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Are you a techie? US wants you!
Mangalorean.com - Mangalore,India
The US senate this week decided to shelve legislation on the
L-1 visas until later this year. This provides a strong
signal to offshore companies that the US will continue to
welcome imported tech skills.
It was believed that with the increase of 20,000 H1-B visas
this year, the pinch would be felt in the L-1 visa category,
which doesn't suffer from caps like H1-B and has a maximum
term of seven years compared to six of H1-B.
Though the delay in legislation is a shot in the arm for the
tech services industry here, the recent L-1 and H1-B Visa
Reform Act, 2005, takes care of certain perceived loopholes
in the L-1 laws.
What has actually happened is a marriage of security
provisions that target the abuses of the L-1 visas category
while keeping doors open for foreign technology
professionals. For instance, companies cannot any longer
place their L1-B visa employees at third party sites unless
they are under the control of their L-1 employer.
This will prevent essentially employment agencies
masquerading as tech companies from farming out their L-1
visa employees from site to site.
Henceforth, an L-1 visa holder can only work in services or
areas related to the specialised knowledge for which the L-1
visa was given in the first place. According to tech
immigration watchers, this move will prevent many companies
using their L-1 visa holders as "contract labour".
These moves are also designed to protect US jobs from being
ruthlessly taken away to cheaper foreign skills. According
to sources, a number of these provisions have been made
after spirited lobbying by some senior US lawmakers.
Chief among them is Tom Tancredo from Colorado, while
organisations like the AeA have been lobbying to keeping
America's doors open for skilled foreign labour.
-Times News Network
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