Abuse of Visa Use for Outsourcers
One immigration scholar testified in front of the House of Representatives judiciary panel that a large number of outsourcing companies from India are taking advantage of Visas. This group has been the largest source of visas in recent years. The visas are intended to bring highly skilled foreign workers into the country; however, this is not what is happening. Loopholes in the program, the scholar, Ronil Hira, stated, allow these companies to bring in cheaper, foreign workers that do not have anything but ordinary skills who are able to substitute for American workers. According to the report, the five biggest outsourcing companies from 2007 through 2009 included companies Infosys, Wipro, Mahindra Satyam and Tata. Microsoft was the only company in the top five that has headquarters in the US. That amounts to 22,766 workers brought into the country on temporary visas.

H-1B Visa Fights
This hearing is not the first time these visas, known as H-1B work visas, have come under fire. The visas grant those who are foreign workers with at least a bachelor's degree to work in the country for up to three years. Many of them have been brought in as technology experts. Some American companies are requesting that there is an increase in the annual limit of 65,000 people on these temporary visas, believing it is too low to meet the needs for engineers and scientists. However, there is evidence of Indian workers coming into these positions from foreign sources to directly take the place of an American for a lower wage. One way around the debate, some claim, is instead to focus on giving permanent residence visas, known as green cards, to those foreign students who are graduating with advanced degrees in the areas of science and math from American universities.

Support For Change
There is support for this type of change in topic and a push for this type of green card to be made available soon. The Semiconductor Industry Association, which often represents many of the larger technology employers backs the move saying that thousands of foreign students get advanced degrees in the Us and cannot stay to work here. An official from the Citizenship and Immigration Services stated that fraud was found in about seven percent of all visa petitions, which is lower from the 21 percent occurring in 2008. Many companies have felt the heat directly when various foreign workers have taken the place of American workers due to the lower cost.

Misrepresentation Clear
In the hearing, some testified about their own personal experiences in this area showing how many of the Indians who do have H-1B visas in the country have misrepresentative their skills. In some cases, these people have stated they have the skills to manage very critical types of software but have no idea how to use it, and they are interacting with patient's lives as a result. In some cases, the threat is that some employers are using these types of visas to give away the knowledge of American citizens who otherwise would fill the positions.