VISA DUST-UP
A new U.S. visa controversy.
By Tom Leander

Asian companies looking to build their businesses in the United States have long complained that Washington imposes an unfair block by a miserly issuance of H1-B visas. But another, lesser-known type of visa has become the cause of complaints in the other direction, via American politicians who charge that Indian business process outsourcing (BPO) companies are abusing them.

On the surface, the complaints about the H1-B visa look valid. The current limit in a single year is 65,000, a quota that gets filled in a single day. But H1-B issuance is only part of the story. The real total of foreign employees admitted to the United States each year is close to 400,000, and most arrive on what is known as a ‘blanket’ L-1.

H1-B visas are issued only if a company can successfully show that it’s impossible to find a citizen to do the same job. These visas are coveted, because they allow entry into the country on a long-term basis and often lead to citizenship. In contrast, L-1s are issued to multinationals to fill specialized jobs on a temporary basis—often as part of a rotation program with U.S. employees. The understanding is that the foreign employees will return home after a defined, relatively short period.

There’s no cap on L-1s, and approval allows a company to bring in as many eligible foreign employees as it desires. Indian BPO companies are the most prevalent users of L-1s. In fiscal 2006, Tata Consultancy Services received 4,887 L-1s, and 3,601 in 2007. Some 14 of the top 20 companies granted the most L-1s are BPO companies.

“L-1s are the only way that companies in this profession can achieve their goals,” says Brandon Valvo, founder and managing director of Valvo and Associates, a firm specializing in immigration law in California. But he says that there’s a growing sense among U.S. businesses and labor unions that companies are abusing L-1s.

Senator Richard Durbin, an Illinois Democrat, launched a tirade against L-1s during last year’s immigration reform debate. “I find it hard to believe that any one company has that many individuals … legitimately being transferred in a year.” Crtics claim that some companies are using the L-1s to fill unskilled jobs that could be given to U.S. citizens.

In late December, the U.S. Department of State issued a directive saying that non-immigrant visas such as L-1s now require an extra hurdle for approval. Previously, blanket L-1s required no individual security clearance.

For their part, the BPO firms say they’re playing fair. “We always use each visa for the right objective,” says Eshan Joshi, head of global immigration and HR compliance at Infosys, the Indian BPO giant.

He also slammed the H1-B system as bad for American—as well as foreign—firms. “We hope that the U.S. lawmakers will appreciate the adverse impact ... on U.S. companies and take corrective action quickly,” he said.