Local group pushes for hike in foreign tech worker limits: AeA lobbies Congress to help fill positions.

The Los Angeles chapter of the American Electronics Association has taken an active role in trying to persuade federal lawmakers to increase the number of foreign workers allowed in high-tech jobs in the United States.

Employed with H-1B visas these workers have earned advanced degrees in fields needed by technology companies. These skills are often difficult to find in American workers.

The main problem is there aren't enough of the visas to go around.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services reached the 65,000 quota for fiscal year 2007 in May. Companies must wait until April before applying for the H-1B visas for fiscal year 2008.

"It's difficult for us," said Tim Jones, vice president of human resources with Ixia. "We are caught between a shortage of qualified workers and the quota."

The speed at which the visas are snatched up is why the AeA wants to see the number increased to 115,000 and why JoElla Lapiana, the executive director of the Los Angeles chapter, is reaching out to Southern California's congressional delegation to make its position known.

Lapiana and a group of executives from Los Angeles area companies using H-IB workers have met with Rep. Jane Harman and plan to meet with Rep. Henry Waxman, of Los Angeles, and Rep. Lois Capps, whose district includes part of Ventura County.

A response to a meeting request with Rep. Brad Sherman, whose district includes much of the San Fernando Valley, had not yet been received, Lapiana said.

In May, the Senate passed an immigration bill that included hiking the number of H-1B visas. The House version of the bill, however does not include the increase.

H-1B visas are good for six years and require the employer to show they attempted to fill vacant job positions with American workers and meet federal wage guidelines.

Time and money

The time and cost involved in hiring a foreign employee make it a decision that a company does not make lightly.

When working for Apex Voice Communications, Lapiana said she hired 25 workers under the H-1B visa program. At that time five years ago, the cost per employee could range from $3,500 to $5,000 just to get through the visa process, Lapiana said.

Ixia's Jones estimated that for the six year life of the visa, a company could shell out close to $20,000 for a foreign worker. Another $15,000 can be added in if that employee applies for a green card, he added.

Both Ixia and Fulcrum Microsystems, a Calabasas semiconductor company, use outside attorneys familiar with the complexities of the visa process and the requirements companies need to comply with.

Officials describe the process as lengthy and detail oriented but one that's necessary to find the best employees.

"When we find candidates that will qualify then we're definitely willing to go through the process because we know they will satisfy our expectations and meet our needs," Fulcrum human resources director Khalilah El-Amin said.

How companies go about getting their H-1B employees varies among companies.

Fulcrum goes after students pursuing advanced degrees and then converts their student visa status to the H-1B status.

Ixia also recruits on campuses, especially Caltech, but also prizes experience in the workers brought in to fill technical engineering positions. The company currently has 50 H-1B employees.

Diodes, Inc., a Westlake Village semiconductor supplier, finds its foreign workers through subsidiaries in China, Taiwan and Hong Kong and doesn't actively seek out foreign workers to come to its U.S. headquarters.

"We weigh the cost benefits of whatever we can do to get the job done," said Chief Financial Officer Carl Wertz.

However companies recruit foreign-born employees the reason they do so is the same--the inability to find the qualified candidates in the United States.

Fulcrum's job requirements and the level of expertise needed make it tough for the company to find employees.

Where it may take a company a month to fill a technology job, a similar position at Fulcrum may take three to four months, el-Amin said.

At Ixia, meeting the skill sets needed for the company's products can be tough and the company gets put in a difficult spot when another avenue to get qualified employees, such as the H-1B visas, is closed off, Jones said.

By MARK R. MADLER

Staff Reporter