Report targets US banks’ applications for H1B visas

Outsourcing may be at risk after Associated Press (AP) came out with a controversial report saying that several major American banks sought permission to bring thousands of foreigners into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year.

AP reported having compiled the report after reviewing visa applications.

The dozen banks under the scanner are now receiving the biggest rescue packages, totalling more than $150 billion, and had requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists.

The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.

As the economic collapse worsened last year, with huge numbers of bank employees laid off, the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in the 2007 budget year to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.

These H1B visas allow temporary employment of foreign workers in specialised-skill and advanced-degree positions.

It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government only grants 85,000 such visas each year among all US employers.