Date:03/04/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/04/03/stories/2006040302590100.htm

Back `H-1B fee paid by US cos funds scholarships'

Moumita Bakshi Chatterjee

Study says skilled foreign-born professionals essential for competitiveness of US companies

New Delhi , April 2

The H-1B visas for skilled workers hired in the US appear to have done some social good for its citizens too. According to a white paper by the National Foundation for American Policy (NFAP), the US firms have paid over $1 billion as `training and scholarship fee' for H-1B professionals hired by them in the last eight years. This, in turn, has funded the scholarship of over 40,000 students in the math and science streams.

"The fees US companies' pay for each H-1B professional hired have totalled more than $1 billion and funded 40,000 math and science scholarships, the participation of 75,000 middle and high school students in hands-on science programmes, and training for more than 55,000 US workers and professionals," claimed NFAP, a non-profit organisation focusing on public policy research on trade, immigration, education, and other issues of national importance.

Edge in S&T

The paper made a strong pitch for H-1Bs saying that while visas for skilled foreign-born professionals were essential for the competitiveness of US companies, the access to such talent had, in effect, helped maintain America's edge in science and technology.

"This demonstrates that Congress achieved its goal in 1998 of balancing increased access to skilled professionals with greater educational and training opportunities for US students and workers," it said.

The American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act (1998) had established the H-1B Non-immigrant Petitioner Account funded by a $500 fee on each new petition (and the first renewal of H-1B status) for H-1Bs sponsored by US companies.

The Congress increased the fee to $1,000 in 2000. The L-1 Visa and H-1B Visa Reform Act passed in November 2004, raised the training and scholarship fee again to $1,500.

Funding scholarships

The legislation also adjusted the allocation of the fees towards the National Science Foundation scholarships for US undergraduate and graduate students in science and math, the Department of Labour training programmes for US workers, the National Science Foundation for K-12 math and science programmes, the Department of Homeland Security for processing, and the Department of Labour for processing.

Employers, with the exception of universities, primary and secondary schools, and non-profit research institutes, are required to pay the fee when they first hire an H-1B professional and again the first time they renew that individual's H-1B status in the US.

H1B cap

With the exception of FY 2001-2003, the H-1B cap has been reached before the end of every fiscal year since 1996.

In FY 2006, the cap was reached six weeks prior to the start of the fiscal year.

The additional 20,000 exemption from the H-1B cap for those who graduated with an advanced degree from a US university was exhausted by January 2006.