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Change Your Life! |
INS doled out far too many high-tech visas last year |
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News
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April 8, 2000
WASHINGTON, APR 7 (UNB/AP) - Auditors have concluded federal officials mistakenly doled out more visas for skilled foreign workers last year than the government previously estimated.
An analysis by KPMG Consulting determined the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service exceeded the congressionally mandated limit by 21,888 to 23,385 visas for the fiscal year ended Sept. 30.
INS, which discovered the over count last summer, told Congress several months ago the excess was expected to be between 10,000 and 20,000 visas, but probably nearer the lower end.
The H-1B visa category has proven extremely popular with computer companies and other high-tech interests in recent years as they've tried to address explosive job growth. Congress, which increased the visa allotment two years ago, is expected to act again this year to raise the category beyond its temporary 115,000 ceiling.
A congressional critic of the INS slammed the agency anew Thursday for the overcount.
"The taxpayers would be well-served by remedial math training for top managers at the INS," said Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, who chairs the House Judiciary immigration subcommittee. "It would cost less than hiring a big-name accounting firm every time the agency must count past 10."
Smith said the audit fell short of answering the key question: how the over issuance of visas occurred.
KPMG is working to determine how the error occurred and what fixes should be implemented, INS spokeswoman Eyeleen Schmidt said, adding those findings are several weeks away. The KMPG audit cost dlrs 670,000, INS says.
Agency officials have blamed the over count on a computer system miscommunication. While the four INS service centers that process H-1B visa applications monitor their internal processing figures, the numbers weren't properly conveyed to the main INS computer system that tracks the overall issuance of the visas.
The over count is yet another misstep for the beleaguered INS, which is trying to fend off congressional attempts to abolish the agency and replace it with separate bureaus to enforce the nation's immigration laws and dole out immigration benefits.
Meantime, INS is awaiting congressional action on several bills that would expand the H-1B visa program.
The White House has signaled it supports a "reasonable increase" in the program, which is permanently capped at 65,000 visas annually. Heeding the high-tech industry's complaints, Congress in 1998 temporarily boosted the visa category, which is due to revert to 65,000 after next year.
At a White House session with corporate executives Thursday, U.S. President BIll Clinton expressed support for raising the visa ceiling. "We will raise it and we should raise it because, first of all, immigration's good for our country, and secondly, these companies need to continue to grow," he said.
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