About 163,000 H-1B applications were filed this year, far in excess of the 65,000 cap. The difference represents many Latin American professionals whose dreams of working in the United States will not pan out this year. One of the companies impacted by this shortsighted policy is Google. This is what Google has to say about the H-1B cap and its effect on the company:
As for Google, this year we submitted 300 H-1B applications, and we’re sorry to report that 90 hopefuls were denied. The yearly H-1B lottery continues to affect our employees and our business, which is why we continue to urge the U.S. government to increase the artificially low cap on these visas.
We realize that many people have strong views on the topic of immigration. Some commenters on our recent post on H-1Bs criticized Google for not hiring more Americans. Although we’re committed to hiring outstanding American candidates, Google hires employees based on skills and qualifications, not on nationality.
The irony of our policy is mind boggling — ‘bienvenido’ if you are a laborer that can survive the hike across the desert, but ‘adios’ if you are a highly skilled technology worker… it seems to me that the United States has really lost its way on many fronts. We are long overdue for a change in leadership.
