[TRW claims 1,000 technical openings]

http://www.computerworld.com/home/news.nsf/CWFlash/9908054visa


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(Online News, 08/05/99 05:47 PM)

House debates H-1B visa cap
By Patrick Thibodeau

WASHINGTON -- A U.S. House Judiciary subcommittee today questioned the
need for raising the controversial H-1B visa cap from 115,000 to
200,000, while its chairman expressed disappointment that five
high-tech companies that had been asked to testify on the subject
refused to show up.

"I don't appreciate the fact that we have to revisit an issue that we
thought was resolved a year ago," said U.S. Rep. Edward Pease
(R-Ind.), a member of the subcommittee on immigration and claims.

Congress raised the visa program cap -- from 65,000 to 115,000 -- for
this fiscal year. Despite that increase, the cap was filled in May,
well before the fiscal year expires at the end of September.

The visa program allows U.S. companies to hire foreign workers in
skilled trades. The high-tech industry has been a major user of the
program. But although five information technology companies had been
invited to testify at today's hearing, none was willing to do so, said
Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (R-Texas), the committee chairman.

Smith said he was "disappointed" by the decision of those companies,
which he didn't name, "especially since they are so outspoken on the
subject."

GOP leaders, including Sen. Phil Gramm of Texas and Senate Majority
Leader Trent Lot, said this week that they would support an increase
in the cap.

Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) likened the demand for visas to a "Oklahoma
land rush."

"It seems to me that companies are filing a lot more petitions then
they need because they don't want to get caught short," Lofgren said.

Smith said it was "rare" that Congress would be asked to re-examine
major legislation so quickly.

There are conflicting reasons for the upsurge in H-1B visas, Smith
said. Some argued that the demand has been caused by a worsening
shortage in high-tech workers, while others said the demand "is merely
reflective of a preference for foreign workers and their perceived
advantages over American workers."

Smith said the cap may have been reached because of a "bubble" in the
way visas are issued. After the 65,000 cap was reached in May 1998,
the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service kept receiving
petitions and approving them with the stipulation that foreign workers
couldn't start work until the beginning of the next fiscal year on
Oct. 1, 1998.

Those workers were counted against the 1999 quota, Smith said, "so an
argument can be made" that the 115,000 cap had already been reduced
before it went into effect. "Without this reduction, we might have
finished the fiscal year without coming up against the cap," he said.

But Smith didn't rule out raising the cap.

"We will debate H1-B visas," Smith said. "But we cannot address
looming workforce problems if we turn a blind eye to immigration
policies that do not serve the national interest."

Crystal Neiswonger, an immigration specialist at TRW Inc., said her
company has over 1,000 job openings in technical areas. "Some of our
business has been placed on hold," she said.

"The shortage of U.S. speciality workers will continue for the
foreseeable future," Neiswonger said.

Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) urged TRW and other companies to do more
to hire minority workers. "My position is we should try to meet each
other halfway," she said.