All posts tagged: stimulus

Stimulus contains visa restrictions

Just when you thought the quota, the lottery system, the very expensive application costs, and the uber-confusing legal procedures made getting an H-1B visa difficult enough—now there’s more. The recently-passed economic stimulus bill now contains restrictions aimed at deterring companies that receive bailout money from hiring H-1B workers.  Bottom line: it’s going to take a hell of a lot more luck for non-Americans to get a job here. As the country’s unemployment rate steadily increases, the government is becoming more and more protective of its national workforce, and, as a result, more wary of foreign workers.  In fact, the initial proposal, by Senators Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), planned to bar companies that receive bailout funds from hiring any H-1B workers.  The current amendment is a little softer—it just makes it very difficult to hire them.  Supporters of the bill insist that, with the current plethora of laid-off workers, companies should be able to easily find the kind of talent they’d find in foreign workers.  Opponents, however, like the American Immigration Lawyers Association …