Grassley

In a letter made public today, Sen. Charles Grassley of Iowa addresses Microsoft's layoffs and asks CEO Steve Ballmer to give Americans preference over foreign guest workers brought to the country under the H-1B visa program.

"My point is that during a layoff, companies should not be retaining H-1B or other work visa program employees over qualified American workers," Grassley wrote. "Our immigration policy is not intended to harm the American workforce.  I encourage Microsoft to ensure that Americans are given priority in job retention.  Microsoft has a moral obligation to protect these American workers by putting them first during these difficult economic times."

Microsoft told Reuters that the company will respond directly to Grassley's letter. I've asked the company for comment, and I'll update this post depending on the response. Microsoft and Bill Gates have regularly lobbied for expansions of the visa program.

Ben Romano of the Seattle Times contacted a Seattle-area immigration lawyer, Cletus Weber, who said he knew of no law requiring Microsoft to give Americans such preference, adding that "arbitrarily laying off lawfully employed foreign workers first would subject these companies to potential legal liability under federal anti-discrimination laws."

Update, 8 p.m.: Here's the response from Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos:

“We made the difficult decisions on which jobs would be eliminated based on a detailed assessment of our current and future business opportunities.  The initial reductions we announced affect employees in a number of business units, and a significant number of the affected employees are foreign citizens working in this country on a visa.  We recognize the human impact that our workforce reduction has on every affected worker and their families.  For many of the employees here on a visa, being laid off means that they have to leave the country on very short notice, in many cases uprooting families and children.  We care about all our employees, so we are providing services and support to try to help every affected worker, whether they are U.S. workers or foreign nationals working in this country on a visa.”