Who Gets H-1B Visas? Check Out This List

Criticism by federal legislators is mounting against Indian outsourcing firms that use the H-1B visa foreign worker program to staff their U.S. operations. Critics claim that the Indian firms skirt regulations and use the visas to train workers in the U.S. to facilitate moving jobs offshore. A government list obtained by InformationWeek of the top 200 companies receiving H-1B visas for foreign workers last year reveals that five of the top 10 were Indian outsourcers. The complete list of 200, however, shows a mix of foreign companies, U.S. technology vendors, and American universities. Microsoft is number three on the list, IBM number eight, and Oracle USA number nine. The New York City Public School system ranks twenty-second on the list, with 642 H-1B visas received last year. Earlier this week, U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.) and Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), both members of the Senate Judiciary Committee Subcommittee on Immigration, sent letters to the CEOs of nine Indian firms asking for details about how they use their H-1B visas. The companies, including Infosys, Satyam, Tata Consultancy Services, and Wipro, are among the top users of the visas. Last year, the nine Indian firms collectively were issued 19,512 of the 65,000 H-1B visas granted, according to the list. (In addition to the 65,000 granted annually, the U.S. also issues H-1B visas to 20,000 foreign students who received advanced degrees from U.S. universities.) As of press time, none of the nine Indian companies has responded to the Durbin-Grassley letters, according to a Durbin spokesman. However, a statement by the National Association of Software and Services Companies, an organization that represents Indian IT firms, defended the practice: "The Indian IT industry and NASSCOM do not see this as an immigration-related issue but one related to international trade, and would urge that work permits and intra-company transfers should not be intermingled and confused with immigration. Work permits are primarily a tool for facilitating trade and allow global companies to bring key staff to the US on temporary assignments, just as US staff often travel across the world for temporary assignments and this is clearly different from immigration." Although H-1B visas are most frequently used to employ foreign-born technology workers, it's important to note that the visas also are used to hire professionals in other occupations, including nurses and other health-care workers, university professors, lawyers, engineers, and architects.

The Top 200 H-1B Employers Of 2006 (1 - 100)
Rank	Company	No. of visas
1	INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES LIMITED	4908
2	WIPRO LIMITED	4002
3	MICROSOFT CORPORATION	3117
4	TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES LIMITED	3046
5	SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES LTD	2880
6	COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS U S CORP	2226
7	PATNI COMPUTER SYSTEMS INC	1391
8	IBM CORPORATION	1130
9	ORACLE USA INC	1022
10	LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH LIMITED	947
11	HCL AMERICA INC	910
12	DELOITTE & TOUCHE LLP	890
13	CISCO SYSTEMS INC	828
14	INTEL CORP	828
15	I-FLEX SOLUTIONS INC	817
16	ERNST & YOUNG LLP	774
17	TECH MAHINDRA AMERICAS INC	770
18	MOTOROLA INC	760
19	MPHASIS CORPORATION	751
20	DELOITTE CONSULTING LLP	665
21	LANCESOFT INC	645
22	NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS	642
23	ACCENTURE LLP	637
24	JPMORGAN CHASE & CO	632
25	POLARIS SOFTWARE LAB INDIA LTD	611
26	COVANSYS CORPORATION	611
27	PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS LLP	591
28	QUALCOMM INCORPORATED	533
29	GOLDMAN SACHS & CO	529
30	KPMG LLP	476
31	MARLABS INC	475
32	UNIV OF MICHIGAN	437
33	UNIV OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO	434
34	UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA	432
35	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIV MED INSTS	432
36	SYNTEL CONSULTING INC	416
37	CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS INC	413
38	BEARINGPOINT INC	413
39	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	404
40	KEANE INC	386
41	HTC GLOBAL SERVICES INC	382
42	IGATE MASTECH INC AN IGATE COMPANY	378
43	HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES INC	362
44	CAPITAL ONE SERVICES INC	362
45	COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY	355
46	LEHMAN BROTHERS INC	352
47	YAHOO INC	347
48	US TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES LLC	339
49	INTELLIGROUP INC	336
50	HEWLETT PACKARD CO	333
51	RAPIDIGM INC	330
52	MERRILL LYNCH & CO INC	329
53	GOOGLE INC	328
54	CITIBANK N A	322
55	DIS NATIONAL INSTS OF HEALTH DHHS	322
56	YALE UNIVERSITY	316
57	NOKIA INC	314
58	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS INC	313
59	CAPGEMINI U S LLC	309
60	HARVARD UNIVERSITY	308
61	EMC CORPORATION	305
62	SUN MICROSYSTEMS INC	303
63	RITE AID CORPORATION	301
64	BLOOMBERG	298
65	GENERAL ELECTRIC COMPANY	292
66	AMGEN INC	289
67	MCKINSEY & COMPANY INC US	286
68	MORGAN STANLEY	285
69	STANFORD UNIVERSITY	279
70	WASHINGTON UNIV IN ST LOUIS	278
71	VERIZON DATA SVCS INC	276
72	NYC-HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER	276
73	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH	275
74	INDIANA UNIVERSITY	273
75	OHIO STATE UNIV	271
76	EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP INC	269
77	UNIV OF MINNESOTA	269
78	AMTEX SYSTEMS INC	268
79	UW MADISON	268
80	STATE UNIV OF NY AT STONY BROOK	262
81	AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES INC	262
82	CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION	256
83	DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT	255
84	UNIV OF CA DAVIS	254
85	NORTHWESTERN UNIV	251
86	SYNTEL INC	250
87	UNIV OF MISSOURI COLUMBIA	247
88	GLOBALCYNEX INC	247
89	KANBAY INCORPORATED	246
90	AMERICAN SOLUTIONS INC	242
91	UNIV OF FLORIDA INTL CENTER	240
92	UCLA	239
93	DUKE UNIV UNIV MED CTR & AFFIL INS	238
94	MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER	236
95	BANK OF AMERICA N A	236
96	SOFTWARE RESEARCH GROUP INC	234
97	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	234
98	MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL	232
99	CIBER INC	232
100	VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS LTD	230

Continue on to the 2nd half of the list (101 - 200)

The Top 200 H-1B Employers Of 2006 (101 - 200)
Rank	Company	No. of visas
101	EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS INC	226
102	VOLT TECHNICAL RESOURCES LLC	224
103	OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY	223
104	COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP INC	222
105	US TECH SOLUTIONS INC	221
106	SYMANTEC CORP	220
107	JSMN INTERNATIONAL INC	218
108	UBS AG	216
109	CVS PHARMACY	213
110	THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY	213
111	UNIV OF WASHINGTON	213
112	NORTEL NETWORKS INC	212
113	UNIV OF CA SAN FRANCISCO	211
114	UNIVERSITY OF MA MEDICAL SCHOOL	210
115	SPRINT UNITED MANAGEMENT COMPANY	209
116	HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRIC	209
117	PURDUE UNIV	208
118	GLOBAL CONSULTANTS INC	207
119	EMORY UNIVERSITY	207
120	UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER	207
121	UNIV OF COLORADO	207
122	VANDERBILT UNIV	205
123	OBJECTWIN TECHNOLOGY INC	205
124	DIASPARK INC	204
125	HSBC BANK USA N A	203
126	EBUSINESS APPLICATION SOLUTIONS	203
127	BROADCOM CORP	203
128	PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY PUBLIC SCHS	203
129	MICRON TECHNOLOGY INC	202
130	COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS INC	198
131	TEXAS A&M UNIVERSITY	198
132	APPLIED MATERIALS INC	195
133	SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY CORP	194
134	UNIV OF IOWA	194
135	IBM GLOBAL SVCS IGS INDIA PVT LTD	194
136	DELOITTE TAX LLP	194
137	CUMMINS INC	193
138	ITECH US INC	191
139	COMPUWARE CORPORATION	189
140	INTL STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS OFFICE	186
141	UNIVERSITY OF CA SAN DIEGO	185
142	WALGREEN CO	184
143	HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE	184
144	USC	183
145	VISION SYSTEMS GROUP INC	182
146	T MOBILE USA INC	180
147	MULTIVISION INC	178
148	EDS ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS	177
149	MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECH	175
150	CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	174
151	CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV	173
152	UNC CHAPEL HILL	173
153	THE UNIV OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM	172
154	DEUTSCHE BANK AG	170
155	CATERPILLAR INC	170
156	HALLMARK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES INC	169
157	CYBERTHINK INC	169
158	CORPORATE COMPUTER SERVICES INC	167
159	ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES INC	167
160	MEGASOFT CONSULTANTS INC	166
161	ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS INC	165
162	FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR INC	163
163	UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER AT	163
164	FIRST TEK TECHNOLOGIES INC	161
165	MICHIGAN STATE UNIV	161
166	RESEARCH FDN OF THE STATE UNIV OF	160
167	COMSYS SERVICES LLC	160
168	VIRGINIA TECH	160
169	JUNIPER NETWORKS INC	160
170	THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	158
171	IOWA STATE UNIV	157
172	UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA	157
173	FEDEX CORPORATE SVCS INC	157
174	CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON LLC	156
175	BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB COMPANY	156
176	VERIZON SERVICES CORP	156
177	EBAY INC	155
178	AJILON LLC D B A AJILON CONSULTING	154
179	GENERAL MOTORS CORPORATION	153
180	CAMO TECHNOLOGIES INC	152
181	MARVELL SEMICONDUCTOR INC	151
182	CMC AMERICAS INC	150
183	THE UNIV OF TEXAS M D ANDERSON CAN	149
184	NVIDIA CORPORATION	149
185	AT&T SERVICES INC	147
186	WEILL MED COLLEGE OF CORNELL UNIV	146
187	AXIOM SYSTEMS INC	146
188	WAYNE STATE UNIV	146
189	MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER	146
190	NC STATE UNIV	146
191	GENENTECH INC	146
192	MAKRO TECHNOLOGIES INC	145
193	SVAM INTERNATIONAL INC	144
194	MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER	143
195	NUTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS	143
196	XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES INC	143
197	AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING INC	143
198	LOUISIANA STATE UNIV	142
199	FANNIE MAE	141
200	MINDTREE CONSULTING PVT LTD	141