We have information from an official of an Indian National Software Company (otherwise known as the NASSCOM). The official in question, upon having visited the US states that the Durbin-Grassely bill would probably NOT be presented at the hearing of the Congress, the way it stands right now.

The issues in question which were raised by this Durbin Grassely bill would now be made a part and package of the comprehensive immigrations reform bill, and this was introduced by a certain Senator by the name Charles Schumer. This bill is expected to be due for its hearing sometime early next year (2010). The Durbin-Grassley bill was introduced in 2009 (April) and it spoke of these issues –

A.     This bill requires every employer looking to hire a foreign national under the H1B visa, make initial efforts to fill in the position with an American employee. Employers are not just encouraged to refrain from hiring foreigners, but it is mandatory that no US employee could be displaced in order to hire a non American.

B.     This bill made it unlawful to post outright ads discriminating US workers from H1B visa holders (for instance ads saying ‘H1B only’).  Also, employers are not allowed to hire more H1B visa holders if the company already employs 50% or more H1B workers on its current payroll.

C.     So as to counter the possibilities of frauds, this bill allowed the US Government to probe into employer investigations and it gave a new dimension to the screening processes of candidates.  As an example, this bill allowed a government official to begin investigations without an apparent cause or complaint and without authorization from the Labour Secretary’s office.  The bill made it possible to review all H1B applications on the suspicion of frauds.  The bill allowed the US official to organize random audits of any organization that hired H1B workers, and organized yearly audits of all agencies hiring foreign nationals under the H1B program.