Microsoft filing for fewer H1-B visas

As the US Citizenship and Immigration Services started accepting applications from Wednesday for the much sought-after H-1B work visas for professionals, software giant Microsoft said this year it is filing less petitions for work visas under this category.

This is primarily because of the current economic situation in the country, Microsoft said. “Given the economic downturn, we are filing substantially fewer H-1B applications than we filed last year,” Microsoft General Counsel Brad Smith wrote in a blog posting on microsoftissues.com.

Unlike previous years, Smith said a solid majority of Microsoft’s applications this year are for employees who are already working for Microsoft in the US, so that it can retain their talent and specialised skills in this country rather than risk losing them to a foreign competitor.

Observing that Microsoft would be creating several thousand new jobs this year, Smith said the software giant would hire majority of them from the US but would also hire talented professionals from overseas so as to remain competitive in the market.

“To succeed and continue adding jobs in the highly competitive global technology business, Microsoft and other US companies must be able to hire top talent wherever it is located,” he said.

Making a strong case for H-1B visa holders, Smith said, while the number of visa holders is very small compared to the US workforce, their contribution is huge. For example, last year 35 per cent of Microsoft’s patent applications in the US came from new inventions by visa and green card holders. The situation at other US technology leaders is probably very similar.

A recent study, he argued, found that for every H-1B position requested, US technology companies increase their employment by five new jobs.

He said importance of the high-skilled workers has not changed despite the dramatic changes in the economy.