Fee for US H-1B visas may triple

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Fee for US tech visas may triple... see the article below.

Fee for US tech visas may triple
29th May 2007
By Rhonda Ascierto
http://www.cbronline.com/article_new...5-2CCDF0173D68

Enterprises may have to pay more than triple the cost of petition fees for work visas in the US with the passing last week of an amendment to an immigration reform bill in the US Senate.

The original amendment called for H-1B visa petition fees to increase from $1,500 to $8,500 per visa. The version that got passed in the Senate late last Thursday, however, was for an increase to $5,000 per visa.

The higher fee would apply to each new H-1B worker and H-1B visa renewal, as well as sponsorship of each H-1B non-immigrant that applies for permanent residency, which is known as a green card.

A coalition of US tech firms, which calls itself Compete America, said the amendment would further accelerate outsourcing and undermine the growth of the US economy.

It issued a statement calling the amendment "an outrageous and onerous tax increase on our nation's most innovative companies, and could make the H-1B program cost-prohibitive, especially for smaller businesses."

The IT sector contains about two thirds of all H-1B workers in the country, but there is an increasing demand for the permits in teaching, healthcare and state government administration, according to Lois Wise, a professor in the Indiana University school of public and environmental affairs.

The additional fee money being proposed would be spent to establish a new scholarship program for American students to study technology, mathematics and health care - areas where H-1B visas are most applied for. The fund would be run through the National Science Foundation and would be awarded, based on merit, to 65,000 students a year. The bill's author, independent senator Bernie Sanders, proposes that students who qualify get as much as $15,000 a year toward their associate, undergraduate or graduate degrees.

The current $1,500 H-1B fee goes to training and education programs for US workers.

The amendment, which was passed by a vote of 59 senators to 35, is part of a broader bill to raise the H-1B visa cap from 65,000 to 115,000, with a maximum of 180,000. Some large tech companies, including Microsoft and Sun, have criticized the proposed legislation as having restrictions that would crimp their ability to hire the talent they need.

However, some IT worker advocacy groups support the bill because they asset it makes it more difficult for firms to hire lower-paid talent from overseas in place of US-based workers.

Among the elements of contention in the proposed bill is a cap on visas for foreign students who earn advanced degrees from US universities.

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