The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US businesses to hire foreign employees in specialist areas that require theoretical or technical knowledge.
A group of over 2,100 small and mid-size IT firms in the United States, the majority of which are owned and run by Indian Americans, has urged Congress to increase the H-1B limit from the current 65,000 to solve the country’s acute shortfall of highly trained employees.
The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that permits US businesses to hire foreign employees in specialist areas that require theoretical or technical knowledge.
Every year, technology businesses rely on it to hire tens of thousands of workers from nations such as India and China.
More than 240 members of the ITServe group gathered in the US Capitol on Tuesday for the first-ever in-person Congressional lobbying day, during which they expect to brief Congressmen and Senators.
They claim that a lack of highly trained individuals is affecting their enterprises and the American advantage in general.
In addition to expanding the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 to 130,000 per year, ITServe is encouraging politicians to raise investment in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the United States to build the requisite high-skilled workforce within the nation.
Concurrent with ITServe’s Congressional effort, Indian American
Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi presented the High-Skilled Immigration Reform for Employment (HIRE) Act.
The legislation would boost US competitiveness by assisting in closing the skills gap – the difference between the abilities necessary for occupations that companies need to fill and the skills possessed by existing prospective workers.
It would help to close the skills gap by increasing funding for US elementary and secondary school STEM education programs, as well as doubling the number of H-1B visas available annually from 65,000 to 130,000, allowing American employers, including those in critical technology sectors, to attract the best talent from around the world.
“Creating jobs and building the economy of the future requires us to lead the way in technology by developing our domestic workforce while drawing the best talent from around the world,” said Congressman Krishnamoorthi.
“The United States has a large skills gap – the availability of workers versus the openings for IT talent.” The HIRE Act focuses on closing this gap through high-skilled immigration and financing for local STEM talent development.
“Those include H-1B visa holders. We’ve had the same maximum of 65,000 individuals for 33 years, and it has to be increased. It should be doubled. That is what we propose as part of the higher act. “I’m excited to work with ITServe,” he stated.