Microsoft does not abandon the program H-1B

Before the crisis, Microsoft was the main lobbyist for increasing the number of H-1B visas issued for programmers who want to come to work in the United States. But the situation quickly changed. Now Microsoft itself is laying off 5,000 employees, and the unemployment rate in the States has reached a 16-year high. It would seem, where is there to think about programmers from Russia and India?

However, just a month ago, Microsoft confirmed its position on expanding the quota for issuing H1-B visas and published a corresponding application on the Obama administration website.

Critics of the program for the reception of foreign programmers publish open letters to the leadership of Microsoft, demanding to explain this paradox. Obviously, they cannot understand that even in conditions of high unemployment it is practically impossible to find normal programmers in America, and it is impossible to do without importing foreign workers. Microsoft confirms that it still cannot find specialists for key positions of leading programmers, software architects and project managers.
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Critics object that in fact Microsoft simply wants to save on salary, because similar foreign specialists are cheaper than American ones (for example, American C ++ programmers get $ 55 per hour, and similar specialists from Russia are ready to work cheaper). This is contrary to the rules of the H1-B program.

via BusinessWeek