H-1B at 20: How the 'Tech Worker Visa' is Remaking IT
November 17, 2010, Computerworld

Twenty years ago, Congress created the H1-B visa program, which has provided technology companies access to skilled, foreign workers. In its two decades, the H1-B visa has become synonymous with the global IT industry.

However, the US Citizenship and Immigration Services is increasing its scrutiny of H-1B visa applications by asking for proof that the job for the visa worker is a real one. Requests can be extensive.

Marko C. Maglich, an attorney at White & Case LLP who specializes in labor, employment and immigration law, says petitions can be as thick as five inches, and hiring firms have to prove that there is indeed a bona fide company. "There is going to be more resistance now," he says.