Grassley seeks proof of jobs from H-1B applicants

WASHINGTON - One of the U.S. Senate's leading critics of the H-1B visa program, Sen. Grassley wants IT consulting companies that hire H-1B workers at third party client sites to prove that there is work waiting for them. Charles Grassley (R-Iowa), is asking immigration officials to toughen their demands for evidence from companies hiring visa workers. The timing of his request to the U.S. Citizen and Immigration Service (USCIS) is no accident or is Grassley's interest.

In a statement accompanying the release of his letter to Mayorkas, Grassley said, that "Employers need to be held accountable so that foreign workers are not flooding the market, depressing wages, and taking jobs from qualified Americans. About a year ago, Grassley released a USCIS study that found either evidence of fraud or other violations in one-out-five H-1B visa petitions . His letter to USCIS Director Alejandro Mayorkas, released Tuesday, also comes just prior to the start of the new fiscal year, Oct. 1 and the release of 66,700 H-1B visas petitions, a number well short of the cap, applied for since April 1, the start of the annual petition process. Asking the right questions and requesting the necessary documents will go a long way in getting out the fraud in the H-1B program." Five months after USCIS completed its fraud study, federal officials arrested about a dozen people and charged with fraud. The U.S. recently expanded the case ; the company is fighting the charges in federal court. One of the cases involved a New Jersey company, Visions System Group Inc. alleged to have set up shell offices in Grassley's home state. Grassley said in his letter that the USCIS should be asking, "companies up front for evidence that H-1B visa holders actually have a job awaiting them in the U.S.," and not end up being "benched," or unpaid until work is found.

In response, a USCIS official said Mayorkas has received the letter and will respond for it. Grassley is also seeking information on the progress the USCIS has made on a number of other issues addressed in the fraud report, including job duties that differ from those described in the petition and failure to pay prevailing wages. Grassley's letter to tougher steps comes at the same time that some immigration attorneys have complained of stepped up enforcement efforts this year, especially with request for more evidence to support a petition. Richard Durbin (D-Ill), have introduced legislation that would toughen the rules on H-1B program, and impose a number of restrictions , especially on Indian firms and their ability to use large numbers of visa holders without hiring a proportional number of U.S. workers. Grassley, along with U.S. Sen. The U.S. can issue up to 85,000 H-1B petitions under the cap, with 20,000 set aside for advance degree graduates of U.S. universities.

IT employment is down generally, and with it, demand for the visa.