Reduction in H1-B Visa Program Takes Effect

Indian software developers served a fundamental role in the boom period of the late 90s. Without able minds and bodies to work on demanding projects, the great strides in advancing the ubiquity of the Internet in North America would surely have been slower.

The United States government recognized the conditions of the labor market. It also was strongly lobbied by technology corporations. As a result, it progressively increased the highest cap on the number of technology workers allowed to enter the country on the temporary 6 year visa for skilled workers.

When the bubble crashed, the labor market became loose again. Consumer demand did not meet corporate expectations, resulting in a series of cost cutting measures. Virtually overnight, the rules of the game had changed.

While many technology workers suffered, Indian software developers felt the pinch more acutely. A large number of these developers had been brought to the United States by companies who engaged in the practice of "body shopping".

"Body shoppers" engaged in the lucrative practice of sourcing consultants on understaffed technology projects. These shops maintained an arsenal of workers skilled with the key skill sets, such as Java programming or Oracle database administration. When a company called, the Indian developer would be staffed on the project, to meet the impending deadline.

Thus, while highly skilled, the H1 had always been relegated to the fringe of the labor pool, by high visa status and his body shopping employer. When the demand fell inside of the company, the H1 was often the first to be removed from the project.

Now, the Indian developer, as a group, is receiving it's latest and greatest affront. On October 1, 2003, the United States the H1B visa cap back to 65,000 per year from 195,000.

Obviously this is creating some discomfort. In fact, it is larger corporations that are protesting the most vocally.

However, the end result is clearly a sign of the times within the software development industry. Offshore outsourcing is currently gathering steam, thanks to improved communications technology and increased comfort with the Internet. At the moment, there clearly is less of a demand for technology workers in North America, regardless of their visa status of national origin.

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