Indians not grabbing Americans' jobs: US Chamber

Washington, Aug 16: Amid the bitterness in India over the hike in US visa fees, corporate America has termed the statement that Indians grab most of the H-1B work visas and take away most jobs from Americans as a 'hyperbole' or an exaggeration.

"While some have expressed fears that H-1B professionals hired by Indian companies threaten the US workforce – or have expressed concern that Indian companies do not sponsor many of their employees for green cards – the actual numbers are such as to make any concerns overwrought, even if using a simplistic, zero-sum view of the labour market," US Chamber of Commerce said in its latest report.

"In FY 2009, Indian tech companies used 4,809 new H-1B visas, which equals to 0.003 per cent of the US civilian labour force, less than 1/100th of 1 per cent.

"Moreover, H-1B use by Indian companies has declined by 70 per cent between 2006 and 2009," the world's largest chamber with over three million members added.

Quoting the US Citizenship and Immigration Services, the report said the new H-1Bs used by Indian companies represented only about six per cent of total initial beneficiaries (new employment).

"When information technology services companies – whether Indian or non-Indian – perform work in the United States it is only because US companies believe such work makes their businesses more profitable," the chamber said, adding that US companies can hire more service providers if they
enable US businesses to concentrate on core functions and run more effectively.

OneIndia News