Washington, Feb 07: Opposing restrictions on hiring H1B visa holders, India-born international economist Jagdish Bhagwati has argued that the provision will deprive the US of the best global talent which comes in the form of highly trained and talented people.
"The people whom you`re hiring from India and from, you know, China and from -- the top universities, they`re the smart lot, they`re not really substitutes for guys who can`t get jobs," Bhagwati argued during at a conference organised by the prestigious Council on Foreign Relations (CFR).
"In terms of broader considerations like the people who are coming in on H1B visas -- they`re frequently highly trained and talented people and... a lot of our progress and prosperity depend on having such people," Bhagwati, Professor of Economics at the Columbia University said.
The US Senate has voted for an amendment that requires that a company receiving Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TARP) funds and applying for workers under the H-1B process must operate as an "H-1B dependent company."
This means that the companies must comply with the H-1B dependent employer rules which include attesting to actively recruiting American workers; not displacing American workers with H-1B visa holders; and not replacing laid off American workers with foreign workers.
Bureau Report
