Sharp drop in H-1B applicants

Sharp drop in H-1B applicants

10 Apr 2009, 0237 hrs IST, Sujit John & Mini Joseph Tejaswi, TNN

BANGALORE: The slump in demand for IT, combined with protectionist pressures in the US, has led to a dramatic decline in the demand for H-1B visas. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) has just announced it has received only 32,500 applications for H-1B visas — or about 50% of the available quota of 65,000 — during the five-day window that it had provided for. And since the quota is nowhere near being met, USCIS has said companies can continue filing these applications.

Just last year, it had received 1,31,800 applications — or twice the available quota — in the five days it accepted them. In 2007, the number of applications exceeded the quota on the first day the government began accepting them. H-1B visas have been used by companies to bring foreign workers into US mostly for IT work. In recent years, about 60% of the recipients of these visas have been Indians. Infosys, Wipro and Satyam together are said to have received 9,154 visas last year. The same for Microsoft was 1,037 and Intel 351.

The demand for these visas in last two years had encouraged many to call for an increase in the visa cap to at least 100,000. That move will now certainly falter. But it’s unlikely that the number of applications this year will fall short of 65,000, something that last happened 13 years ago. Navneet S Chugh, attorney in US-based The Chugh Firm, said he expects the quota to get filled by end of the year.

This year’s decline in demand for H-1Bs is seen to be on account of three reasons: one, the sharp decline in IT demand in the US; two, the preference to do the same work offshore, in locations like India, where it’s significantly cheaper; and three, the protectionist pressures in the US, which is pushing US companies to prefer Americans to do the same jobs.

Ineligible Bachelors: Indian Men Living in U.S. Strike Out

• Ineligible Bachelors: Indian Men Living in U.S. Strike Out
• 
  

April 6 (WSJ) 

Brides and Parents Back Home Get Picky as Economy Makes America Look Risky

By SHEFALI ANAND

Vikas Marwaha would normally be considered a good catch by Indian parents seeking a husband for their daughter. The 27-year-old software engineer earns $80,000 to $100,000 a year and comes from a family "of doctors and engineers," according to his profile on a matrimonial Web site.

But Mr. Marwaha works for a start-up Internet phone company in San Francisco. And because the U.S. economy is wobbly, that's a problem. Many Indian parents now are balking at sending their daughters to the U.S. to marry.

During a two-week wife-hunting trip to India in December, Mr. Marwaha interviewed 20 potential brides in 10 days. He says several parents asked him, "How has the recession impacted your job?" Mr. Marwaha says he assured them he hadn't been affected at all, but still he returned to the U.S. brideless.

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Indian parents used to think it a plus to marry off their daughters to Indian men living in wealthier countries, including the U.S. and Britain. But as India has grown more affluent in recent years, the demand for overseas Indian grooms has been fading. While India's economy is also slowing down, it is still growing, and layoffs aren't as widespread as in the West.

"Even if something happens, in India there's a comfort" that the woman's parents are around to help, says Murugavel Janakiraman, founder of the matrimonial Web site Bharatmatrimony.com. Favorable responses to overseas grooms registered on his site have declined by 20% in the past nine months, he says.

Rahul Tamrakar, 32, a full-time consultant for International Business Machines Corp. in Chicago, has been looking for a bride back home in India. But he says prospective in-laws were worried that "consultant" was a euphemism for "unemployed." One parent asked to see his tax returns. He refused, and the talks fell through. Now, "I'm trying to meet up [with] girls who are in the U.S. already," he says.

Some brides simply see India as more livable these days. As salaries have gone up there, Indian married couples are able to afford houses, and young women with jobs have money of their own. In contrast, in the U.S., "people have to even clean their own toilets," says Hasit Dave, 55, who runs the Klassic Match Marriage Bureau in Ahmedabad, a city in the western Indian state of Gujarat.

To be sure, some Indian brides, particularly those from modest backgrounds, still welcome foreign bridegrooms. But it's become a harder sale for women who see better prospects for themselves in India.

Anisha Seth, 26, has been looking for a groom for two years now. But she feels "jittery" about considering nonresident Indians as possible options.

Ms. Seth grew up in Lucknow, a medium-size town southeast of Delhi, but now works as a financial executive in Mumbai and lives alone in an apartment. Ms. Seth is part of a wave of Indian women who have, in recent years, started working and living away from their parents before marriage.

Ms. Seth says that if she were to move to the U.S. or to another developed country, she might not get a job quickly and would have to be dependent on her husband for a while. While she's open to the idea of giving up her independence, she worries that given the state of the U.S. economy, a groom based in America might not be earning enough to support her. For instance, Ms. Seth says she likes nice clothes and would like to have a flat-screen TV. "Is he really prepared to provide the kind of lifestyle that I have right now?" She expects a husband to earn more than she does.

SANDEEP GOHAD

Career-oriented Indian women, meanwhile, have grown concerned about their job prospects in the U.S. Sandeep Gohad, a Manchester, Conn., software consultant who's between jobs, got such questions during a two-month-long visit to his hometown of Pune, near Mumbai. He told bride candidates they would have a hard time getting a work visa in the U.S. And even if they did, finding jobs would be tough. He, too, came home single. An engineer or doctor "has absolutely no reason to go to the U.S.A. and work as a housewife," he says.

Even today, many Indian marriages are orchestrated by parents who plan everything from finding the spouse to the wedding ceremony. They often start by signing up with a marriage bureau or placing classified ads in Indian newspapers.

A recent ad listed under the heading Nonresident Indians read: Brahmin boy, very handsome, 27 years old and 178 centimeters tall (5 feet 10 inches), who has done his MBA and a bachelor's in computer science, working in New York, on an H-1B work visa, seeks a professionally qualified, very beautiful, tall girl.

Based on responses to the matrimonial ads and matches from marriage bureaus, parents of would-be grooms living in America -- sometimes in consultation with their sons -- short list the women. The prospective groom then visits India for one to three weeks, and if he chooses a woman -- and she agrees -- the marriage is set. He then returns to India after a few months for the wedding.

Until recently, overseas candidates would quickly elicit 10 to 15 responses from young women, says Smita Seth, 55, owner of Manpasand Marriage Bureau in Ahmedabad. But in the past few months, she has had to coax parents to even consider overseas grooms; they prefer men from their own towns instead.

Mr. Marwaha, the San Francisco software engineer, learned that the hard way. All meetings with potential brides were in the presence of the women's parents. The typical meeting started with the parents briefly interviewing Mr. Marwaha, primarily about his finances. Among the 20 or so women he met, the parents of half of them were reluctant to send their daughter to the U.S., either because they were worried Mr. Marwaha would lose his job or because they felt they couldn't verify his credentials. The other women just "didn't click" with him, he says.

Given the difficulty in finding matches for Indians abroad, some matchmakers are now charging them more. Mr. Dave of Klassic Match charges a minimum fee of $100, versus $50 for candidates living in India. He charges more for specific requirements. For instance, he says some overseas Indians want a bride who is smart, fluent in English, and "simultaneously, docile in the house." He says such women are now harder to find, so he bumps up his fees for some searches.

Some overseas Indians are throwing in the towel. Software engineer Abhishek Khaitan, 30, moved back to India in January after living in the U.S. since 2004. Mr. Khaitan, who is divorced, had been looking for a wife since the summer of 2008, to no avail. Mr. Khaitan has found a job in the south Indian city of Hyderabad and has been in touch with potential brides. "Things are working out, being here," he says.

Write to Shefali Anand at shefali.anand@wsj.com

US Recovery Is Far Off, Banks Are 'Basically Insolvent': Soros

US Recovery Is Far Off, Banks Are 'Basically Insolvent': Soros

By: Reuters | 06 Apr 2009 | 02:57 PM ET 

The U.S. economy is in for a "lasting slowdown" and could face a Japan-style period of relatively low growth coupled with high inflation, billionaire investor George Soros said on Monday.

Soros, speaking to Reuters Financial Television, also warned that rescuing U.S. banks could turn them into "zombies" that draw the lifeblood of the economy, prolonging the economic slowdown.

"I don't expect the U.S. economy to recover in the third or fourth quarter so I think we are in for a pretty lasting slowdown," Soros said, adding that in 2010 there might be "something" in terms of U.S. growth.

Soros' view contrasts with the majority of economists, who expect the U.S. economy to stop contracting in the third quarter and resume growing in the fourth quarter, according to the latest monthly poll of forecasts conducted by Reuters.

The recovery will look like "an inverted square root sign," Soros said. "You hit bottom and you automatically rebound some, but then you don't come out of it in a V-shape recovery or anything like that. You settle down—step down."

The healing of the banking system and housing markets is crucial to recovery. "The banking system, as a whole, is basically insolvent," Soros said.

What's more, the Treasury's Public-Private Investment Fund is going to work but it won't be enough to recapitalize the banks in a way that they are able to or willing to provide credit.

"What we have created now is a situation where the banks who will be able to earn their way out of a hole, but by doing that, they are going to weigh on the economy," he said. "Instead of stimulating the economy, they will draw the lifeblood, so to speak, of profits away from the real economy in order to keep themselves alive. This is the zombie bank situation."

The stress tests being conducted by Treasury could be a precursor to a more successful recapitalization of the banks, he added.

Soros, whose latest book, "The Crash of 2008 and What it Means," has made prescient calls during the current credit crisis.

Exactly one year ago, he told Reuters that global losses are likely to top $1 trillion from the credit crisis. To date, U.S. and European banks have recorded more than $700 billion in losses and write-downs, as of Feb. 5. 2009, according to Reuters data.

Soros also said the U.S. dollar is under selling pressure and may eventually be replaced as a world reserve currency, possibly by the IMF's Special Drawing Rights, a synthetic currency basket comprised of dollars, euros, yen and sterling.

"I think the dollar is now under question and I think the system will need to be reformed, so that the United States will be subject to the same discipline as is imposed on other countries," said Soros, whose famous bet against the British pound earned his Quantum Fund $1 billion in 1992. "Being the main issuer of international currency, we have been exempt and we have abused that because we have effectively consumed 6.5 percent more than we have produced. That is now coming to an end."

China recently proposed greater use of Special Drawing Rights, possibly as an eventual global reserve currency. "In the long run, having an international accounting unit rather than the dollar may, in fact, be to our advantage so we can't splurge—you know, it felt very good for 25 years but now we are paying a very heavy price," Soros said.

China will be the first country to emerge from recession, probably this year, and will spearhead global growth in 2010, Soros said. He said world policymakers are "actually beginning to catch up" with the crisis and efforts to fix structural problems in the financial system.

The system was "fundamentally flawed, and there is no returning to where we came from," he said.

Euro Zone Not in Danger

In Europe, he said the crisis provides an incentive for countries that use the euro to remain inside the monetary union, though countries on the periphery still face serious problems.

The euro has been "a tremendous advantage" to countries that use it, adding there's "no question of a weaker country dropping out," Soros said.

While additional resources for the International Monetary Fund will help it stabilize struggling Eastern Europe, he said the Baltic states still face "serious problems" and Ukraine is not far from default.

Widespread use of credit default swaps has worsened the risks for Europe, he said, though he added that Germany, the euro zone's biggest economy, is becoming more open to offering help. "Germany, which has been the most reserved about being the deep pocket of the rest of Europe, has recognized that it too has a responsibility toward the new member states."

Germany has been one of the most reluctant major economies to meet U.S. calls for more fiscal stimulus spending to boost the global economy and fight the financial crisis.

Copyright 2009 Reuters. Click for restrictions.

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Mass shootings in US since 1999 4 Apr 2009, 0139 hrs IST, AFP NEW YORK: A gunman went on a rampage in a civic center providing help to immigrants in Binghamton, New York, Friday, killing up to 13 people, in the second random mass shooting in the US in less than a week. There follows a list of some the worst mass shootings in the United States since the Columbine school massacre in 1999: -- Littleton, Colorado, April 1999. Two teenage boys shoot and kill 12 students and a teacher at Columbine High School before killing themselves. -- Atlanta, Georgia, July 1999. A stockmarket day trader goes on a day-long shooting rampage, killing 12 people including his wife and two children before taking his own life. -- Fort Worth, Texas, September 1999. A gunman opens fire at a prayer service, killing six people before committing suicide. -- Washington, October 2002. A series of sniper-style shootings, some carried out from the boot of a car, claims 10 lives, mostly in the Washington area. Many of the attacks were carried out with a semi-automatic assault rifle. -- Chicago, August 2003. A worker who was laid off shoots and kills six of his former co-workers with a semi-automatic pistol. The shooter had a lengthy arrest record, including for weapons offenses. -- Birchwood, Wisconsin, November 2004. A hunter opens fire with an SKS assault rifle, killing six other hunters and wounding two after an argument. -- Brookfield, Wisconsin, March 2005. A man fires 22 rounds during a church service, killing seven people. -- Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania, October 2006. A truck driver armed with two rifles, a semi-automatic handgun and 600 rounds of ammunition kills five schoolgirls execution-style in an Amish schoolhouse, and seriously wounds six others before shooting himself. -- Blacksburg, Virginia, April 2007. A student shoots 47 people at Virginia Tech, killing 32 before he commits suicide, in the deadliest mass shooting in the United States. -- Omaha, Nebraska, December 2007. Nine people are killed and five others injured after a 20-year-old shooter armed with a military-style assault rifle attacks shoppers in a mall. -- Carnation, Washington. December 2007. A woman and her boyfriend shoot dead six members of her family, including two children, ages three and six, on Christmas Eve, using large-caliber pistols. -- Chicago. February 2008. Six women are tied-up and shot at a suburban clothing store. Five of the women die. The gunman has not been found. -- DeKalb, Illinois. February 2008. A man opens fire in a lecture hall at Northern Illinois University, killing five students and wounding 16 before turning his weapon on himself. -- Alger, Washington. September 2008. A mentally ill man who had been released from jail a month earlier shoots eight people, killing six. -- Covina, California. December 2008. A man dressed in a Santa Claus suit opens fire at a family Christmas party at his ex-wife's home and then sets fire to the house. Nine people are killed in the home. The gunman later kills himself. -- Geneva County and Coffee County, Alabama. March 12 2009. In a shooting spree that tears through several towns, a 28-year-old out-of-work man kills 10 people, including his mother and a toddler. -- North Carolina. March 29, 2009. A heavily-armed gunman shoots dead eight people, many elderly and sick patients, in a North Carolina nursing home. -- Santa Clara, California, March 30, 2009. Six people are shot dead in an apparent murder-suicide at a home in an upscale Silicon Valley neighborhood. -- Binghamton, New York. April 3, 2009. Up to 13 people are killed as a gunman goes on a rampage at a civic center in the town of Binghamton.

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No wonder I have to work so hard!!!

One in 10 Americans gets help to buy food
Fri Apr 3, 2009 1:41am BST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A record 32.2 million people -- one in every 10 Americans -- received food stamps at the latest count, the government said on Thursday, a reflection of the recession now in its 16th month.

Food stamps, the major U.S. anti-hunger program, help poor people buy groceries. The average benefit was $112.82 per person in January.

The January figure marks the third time in five months that enrollment set a record.
"A weakened economy means that many more individuals are turning to SNAP/Food Stamps," said the Food Research and Action Center, an anti-hunger group, using the acronym for the renamed food stamp program, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.

The U.S. unemployment rate was 8.1 percent in February, the highest in 25 years. New claims for jobless benefits totaled 669,000 last week, the highest in 26 years, the government said on Thursday.

Food stamp enrollment rose in 46 of the 50 states during January as the national total rose by 580,000 people, or 1.3 percent, from December, when the previous record was set, said Agriculture Department figures.

Vermont, Alaska and South Dakota had increases of more than 5 percent. Texas had the largest enrollment, 2.984 million, down 65,000, followed by California at 2.545 million, up 43,000, and New York with 2.211 million, up 37,000.

"It is a very difficult time for low-income families and individuals and also a difficult time for the groups that serve them," said Valentine Breitbarth of Bread for the City, a group that works with poor families in Washington.

Food stamp benefits get a temporary 13 percent increase, beginning with this month, under the economic stimulus law signed by President Barack Obama. The increase equals $80 a month for a household of four.

Recent food stamp data
Month Enrollment
September 2008 31.587 million
October 2008 31.050 million
November 2008 31.097 million
December 2008 31.784 million
January 2009 32.205 million

(Reporting by Charles Abbott and Russ Blinch; editing by Jim Marshall)
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