US visas pose 'pervasive problem'

[ChromeFoundry]

Source: The Times of India

IANS, Jun 25, 2010, 05.24pm IST

WASHINGTON: A day after India raised the issue of visas for Indian professionals and skilled workers, a senior US official acknowledged that visas posed an "appallingly pervasive problem" in science and technology cooperation.

"Visas have been an appallingly pervasive problem in science and technology cooperation," said Dr John P Holdren, advisor to the US president on science and technology, Thursday.

"We need to streamline visa procedures and we have made considerable achievements already in the Obama administration," Holdren said at the inauguration of first US-India Joint Commission on Science and Technology Cooperation.

Indian Minister of State for Science and Technology Prithviraj Chavan, who is leading the Indian team, said the coming together of the US and India, one a very large economy and the other poised to become one, would have great bearing on the future.



Read more: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/tech/careers/job-trends/US-visas-pose-pervasive-problem/articleshow/6091169.cms

[OhioChick]

1. With our economy in the shitter and unemployment so high here...

Why the hell is India even raising the issue of visas?

[ramapo]

2. Because our politicians want to solve their jobless problem

I could rant for hours about the absurdity of allowing foreign workers to take American jobs while millions of us languish but what would be the point.

[HockeyMom]

3. I tell so many stories of the IT field

and this issue. How many people's jobs have been offshored to those having to train Indian workers and then getting pink slips after they trained them. And moronic people worry able illegals picking TOMATOES?

[hayu_lol]

4. Nancy Reagan finally got something right when she said:

"Just Say NO" to H1B and related visas. Send them all home at once.

We do have the pros waiting to take back the jobs that belong here. Let India develop it's own jobs and plants THERE.

[amandabeech]

5. I care about all U.S. jobs and all U.S. jobless.

The Indians are being absolutely ridiculous and our politicians are showing their corruption.

I wouldn't be the least bit unhappy if the H-1B were reduced to 1/100th of its current size.

[Vincent441]

7. illegals do more than pick tomatoes

[izquierdista]

6. Give all the H1-B visas you want

But since this is an "import", the buyer of the import (otherwise known as the employer) should have to pay a duty for buying exotic foreign goods, instead of being patriotic. I would say that 300% would be a reasonable duty.

[activa8tr]

8. I can go along with that, maybe 100% would be enough.

But 300% sounds more fair. In essence, it would make the importation of of folks who have equal skills to Americans have, (or could have with another year of employer-paid training)still more expensive.

But then we might see Microsoft open a software center in Delhi, instead of Detroit.

When it comes to the visa thing, it's hard to know if letting in a few thousand will save an American based industry.