H1 B - do we really need this?

H1 B visa.. aahh, the name inspires many a dream among people all over the world.  H1B is a work permit which allows an employer to fill a position in his company, with a foreign worker.

The H1B visa is also seen by many an aspirant as the first step towards a green card.  The H1B program comes with a quota (65000) as of now, it was (195000) earlier.  There are also other types of work permits called L1 - which is only meant for transfer of professionals from some other country to USA within the same company.  Unfortunately, the quota is filled up, sooner than you think leading to uncertainty and can lead to unfilled positions which can hurt the growth of several companies leading to hurting the economy.  However there have been calls for scrapping the H1b visa for various reasons including abuse of visa, and lack of availability.  While these are true to some extent, there is also one more aspect to it, and that would be a points system mainly used in queen countries, which does not give the employer his whims and fancies to fire an employee, leaving him high and dry.  One category that is most affected is the International student community, which depends heavily on getting an H1 B visa, as they have a maximum of one year on their practical training, this leaves the community at the mercy of those companies (the so called third party consultants) who exploit such candidates by charging money (visa fees), low pay, poor work culture, and little choice.  The US government came up with a  plan to save the students who graduate from American colleges, who, unfortunately graduate at a time when the H1B quota would be exhausted.  The duration on their Practical training was extended by another 18 months.  This is definitely a welcome relief for all those candidates.  The best part of this work permit is that these students are not at anyone's mercy and reduces the exploitation factor, and red tape to a great extent.  This gives the job seeker every right to choose the place where he wants to work.  There was also a talk of just 2 year work permits which would be unlimited in number and would give a lot of relief to employers and employees by giving flexibility and travel at short notice especially for short term assignments.  H1 B visa, should become an option on its way to being scrapped, as some innovative ideas can definitely avoid companies to exploit desperate job seekers