of India

27 Mar, 2012, 12.28AM IST, ET Bureau

NEW DELHI: India has complained to the US about an increase in the rate of rejection of US visas for Indian professionals that resulted in a sharp decline in the number of visas issued to Indians last year.

Commerce and industry minister Anand Sharma took up the visa issue with US commerce secretary John Bryson in a bilateral meeting on Monday.

"There have been concerns over the high rate of rejection. Last year, number of visas declined by 28%. We had a very frank discussion, including some of the issues on which US has concerns," Sharma said.

India expressed concern over the rejection of visas in both H1B and L1 categories for Indians, while it has gone up for other countries. H1B is work permit for temporary workers, while L1 visas are issued for intracompany transfers that allow companies to relocate qualified employees to US offices.


Read more: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/india-shows-concerns-to-us-over-rejection-of-h1b-l1-visas/articleshow/12420143.cms

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Meanwhile....

US senator promises more L1, H1B visas for Indians

http://profit.ndtv.com/News/Article/us-senator-promises-more-l1-h1b-visas-for-indians-300441

Chuck Schumer and Harry Reid?

[ChromeFoundry]

1. And how many US Citizens get rejected in India?

Both of these programs are a scam. They are abused more than there are good reasons to import workers. These same companies are getting rid of US resources and replacing them with a cheaper alternative...

Wait.. hasn't this already been proven 1000 times?

[OhioChick]

2. India's strict visa regulations hamper entry of skilled foreigners

4 Mar, 2012, 10.00PM IST, Ishani Duttagupta,ET Bureau

Alexandra Patargia is a 26-year-old civil engineer from Greece. After an engineering degree from Athens, she completed her master's degree in development administration and planning from London and is now keen on finding a job in India.

"I have been following the India growth story for the past couple of years. My qualifications in civil engineering and development should find a very good fit in India, I feel. Besides, India is on a growth path while European countries such as ours are not doing very well," she says. However, her job search in India has so far not yielded results.

The main reason for this is the $25,000 per annum lower limit that the Indian government has set for giving employment visas to skilled overseas workers. For Patargia, who has two years of work experience in Greece, an annual salary below $25,000 is acceptable. "I would like to work in India to gain experience. I'm willing to start with a lower salary. I know that in my kind of job, there will be an annual increase in the salary based on performance. However, the Indian government rules don't allow that," she says.

Many young professionals like Patargia now want India on their CVs and the reason is not always mind-boggling entry level salaries. Mumbai-based lawyer Ashok Pratap, who has a growing clientele of foreigners looking for employment visas, sees the interest among young foreign professionals to work in India going beyond just good salaries.

http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2012-03-04/news/31121422_1_annual-floor-limit-annual-salary-india-growth-story

[ChromeFoundry]

3. OK, so fuck them and their complaints on our policies

so there.

[bart95]

5. 'what's yours is mine, and what's mine is mine'

is their policy

[harun]

19. All of them.

[Skittles]

4. they can fuck themselves

[friedgreentomatoes]

6. Why is it fair to reject H1 for "Indians"

while keeping the numbers constant (or even increasing them) for others?

From the article "India expressed concern over the rejection of visas in both H1B and L1 categories for Indians, while it has gone up for other countries."

Indians apply for, and are granted the H1s because they are qualified and willing to relocate.

If H1 is the main reason behind US professionals being laid off, if 1 H1 visa issued is one too many, shouldn't the restrictions be applied for nationals for every country? Or are Indians fair game because they are brown?

I don't mean to be snarky but the hypocrisy at DU sometimes is astounding.

[OhioChick]

7. Fact Check:

28 October 2011

"India is the single largest beneficiary of H-1B visas by a wide margin: in the past four years, applicants in India have received more than twice as many H-1B visas as the four next-highest countries combined," the US State Department stated in the release."

http://www.workpermit.com/news/2011-10-28/us/united-states-increases-number-of-h1b-visas-issued-to-indians.htm

[xtraxritical]

8. Why can't US companies train Americans

for these jobs. Oh yeah the bottom line, excuse me.

[Confusious]

9. They don't have to train them

There are plenty coming out of colleges.

They just don't want to hire them.

[awoke_in_2003]

10. "They just don't want to hire them"...

let's modify that to "they don't want to PAY them"- they would rather get cheap, overseas labor.

[ieoeja]

16. No, it was correct the first time. My friend has applied for low paying jobs many times.

And been rejected because immigrants are less likely to know OSHA regulations or complain about violations. It is still better than they could get at home.

I'm sure this applies to a far lesser degree among professionals. But I'm sure it applies somewhat particularly given the "better than they could get at home" factor.

[awoke_in_2003]

11. awoke_in_2003 shows no concern...

over India's concern

[cosmicone]

12. Yawn ... the same anti-India whining by the usual suspects.

I have seen similar stories posted over and over with the same responses as "fuck India" or "Indians can go fuck themselves" -- reflects poorly on DU in the end.

[ChromeFoundry]

14. Nice twisting

If you actually read the posts, no one said "fuck India" or showed any ill will toward Indians. The responses were directed directly at the people making the complains on the US policies. Those trying to conjure up racial discontent that isn't there is the thing that reflects poorly on DU. But I do give you credit for your mastery of twisting other members words to make it look like they said something completely different that what they actually stated. You should think about a career in writing political campaign commercials, you know, the ones that heave made up bullshit over the fence at their opponents.

If you actually believe that other members made those statements, or that you have some special ability that allows you to find meaning in text that was not written, maybe you need to see a specialist in the psychiatric field to diagnose and treat the disorder.

[cosmicone]

18. No twisting involved

Threads whining about Indians coming on H1-B or L1 visas have been frequent and ubiquitous on DU usually posted by the same people and with predictable comments by other same people.

Many, although not all, end up with bashing India and/or Indians.

China has sucked up at least 30 times more good paying manufacturing jobs than India has taken IT jobs but I don't see even 3 times more threads complaining about the China trade policies.

Indians have no control over how many H1-B visas are allocated, but, once those are allocated, India has a legitimate right to complain about discrimination.

Are you claiming that a displaced US worker's pain is any less if his/her job is taken by a Russian or Filipino rather than an Indian? I am calling on the deliberate and purposeful hatred of India reflected in these threads rather than a genuine complaint about fairness to the US workers. India did not create the problem, American companies and congress did. India is simply a beneficiary like many other countries in Eastern Europe and far East. Indians get a lot of the H1-B visas because Indians have a very large pool of English speaking and educated workforce as compared to say Romania or Russia or Poland.

[ChromeFoundry]

20. You just proved my point.

I don't hear China complaining that we are not letting enough of them in. I don't hear any other country complaining about the number of H1b and L1 visas they are issued.

India is always bitching about the US policies. They are the squeaky wheel. India wants the US to outsource jobs to them and insource their workers. India has been issued more visas than the four next highest countries combined last year. I don't see discrimination and if you do, you have another agenda.

The comments on this thread are merely stating that India has no rights to anything issued by the US. Why are you not complaining about the number of Indian work visas issued to US citizens? Oh that's right, you only complain about the US and Pakistan.

[cosmicone]

21. China bitches about tariffs and trade barriers all the time.

Hello!! China doesn't take US jobs by using the H1-B program but by dumping hundreds of billions of dollars worth of cheap labor produced products around the world.

Hello again .... India has proportionately LESS of the H1-B visas than India has an English speaking and educated workforce which qualifies for the H1-B. It is specious to throw raw numbers without analyzing them. As far as outsourcing jobs is concerned, it is business. If you don't like it, blame Intel, Cisco, Microsoft, Oracle, ADP, IBM, HP and others. Like I stated before, India does not decide how many H1-Bs will be allowed - but once the number is allowed, it is a fair game to expect non-discrimination.

Sophistry may work on others, I, on the contrary, stick to facts.

[David__77]

13. These professionals are at least sometimes treated as cheaper labor.

I've seen it. But the truth is that if they are hired under those conditions, the work quality will certainly suffer. We have little shortage of human capital in this country.

[KareBear]

15. Nearly slave labor

Working in an office where 90% of the people are H1B visa'd workers there are some striking problems that surface. One is the most talked about, the pay. They work for 20-30k less a year than a similar US Citizen would for the same job. The other is less talked about, the hours. They CONSISTENTLY work 10-12 hour days seven days a week. They are afraid if they do not then they will be sent back to India. Of course they are all paid salary so there is no overtime involved.

Employers attempted to strike enough fear in the hearts of US Citizens by tying their health care to their job, when that didn't work as well as they'd hoped they now use deportation as leverage on foreign workers.

Of course you won't find US Citizens that will work for the same pay under the same conditions when those conditions are borderline illegal.

[sarcasmo]

17. With so many out of work and underemployed Americans

Zero, should be the number of work visas handed out to any country.