H1B visa and the the reformed H1B visa bill elaborated

Main features of H1B visa

1. a non-immigrant visa ,

2. companies are allowed to hire foreigners for employment for a period of upto 6 years ,

3. minimum salary for such visa holders is 60,000$ per year ,

4. such visa holders can also apply for permanent residency in US , and

5. they can also buy and sell property in US.

PURPOSE : This visa caters to companies to hire foreigners where suitable American employees are not available according to skill set required. 

Usage and Criticism :  Though the basic aim of this visa system  has been to support US workforce and provide high skilled job opportunities to foreigners which the local population are unable to do. But , with the passage of time it has become one of the major causes of unemployment in US.

This visa is used by companies to hire cheap labour from foreign countries. They utilize it as a replacement of American workers by foreign ones without compromising on skill set. Many a times American workers themselves train foreign workers in their own jobs and then get fired. 

So , overall , H1B visas are actually granted to companies and then are allocated to employees by the companies. The biggest recipients of H1B visas every year are global firms like IBM , Google , Microsoft , Accenture and Amazon and Indian firms like TCS , Cognizant , Wipro and HCL. 

The next article will cover the reformed bill and its implications.