US starts Crackdown on Outsourcing Firms

Concerns about foreign companies that benefit from a visa program designed to make the U.S. more competitive are taking center stage in Washington, with two senators demanding explanations from overseas users of the system. Senators Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Richard Durbin (D-Ill.) on May 14 sent letters to nine foreign outsourcing companies requesting detailed information on how they use temporary work visas, known as H-1Bs, to bring foreign workers into the U.S. Read original article

Critics say outsourcing firms, including Infosys Technologies (INFY) and Wipro (WIT), are using the visas to replace U.S. employees with foreign workers, often cycling overseas staff through U.S. training programs before sending them back into jobs at home. The lawmakers are intent on probing whether those allegations are accurate. "Supporters claim the goal of the H-1B program is to help the American economy by allowing U.S. companies to hire needed foreign workers," Durbin said in a statement. "The reality is that too many H-1B visas are being used to facilitate the outsourcing of American jobs to other countries." Read more