Labor & Employment Law

New Materials Tell Story of H-1B Visa Program

By James Parks

The nation’s guest worker system is flawed and needs to be reformed. But sometimes, it’s hard to find hard information about the extent of the program. The AFL-CIO Department for Professional Employees (DPE) has obtained copies of previously unavailable U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) reports on the controversial H-1B guest worker program.

The new materials are posted on DPE’s website in conjunction with the release of a new report on the ways employers “game” the H-1B visa system to lower wages and avoid unions.

Two sets of USCIS reports are available on the DPE website. One set, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Report of H-1B Petitions,” lays out the number of H-1B visas that were requested and actually granted, along with other details about the program.

The other set, “U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services: Characteristics of Specialty Occupation Workers (H-1B) Annual Report,” provides more detailed information about the countries of origin, occupations, educational levels and compensation of H-1B visa recipients. 

Each year, the USCIS submits reports to Congress providing detailed information on visa recipients and other persons granted nonimmigrant status in the U.S. These reports contain annually compiled information about the H-1B visa program.

Until now, the reports for 2006 through 2008 were unavailable to the public. DPE gained access to the reports through the assistance of Stan Sorscher, legislative director of Local 2001 of the Society of Professional Engineering Employees in Aerospace-IFPTE (SPEEA).

Full post as published by AFL-CIO NOW BLOG on December 18, 2009 (boomark / email).