Increase in H-1B quota sought to address shortage of highly skilled professionals in US

Increase in H-1B quota sought to address shortage of highly skilled professionals in US
Washington: An association of more than 2,100 small and mid-size IT companies in the US mostly owned and operated by Indian-Americans has urged lawmakers to double the H-1B quota from the current 65,000 to address the massive shortage of highly skilled workforce in the country.

The H-1B visa is a non-immigrant visa that allows US companies to employ foreign workers in speciality occupations that require theoretical or technical expertise.

Technology companies depend on it to hire tens of thousands of employees each year from countries like India and China. More than 240 members of the association named ITServe converged in the US capitol on Tuesday for the first-ever in-person Congressional advocacy day during which they plan to reach out to Congressmen and Senators to brief them about the massive shortage of highly skilled workforce in the US.

They said the shortage of highly skilled workforce is impacting their businesses and the American advantage in general.

In addition to increasing the number of H-1B visas from 65,000 currently to 130,000 per annum, ITServe is also urging lawmakers to increase the investment in STEM (Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics) education in the US to develop the required high-skilled force within the country.

Coinciding with the Congressional advocacy of ITServe, Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi on Tuesday introduced the High-Skilled Immigration Reform for Employment (HIRE) Act.

The act would strengthen US competitiveness by helping to close the skills gap – the space between the skills required for jobs that employers need to fill, and the skills possessed by current prospective employees.

It would help to close the skills gap by providing additional funding to strengthen US elementary and secondary school science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) education programmes while also doubling the number of H-1B visas available annually from 65,000 to 130,000 to allow American employers, including in critical technology sectors, to draw the best talent from around the world.

“Creating jobs and building the economy of the future requires us to lead the way in technology by developing our domestic workforce while drawing the best talent from around the world,” Krishnamoorthi said. “The US needs to maintain its leadership in technology and innovation,” Vinay Mahajan, ITServe Alliance president, said.