India demanding 195,000 H-1Bs?

[cyberpj]

June 24, 2005 10:08 AM PDT
India demanding 195,000 H-1Bs?
According to a report today in The Economic Times, India's government has made a proposal to the World Trade Organization demanding that the United States' annual cap for H-1B visas be raised sharply, to 195,000.

Currently, the annual ceiling for the guest worker visas is 65,000, along with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for foreigners with advanced degrees from a U.S. institution.

If the story in the Indian press is true, the move likely would be welcomed by U.S. employers who have pushed for more visas, but criticized by labor groups already wary of the guest worker permits.

H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreigners to work in the United States for up to six years, have long been a point of debate in the tech industry. Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates stirred up the pot recently by calling for the elimination of H-1B visa caps.

From The Economic Times story: "In the ongoing WTO talks, India has made enhancement of the H1B quota as a key bargaining chip for offering concessions on market access for industrial products and farm goods, highly-placed government officials said."

Posted by Ed Frauenheim
http://news.com.com//2061-10788_3-5760910.html

[Hugin]

1. Oh, so it's India demanding it.

Not, *cough* Bill *cough* Gates *cough*

Alrighty then... Better get right on it.

[SammyWinstonJack]

5. .

:evilgrin:

[Triana]

2. If we had leaders with any balls...

...they'd tell India to go f*ck themselves and tell corporations to use American workers until/unless they can PROVE that some particular skill cannot be found or an American trained to do the work.

Of course the corprats won't be able to prove any such thing...all they can prove is that they're greedy bastards who want slave labor.

[sweetheart]

3. stage II - exploit monopoly position by raising prices

How long before we see stage II, after India has effectively de-skilled
the USA of programming talent, when will they raise prices?

[idlisambar]

4. Anyone a fan of the WTO?

Whatever your position on this one, and I am not sure of mine, I don't like the idea that a foreign nation can exert this kind of pressure on our domestic affairs.

[cyberpj]

6. Y ou know, all we had to do was have a real congress,

the original kind that serves the American people - and that congress would have passed laws that required US businesses moving overseas to adhere to US business and tax laws.

Companies would still have moved but more slowly and all the while raising the standard of living around the globe.

The fairest answers are always so easy, aren't they?

[unhappycamper]

7. H1-B = NAFTA for good paying jobs.