Randy Johnson Senior Vice President Labor, Immigration & Employee Benefits
: Making Our Immigration System Work Commissioned by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the American Council on International Personnel. This report confirms that the H-1B visa program promotes economic growth and does not undermine U.S. workers.
The H-1B program can be directly tied to several of the most successful U.S. companies over the past two decades. In 2008 Bill Gates testified before Congress, Microsoft has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four additional employees to support them in various capacities. From 2002 to 2009 Microsoft nearly doubled it s workforce to just under 100,000 employees. From 2002 to 2009, Amazon increased its total employment from 7,500 to 24,300, a 224% increase. In FY2009, Amazon hired 192 individuals on H-1B visas.
While H-1B visas have helped U.S. companies stay competitive, the inflexibility of the program has and will continue to stifle economic growth in this country. Laszlo Block, Vice President for people Operations at Google (a company that did not exist 20 years ago and has seen it s global employment rise 2000% from 2000 to 2009) testified before Congress in 2007: The fact is that we are in a fierce worldwide competition for top talent unlike ever before. As companies in India, China, and other countries step up efforts to attract highly skilled employees, the United States must continue to focus on attracting and retaining these great minds... As a global company, Google is fortunate to be able to have employees work for us in other countries if they are not allowed to stay in the U.S.
While H-1B visas have helped U.S. companies stay competitive, the inflexibility of the program has and will continue to stifle economic growth in this country. In 2007, in part as a response to frustration with U.S. immigration laws, Microsoft announced the building of a software development center in Canada. Bill Gates once again testified: As a result, many firms, including Microsoft, have been forced to locate staff in countries that welcome skilled foreign workers to do work that could otherwise have been done in the United States, if it were not for our counterproductive immigration policies.
Myth: H-1B visa holders drive down wages for U.S. born workers in similar fields. A 2009, University of Maryland study, which examined 50,000 IT professionals between 2000 and 2005 found that in many instances an IT professional without U.S. citizenship earned a salary premium over their U.S. born counterparts. The study concluded: This result implies complimentarity among American and foreign IT professionals and supports the view that high-skill immigration can potentially make everyone (i.e. American as well as foreign workers) better off. In a paper for the Immigration Policy Center, University of California, Berkeley economist Giovanni Peri addressed the benefits of high skill foreign nationals being allowed to work in America. The country is certainly better off by having the whole world as a potential supplier of highly talented individuals rather than only the native-born.
Myth: H-1B visa holders are a cheap substitute for U.S. born workers in similar fields H-1B visa cap, which begins its filing date on April 1, was filled by April 8 for FY2009. The same cap took close to nine months to reach for FY2010 and as of July 30, USCIS has roughly 30,000 H-1B visas still available for FY2011. Obviously, if employers were interested in simply hiring cheap labor during times of economic down turn, the H-1B cap would have been reached. Employers must attest to the wage level, prevailing wage rate, which State Workforce Agency issued the prevailing wage rate, which source derived that wage rate and during what year, among many other attestations. The American Council on International Personnel estimates that the cost of petitioning for an H-1B visa and then renewing after three years is between $8,540 and $15,083.
VISA LEGAL FEES (est.) GOV T FEES TOTAL TOTAL H-1B Visa Fees $1,800 2,500 (employer pays attorney fees related to filing the LCA and the H-1B petition, and typically pays other attorney fees) H-1B Visa Extension Fees $1,800 2,500 (employer pays attorney fees related to filing the LCA and the H-1B petition, and typically pays other attorney fees) $1,500 education/training fee (employers pay, unless exempt) $500 anti-fraud fee (employer pays) $1,000 (optional) premium processing (employer or employee may pay, but employer typically pays; employee may pay to facilitate personal travel) $320 application fee (employer pays) Additional fees if consular processed: $131 (Visa application processing) $0 800 (Visa issuance/reciprocity) $1,500 education/training fee (employers pay, unless exempt) $500 anti-fraud fee (not required if extension under the same employer) $1,000 (optional) premium processing (employer or employee may pay, but employer typically pays) $320 application fee (employer pays) Additional fees if consular processed: $131 (Visa application processing) $0 800 (Visa issuance/reciprocity) $4,120 to $6,751 $3,620 to $6,751 H-4 Dependent Fees $500 750 (employer often pays, but not required) $300 application fee (employer usually pays but not required) Additional fees if consular processed: $131 (Visa application processing) $0 400 (Visa issuance/reciprocity) $800 to $1,581 TOTAL H-1B COSTS $8,540 to $15,083 Source: American Council on International Personnel, found at www.acip.com.
Myth: Employers use of the H-1B visa holders will negatively affect the employment of U.S. born workers already at a company. The employer must provide working conditions for H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 workers that will not adversely affect the working conditions of workers similarly employed; Not employ an H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 worker at a location where a strike or lockout in the occupational classification is occurring, and notify ETA of any future strike or lockout; and On or within 30 days before the date the LCA is filed with ETA, provide notice of the employer's intent to hire H-1B, H-1B1, or E-3 workers. The employer must provide this notice to the bargaining representative of workers in the occupation in which the H-1B, H- 1B1, or E-3 worker will be employed. The employer must post such notices in conspicuous locations at the intended place(s) of employment, or provide them electronically.
Myth: Employers are easily able to manipulate the H-1B program, while adhering to limited labor protections. Employers must pay at least the local prevailing wage or the employer's actual wage, whichever is higher; pay for non-productive time in certain circumstances; and offer benefits on the same basis as for U.S. workers. Various federal, state and local labor standards such as the Fair Labor Standards Act, will apply to foreign workers employed in the U.S. Employer must inform U.S. workers of intent to hire a foreign worker by providing notice of the filing of the LCA to the bargaining representative if there is one, or, if there is no bargaining representative, by posting notice of filing in two conspicuous locations at the employer s establishments, or by providing electronic notice. Notice must be provided within the 30-day period before the date that the labor condition application is submitted to DOL.
Myth: Employers who abuse the H-1B visa program face no penalties or repercussions. When violations are found, the Wage and Hour Division may assess civil money penalties with maximums ranging from $1,000 to $35,000 per violation, depending on the type and severity of the violation. The Administrator may also impose other remedies, including payment of back wages. Within 15 days of the date of the determination, any interested party may request a hearing on the Wage and Hour Administrator's determination before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ). Employers found to have committed certain violations may also be precluded from future access to the H-1B program as well as to other nonimmigrant and immigrant programs for a period of at least one year and as much as three years depending on the nature of the violation.