Sens. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., and Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, have launched a probe into the use of temporary visas to hire foreign workers.
The senators are concerned with H1-B visas, which are given to foreign workers who have the equivalent of a bachelor’s degree and work in a specialtyoccupation.
The senators have criticized the program for taking jobs away from American workers, and said companies can hire visa holders for cheaper salaries than their U.S. counterparts.
“Our immigration policy should seek to complement our U.S. work force, not replace it,” Durbin said.
Through the probe, the senators are also looking into the issue of whether foreign companies are being used by companies specializing in offshore outsourcing. They contacted nine foreign firms who employ a significant number of H1-B visa holders to learn about their hiring practices and the salaries they pay.
Some of the senators’ concerns have made their way into the immigration bill being weighed by the Senate this week, which failed a test vote Thursday.
Under the bill, employers would have to pledge they tried to hire American workers before going after visa holders and they could not advertise for a job exclusively to visa holders. It also would ban firms from hiring H1-B workers if they employ more than 50 people and more than 50 percent are already visa holders.
Meanwhile, tech companies in the Washington area and elsewhere are calling for additional H1-B visas, saying they are unable to fill specialized technical positions without them.
“Employers basically go where the talent is,” said Peter Asaad, an attorney with the D.C.-based Immigration Solutions Group PLLC. “If employers can’t use foreign workers, they’ll ship jobs to one of their overseas plants.”
D.C.-based lawyer Patrick Shen, with immigration law firm Fragomen, said the visas often go to workers educated at U.S. universities who the country should want to retain rather than send to
competing countries.
Fragomen lawyer Cynthia Lange said it is more expensive for companies to hire H1-B visa holders than U.S. workers.
“We represent companies who work with the staffing organizations on a daily basis, and they try very hard not to hire foreign workers,” she said.
