H-1B Foreign Workers: Better Tracking Needed to Help Determine H-1B Program's Effects on U.S. Workforce
Highlights
The continuing use of H-1B visas, which allow employers to fill specialty occupations with highly skilled foreign workers, has been a contentious issue between U.S. workers and employers during the recent economic downturn. The H- 1B program is of particular concern to these groups because employment has substantially decreased within information technology occupations, for which employers often requested H-1B workers. In light of these concerns, GAO sought to determine (1) what major occupational categories H- 1B beneficiaries were approved to fill and what is known about H-1B petition approvals and U.S. citizen employment from 2000-2002; (2) what factors affect employers' decisions about the employment of H-1B workers and U.S. workers; and (3) what is known about H-1B workers' entries, departures, and changes in visa status.
Recommendations
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| United States Immigration and Customs Enforcement | To provide better information on H-1B workers and their status changes, the Secretary of Homeland Security should take actions to ensure that information on prior visa status and occupations for permanent residents and other employment-related visa holders is consistently entered into their current tracking systems, and that such information becomes integrated with entry and departure information when planned tracking systems are complete. |
Closed – Implemented
With regard to the first part of GAO's recommendation, DHS officials in 2004 changed the standard operating procedures and trained staff to ensure that prior visa status and occupational information is consistently entered into the current system, the Computer Linked Application Information System 3 (CLAIMS 3). With regard to the second part of GAO's recommendation, DHS is in the early stages of its U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services Transformation Program. One specified objective is to provide for the person-centric collection, storage, and dissemination of information on applicants for immigration and citizenship--a comprehensive view of the history of an individual's interaction with DHS. This multi-year initiative is to be implemented in increments, with increment 4 (nonimmigrants, which includes the H-1B visa population) planned for fiscal year 2012, following increments 1 (citizenship), 2 (immigrants), and 3 (humanitarian entrants).
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| United States Citizenship and Immigration Services | In order to improve program management, the Secretary of Homeland Security should issue regulations that address the extent to which unemployed H-1B workers are allowed to remain in the United States while seeking other employment. |
Closed – Implemented
The agency drafted language to implement this recommendation. This is part of a larger regulatory package, however, that is currently being internally reviewed and developed in DHS. The title of the regulatory package is "Implementation of the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act of 2000, the Visa Waiver Permanent Program Act, and the American Competitiveness and Workplace Improvement Act of 1998." This regulatory package is included on DHS' unified agenda of regulatory actions, which indicates that the agency is working to finalize this regulatory package.
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