IT's all over, US now wants teachers

New Delhi: The share of H1B visas for IT professionals is declining fast as these visas are now being applied very, very widely to a new breed of professionals like teachers, doctors and state government administrators. Still IT sector accounts for about two-thirds of all H1B workers.

According to Lois Wise, an immigration expert who studies in-sourcing of short-term specialised workers into the US.

"IT was the reason for the development of the permit, but the visas are now very, very widely applied in many occupational groups including teachers, doctors and state government administrators. The share of IT has been declining steadily," she claims.

"The great majority of workers hired on H1B visas are between the ages of 25 and 34 years. Within the IT industry, there exists a taste for discrimination that favours young people and also favours international employees," PTI quoted her as saying.

The H1B non-immigrant visa allows a US company to employ a foreign individual for up to six years. However, the programme is designed to be used for staff in 'speciality occupations', which require a high-degree of specialised knowledge.

As applying for a non-immigration visa is quicker than applying for a Green Card, staff required on long-term assignment in the US are often brought in using the H1B visa.

According to Lois Wise, teachers are a significant labour pool for H1Bs. "State requiring bilingual education or funding English language proficiency programmes address the shortages by insourcing foreign teachers. Education, in general, is a fast growing occupational group for H1B users," she points out.

Texas, for instance, is the biggest user of H1Bs for this purpose, with 5,000-6,000 people hired in that state alone. "There is a shortage of maths and science teachers around the country. H-1B workers are being recruited to fill this need," the study added.

Highlighting the high number of foreign doctors and nurses working in many hospitals, Wise said: "Some research hospitals would collapse without the H-1B visa. Some of the reasons for hiring foreign doctors and nurses include locations in undesirable areas and wages that are not at the top of the scale."

(With PTI inputs)