Open source developers face H1-B visa puzzle

he controversial U.S. visa program puts paperwork and quotas between U.S.-based open source companies and international job seekers

By Jim Romeo, LinuxWorld.com, 08/20/07

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According to a July 2007 survey by Gartner Group of 225 U.S.-based organizations, 66% projected some level of increase in IT staff looking 12 months forward. This is up from 61% in 2006. The H1-B visa program, which allows U.S. firms to petition for workers from abroad, has been one avenue of meeting this demand. But the number of positions needing to be filled is seemingly way greater than the allowable quota imposed by Congress.

Speak to the open source community about the topic and you are likely to hear a mixed bag of comments about the H1-B program.

One comment is that the H-1B program is too prescribed. The quotas seem whimsical and aren’t tied to actual demand for that year. Plus, they give too much weight to objective data without looking at who that person is and what they can offer. Many very capable open source developers don’t have a college degree and the program does not easily accommodate them. In addition, the process is costly for an employer to petition for the visa, and also for the candidate to hire attorneys and consultants to insure that their application is proper.

H-1B visa petitions by U.S. firms began six months before the start of the Government’s 2007 fiscal year in October of 2006. This date fell on a Sunday. By noon on the following Tuesday, the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services had received more than 130,000 H1-B petitions for workers. That is more than two petitions for every available visa. Yes, you heard that right – in one day the quota was exceeded.

In the U.S. Government’s 2003 fiscal year, 195,000 H1-B visas were allowed, but the current number, 65,000, is closer to that imposed just before the dot-com boom at the turn of the new millennium.

One open source developer who commented on the program is now working in the United States on an H1-B visa. He wished to remain anonymous as he is gainfully employed as an open source developer and is working on his green card application.

“There’s a great concern over undocumented immigrants and we tend to get bundled together with that issue,” he says.

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