Microsoft announces workers lay off simultaneously calls for increased H1- B visas

Microsoft Corporation announced in July that it would dismiss 7,800 workers all around the world. The dismissal amount is 7 percent of the company’s worldwide workforce. It is taking the heat; the reason is that its decision of dismissing came at the time when the company is simultaneously asking for the increase number of H1-B visas to the US government. H1-B visa allows international workers in the area of expertise occupations to work and live in the US for the period of six years.

The USCIS can grant 65,000 H1-B visas every year under its current limits, Microsoft stood at third place in employing H1-B visa workers. The company has asked the government to pass I-Squared Act,2015, which would change the Act of Immigration and Nationality to allow  1,15,000 to 1,95,000 visas that can be granted every year.

Microsoft has removed around 1/5th of its company’s workforce, and it is claiming that it is suffering from the shortage of workers from their country and it should import much higher number of H1-B foreign workers. The Microsoft’s dismissals show that there is no shortage of qualified American workers who seeks STEM employment. 

The H1-B work visa has now become a profitable business model for bringing the cheap H1 –B workers in substitute for American workers. Most of this H1-B visa program is now being used to import overseas cheap workers by replacing the American workers as witnessed by Professor Ron Hira.

The qualification requirement for H1-B visa includes STEM professionals among the area of expertise occupations that are being covered; many of these visa holders work in some other occupations. Some of them which includes are education, health, law, business specialties, accounting, arts and theology. Fashion models are also coming to the US on the H1 –B visas.

The companies that dismiss employees while seeking H1-B visas at the same time comes under the criticism that they are higher less paid foreign worker in place of an American. However the employers need to submit a LCA  to the US Labour Department certifying that overseas workers will receive a salary that exceeds or meets the current wage.