'H-1B visa employees crucial to US business'

As IT companies in India and the US started filling petitions for the most coveted H-1B work visas, software giant Microsoft has stressed on importance of the visa in retaining America’s competitiveness and urged the US Senate to pass a bill pending before it in this regard. "While the vast majority of our US workforce is comprised of US workers, the individuals we employ in H-1B status— educated at some of the best universities in the US and around the world—are crucial to our business," said Brad Smith, general counsel & executive vice president, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft.