Shibu Jose has placed ad after ad in area newspapers and on Web sites seeking tech-savvy workers for his Ellicott City software consulting company.
But the resumes he receives are thin. Too often, applicants lack fluency in the complex software-speak he needs to keep his business competitive.
So, like tens of thousands of employers nationwide, he seeks foreign talent through the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services' visa program for highly skilled professionals. And like his fellow employers, he waits.
The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service makes 65,000 such visas available each April. That's about half the allocation of five years ago, and for each of the past five years demand for the program, H-1B, has vastly outstripped supply.
This year, USCIS received 163,000 applications during the five days that began April 1. The visa allocation is for the start of the fiscal year in October. Because the agency has been inundated with requests, it will decide who receives the visas through a lottery, notifying applicants by June 2.
The random computer selection process leaves employers and workers in professional limbo, anxious to learn whether they will make the cut. Immigrant advocates and technology firms are clamoring for the government to raise its cap on such visas, saying American companies must import talent to stay competitive globally. Microsoft's Bill Gates, testifying before Congress last month, urged lawmakers to raise the visa limit.
But critics argue that the program displaces U.S.-born workers and keeps wages low. They maintain that technology companies have started to rely on foreigners, creating a disincentive for American students to study math and engineering to pursue high-tech professions.
For Jose, the H-1B debate is a question of simple business competition. Without the visas, his company cannot thrive, he said.
With 15 years of software engineering experience under his belt working for such giants as IBM and Lockheed Martin, Jose decided in 2006 to start his firm, Saxon Infotech Inc.
Seven of Jose's staff of 12 are from India or Sri Lanka, hired through the H-1B program. Jose said he has little choice but to cast a global net to find the brightest candidates in such a highly specialized field.
"The problem with this industry is that there are tons of computer languages; you cannot master everything," he said. "So companies are looking for particular experience. And the question becomes, `Where do I find these people?' This is the toughest part."
