US Senate votes for curbs on H-1B hiring

US president Obama seems to have at least partially succeeded in his plans to save jobs for Americans. The senate on Friday voted for imposing strict restrictions on American companies receiving federal bailout money from hiring people with H-1B visas.

The move, coming on the back of US technology major IBM planning to relocate some of its US employees in India and other growth regions, could come as a severe blow to Indian IT professionals.

Although a diluted version of the amendments to the pending US stimulus bill, which seeks to restrict the hiring of foreign workers, the bill passed by the Senate through a voice vote on Friday could effectively keep thousands of foreign workers out of US establishments.

While the original amendment had called for a blanket ban on H-1B hiring by companies that have received money under the Troubled Assets Relief Programme (TRAP), the modified amendment requires such a company to operate as an ''H-1B dependent company."

This would mean that the employer attests to actively recruiting American workers; not displacing American workers with H-1B visa holders; and not replacing laid-off American workers with foreign workers.

These companies would also have to ensure that they hire only American workers for limited vacancies.

The amendments were co-sponsored by Republican senator from Iowa, Chuck Grassley, and independent senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders.

The measure, however, is expected to put the clock back for several years, reviving protectionism and further delaying an agreement on the Doha Round of world trade negotiations.