'Desi'-kan's problem

Two Senator, the law makers in US, have raised concerns over the misuse of H1B visas by Indian IT giants. Many here believes that these are all 'political stunts' made by US representatives when their presidential election is round the corner. May be true. But before pointing fingers, lets try to find out what went wrong from our side.

1: For the available 65000 Visa for the year, approximately 150,000 petitions were received in just two days.

2: In 2006, 66.5% of H-1B Visas were granted to citizens of India. The trend is always on the raising.

3: Additional 20000 visas, reserved for students with advanced degree, were also closed and students who are finishing their study this year have to wait until 01 April 2008.

Many companies here use visas as a motivating tonic to show their employees. May be because of the limits on the # of visas, they are trying to grab the opportunity. Not to blame any side, the industry or the government.

When CEOs of Industries front-runners like Bill Gates and Larry Ellison appears before US Congress for a raise in the numbers, we should make sure that we are not misusing it.