labels: economy - general
IT''s share in H-1B visa declining, says studynews
25 May 2007

Mumbai: A dearth of information technology professionals, who were the main factor for introduction of the H-1B visa by the US, are gradually losing out their share of the temporary visa programme to teachers and doctors, a study on employment of short-term workers in the US reveals.

"IT was the reason for the development of the permit, but the visas are now very, very widely applied in many occupational groups including teachers, doctors and state government administrators. IT still has about two-thirds of all H-1B workers, but that share has been steadily declining," Lois Wise, an immigration expert said in his study `Insourcing of short-term specialised workers into the US,'' said.

She attributes the reason for such shift to the IT employers'' desire for young foreign workers.

"The great majority of workers hired on H-1B visas are between the ages of 25 and 34. Within the IT industry, there exists a taste for discrimination that favours young people and also favours international employees," she said in the study, posted on Indiana University''s website.

Teachers are a significant labour pool for H-1Bs. "State requiring bilingual education or funding English language proficiency programmes address the shortages by insourcing foreign teachers. Education, in general, is a fast growing occupational group for H-1B users." Texas is the biggest user of H-1Bs for this purpose, with five-to-six thousand people hired in that state alone.

"There is a shortage of maths and science teachers around the country. H-1B workers are being recruited to fill this need," the study added.


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IT''s share in H-1B visa declining, says study