*** Visa holders to March on Washington - Asking for MORE visas! ***

http://www.businessweek.com/bwdaily/dnflash/content/sep2007/db20070917_552357.htm?chan=top+news_top+news+index_businessweek+exclusives

Skilled Immigrants' March on Washington
While immigrant advocates want more green cards, tech companies also seek more work visas. As workers hit the streets, the debate is just beginning 
by Moira Herbst 

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 Frustrated with the standstill on federal immigration reform, thousands of high-skilled immigrants plan to march on the nation's capital Sept. 18 to call for radical change in the way the U.S. treats them. The protesters—engineers, software developers, computer programmers, and the like—are calling for a doubling of the number of green cards allotted to them each year so more of them can stay in the country permanently. They say the waiting list for green cards, which can be five years or more, cripples careers and puts lives on hold. 

The protests represent a marked change in strategy. At the beginning of 2007, groups representing skilled and unskilled immigrants worked side by side in an effort to push comprehensive reform through Congress. Now, skilled workers are breaking out on their own (BusinessWeek, 9/11/07) in hopes of distancing themselves from the controversial issue of what to do about the 12 million low-skilled workers who are already in the country illegally. 

"We want to create momentum around these issues and show that there is an immediate need for them to be fixed," says Aman Kapoor, founder of Immigration Voice, an advocacy group spearheading the rally. "With hundreds of thousands of workers stuck waiting, it's a great waste of human talent." 

Whether Kapoor and the other protesters can make progress remains in doubt. Immigration has become a radioactive issue in Washington. Even after President George W. Bush and a bipartisan group of senators threw their weight behind comprehensive immigration reform this summer, the effort went down in flames (BusinessWeek, 6/8/07) as anti-immigrant groups put intense pressure on politicians throughout the country. Since then, the Administration has taken a tough stance on illegal immigration, leading to workplace raids and a planned crackdown on employers (BusinessWeek, 8/14/07) who hire workers with false Social Security numbers. 

Building Strength
Still, Kapoor's group is not to be taken lightly. Immigration Voice has evolved quickly from a small Internet community set up for skilled workers to share ideas and experiences into a well-organized political force (BusinessWeek, 7/19/07). Over the summer the group organized a series of events modeled after the nonviolent protests of Mahatma Gandhi and won reversal of a key U.S. State Dept. decision (BusinessWeek, 7/17/07). Now, Kapoor and other top members are in regular contact with elected officials and heads of government agencies such as the Homeland Security Dept. 

Immigration Voice, which is predominantly Indian, is jointly organizing the Sept. 18 rally with the Legal Immigrant Assn. The LIA, founded earlier this year, is a group of U.S.-educated Chinese professionals with advanced degrees. "This green-card marathon is exhausting the energy and creativity of talented people," says Ming Jiang, a core member of LIA. "We want to change our lives, and we are doing it the American way, though this rally." 

Immigration Voice is also receiving support from major technology companies. Before the rally and march, a tech-company coalition called Compete America will join Representative Joseph Crowley (D-N.Y.) and Representative John Shadegg (R-Ariz.) to outline their goals. Compete America, which includes Oracle (ORCL), Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC), will echo Immigration Voice's call for an end to the green-card backlog. "We need an immigration policy that adapts to the changing economy—and one that not only helps fill jobs but one that welcomes innovators who create jobs," says Robert Hoffman, a spokesman for Oracle and co-chair of Compete America. 

Raise the Cap?
Kapoor argues that the situation for skilled immigrants in the U.S. is becoming untenable and that dramatic change is needed. Tens of thousands of foreign workers enter the country on temporary work visas each year, and many apply for green cards. But government rules limit the number of people who can be admitted to the U.S. from any one country to 9,800. The result is that for populous countries such as India and China, the wait for permanent U.S. residency stretches as long as eight years. To help clear the queue, Immigration Voice is asking Congress to raise the annual cap on green cards from 140,000 to 300,000. They also want to make available 218,000 green cards that the government failed to issue from 2001 to the present. 

The goals of skilled workers and tech companies do diverge, however. Most important, while both Compete America and Immigration Voice are advocating for more green cards, tech companies are also asking Congress for more temporary work visas, known as H-1Bs. The H-1B visa program has come under fire for keeping immigrant workers stuck in jobs as they wait for permanent residency and for allowing employers to hire cheaper workers from overseas (BusinessWeek, 6/22/07). 

Some experts say the companies' push for more visas could obscure Immigration Voice's more specific call for more green cards. "The fundamental problem with the policy discussion is that Compete America has tried to blur any distinction between the H-1Bs and green cards," says Ron Hira, professor of public policy at Rochester Institute of Technology. "But they, and the policy issues associated with each, are very different." 

Finding the Right Formula
Several key elected officials have voiced support for the goals of Immigration Voice. Representative Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.), chair of the House subcommittee on immigration, says while she understands there is a role for H-1B visas, she sees more green cards as a better solution. "Excessive dependence on visas allows some workers to be frozen in positions and paid less than they're worth," says Lofgren, whose district includes Silicon Valley. "There is a better way to do this. We must look at why we're backlogging people we deem to be of exceptional ability." 

Lofgren and her fellow members of Congress are working toward legislation for reform. They must decide whether the answer is more green cards or more visas or some combination of both. They'll do so amid pressure from groups opposed to increased immigration, including the Computer Programmers' Guild, which represents American-born tech workers. 

While reform for skilled workers appears more likely than comprehensive legislation, the long and arduous debate over the proper approach is just beginning. "We are seeking political consensus to move forward," says Lofgren. "But nothing is ever easy, no matter how easy it looks." 

top 200 H-1B Visa Holders

http://www.businessweek.com/table/0518_h1btable.htm 

top 200 H-1B Visa companies are:

Rank Employer H1-B Visa Count 
1 INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES 4,908 
2 WIPRO 4,002 
3 MICROSOFT 3,117 
4 TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES 3,046 
5 SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES 2,880 
6 COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS U.S. 2,226 
7 PATNI COMPUTER SYSTEMS 1,391 
8 IBM 1,130 
9 ORACLE 1,022 
10 LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH 947 
11 HCL AMERICA 910 
12 DELOITTE & TOUCHE 890 
13 CISCO SYSTEMS 828 
14 INTEL 828 
15 I-FLEX SOLUTIONS 817 
16 ERNST & YOUNG 774 
17 TECH MAHINDRA AMERICAS 770 
18 MOTOROLA 760 
19 MPHASIS 751 
20 DELOITTE CONSULTING 665 
21 LANCESOFT 645 
22 NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS 642 
23 ACCENTURE 637 
24 JPMORGAN CHASE 632 
25 POLARIS SOFTWARE LAB INDIA 611 
26 COVANSYS 611 
27 PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS 591 
28 QUALCOMM 533 
29 GOLDMAN SACHS 529 
30 KPMG 476 
31 MARLABS 475 
32 UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN 437 
33 UNIV. OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO 434 
34 UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA 432 
35 THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY 432 
36 SYNTEL CONSULTING 416 
37 CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS 413 
38 BEARINGPOINT 413 
39 UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND 404 
40 KEANE 386 
41 HTC GLOBAL SERVICES 382 
42 IGATE MASTECH 378 
43 HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES 362 
44 CAPITAL ONE SERVICES 362 
45 COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY 355 
46 LEHMAN BROTHERS 352 
47 YAHOO! 347 
48 U.S. TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES 339 
49 INTELLIGROUP 336 
50 HEWLETT-PACKARD 333 
51 RAPIDIGM 330 
52 MERRILL LYNCH 329 
53 GOOGLE 328 
54 CITIBANK 322 
55 DIS NATIONAL INSTS OF HEALTH DHHS 322 
56 YALE UNIVERSITY 316 
57 NOKIA 314 
58 TEXAS INSTRUMENTS 313 
59 CAPGEMINI 309 
60 HARVARD UNIVERSITY 308 
61 EMC 305 
62 SUN MICROSYSTEMS 303 
63 RITE AID 301 
64 BLOOMBERG 298 
65 GENERAL ELECTRIC 292 
66 AMGEN 289 
67 McKINSEY U.S. 286 
68 MORGAN STANLEY 285 
69 STANFORD UNIVERSITY 279 
70 WASHINGTON UNIV. IN ST. LOUIS 278 
71 VERIZON DATA SERVICES 276 
72 NYC-HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER 276 
73 UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH 275 
74 INDIANA UNIVERSITY 273 
75 OHIO STATE 271 
76 EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP 269 
77 UNIV. OF MINNESOTA 269 
78 AMTEX SYSTEMS 268 
79 UNIV. OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON 268 
80 SUNY-STONY BROOK 262 
81 AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES 262 
82 CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION 256 
83 DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 255 
84 UNIV. OF CALIF. AT DAVIS 254 
85 NORTHWESTERN 251 
86 SYNTEL 250 
87 UNIV. OF MISSOURI AT COLUMBIA 247 
88 GLOBALCYNEX 247 
89 KANBAY 246 
90 AMERICAN SOLUTIONS 242 
91 UNIV. OF FLORIDA INTL. CENTER 240 
92 UCLA 239 
93 DUKE UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER 238 
94 MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER 236 
95 BANK OF AMERICA 236 
96 SOFTWARE RESEARCH GROUP 234 
97 BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE 234 
98 MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL 232 
99 CIBER 232 
100 VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS 230 
Rank Employer H-1B Visas 
101 EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS 226 
102 VOLT TECHNICAL RESOURCES 224 
103 OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY 223 
104 COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP 222 
105 U.S. TECH SOLUTIONS 221 
106 SYMANTEC 220 
107 JSMN INTERNATIONAL 218 
108 UBS 216 
109 CVS PHARMACY 213 
110 THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY 213 
111 UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON 213 
112 NORTEL NETWORKS 212 
113 UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN FRANCISCO 211 
114 UNIVERSITY OF MASS. MEDICAL SCHOOL 210 
115 SPRINT/UNITED MANAGEMENT 209 
116 HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT 209 
117 PURDUE 208 
118 GLOBAL CONSULTANTS 207 
119 EMORY UNIVERSITY 207 
120 UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER 207 
121 UNIV. OF COLORADO 207 
122 VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY 205 
123 OBJECTWIN TECHNOLOGY 205 
124 DIASPARK 204 
125 HSBC BANK USA 203 
126 EBUSINESS APPLICATION SOLUTIONS 203 
127 BROADCOM 203 
128 PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY (MD.) PUBLIC SCHS 203 
129 MICRON TECHNOLOGY 202 
130 COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS 198 
131 TEXAS A&M 198 
132 APPLIED MATERIALS 195 
133 SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY 194 
134 UNIVERSITY OF IOWA 194 
135 IBM GLOBAL SVCS. INDIA 194 
136 DELOITTE TAX 194 
137 CUMMINS 193 
138 ITECH U.S. 191 
139 COMPUWARE 189 
140 INTL. STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS OFFICE 186 
141 UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN DIEGO 185 
142 WALGREEN'S 184 
143 HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE 184 
144 USC 183 
145 VISION SYSTEMS GROUP 182 
146 T MOBILE USA 180 
147 MULTIVISION 178 
148 ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS 177 
149 MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 175 
150 CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY 174 
151 CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV. 173 
152 UNC AT CHAPEL HILL 173 
153 UNIV. OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM 172 
154 DEUTSCHE BANK 170 
155 CATERPILLAR 170 
156 HALLMARK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES 169 
157 CYBERTHINK 169 
158 CORPORATE COMPUTER SERVICES 167 
159 ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES 167 
160 MEGASOFT CONSULTANTS 166 
161 ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS 165 
162 FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR 163 
163 UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER 163 
164 FIRST TEK TECHNOLOGIES 161 
165 MICHIGAN STATE 161 
166 RESEARCH FDN OF THE STATE UNIV OF 160 
167 COMSYS SERVICES 160 
168 VIRGINIA TECH 160 
169 JUNIPER NETWORKS 160 
170 UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA 158 
171 IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY 157 
172 UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA 157 
173 FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES 157 
174 CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON 156 
175 BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB 156 
176 VERIZON SERVICES 156 
177 EBAY 155 
178 AJILON CONSULTING 154 
179 GENERAL MOTORS 153 
180 CAMO TECHNOLOGIES 152 
181 MARVELL SEMICONDUCTOR 151 
182 CMC AMERICAS 150 
183 UT M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER 149 
184 NVIDIA 149 
185 AT&T SERVICES 147 
186 WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL 146 
187 AXIOM SYSTEMS 146 
188 WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY 146 
189 MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER 146 
190 NORTH CAROLINA STATE 146 
191 GENENTECH 146 
192 MAKRO TECHNOLOGIES 145 
193 SVAM INTERNATIONAL 144 
194 MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER 143 
195 NUTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS 143 
196 XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES 143 
197 AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING 143 
198 LOUISIANA STATE 142 
199 FANNIE MAE 141 
200 MINDTREE CONSULTING/TD> 141

H1-B Visa Program

Senators Durbin & Grassley teamed together to halt abuse of H-1B (so called "TechWorker") Visa program. Here are the links to their press releases.

http://grassley.senate.gov/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=5380&Month=5&Year=2007

http://durbin.senate.gov/record.cfm?id=274241

The Programmers Guild was instrumental in bringing this to their attention:

http://www.programmersguild.org/

According to their findings a Visa holder is paid, on average, 30% less than the U.S. Citizen doing comparable work at a similar job.

http://www.programmersguild.org/listmessages/2007April_eNewsletter_Microsoft_Jobs.htm