Comments on: Dim outlook for H-1B changes in this Congress?

Adviser to key Republican politician and other fans of the controversial temporary worker visas say politics likely to get in the way of increasing the annual cap soon.

[JCPayne]

But the republicans said that they do the work that the Americans wont do..

[OnesilentKnight]

As a recent college graduate in a technical field I know that myself and many of my peers have struggled to find jobs in fields full of people working on H1-B visas, and I find it ludicrous that we need to import more people to do jobs that plenty of highly qualified Americans want. This is a crooked attempt by big tech firms to improve their bottom line at the expense of the American people...

[atici]

@OnesilentKnight: I think yours is quite a narrow minded perspective. I am a worker on H-1b visa myself and I admit that H-1b system is abused by some companies to hire cheaper labor. But this does not apply to all H-1b applicants by any means. It's also not true that there're plenty of americans who could do what every H-1b applicant applied to work for.

There're many highly talented immigrants who hold advanced degrees (esp PhDs) from top USA schools. USA universities have provided financial aid to most of these people. They represent part of USA's investment towards USA talent pool and therefore its economy. What would be a real waste is to just send them back to where they came from just because they were not born in USA. "Life, liberty and pursuit of happiness" without discrimination is a one of the founding ideals of USA and it's to the benefit of all USA people to provide opportunities to those people who are good at what they do.

I agree that there should be tighter controls against possible fraud and abuse which would also benefit the rightful applicants. However, claiming that H-1b works at the expense of American people is absurd.

There should be a way to reimplement H-1b so that most of the talent USA has raised stays in the country while those people who are hired as cheap work force effectively filtered out.

[igl00lgi]

I don't think OnesilentKnight was speaking of advanced degree holding H1B visa holders educated at US universities. You made your point, that I and many others agree with, however, I also whole heartedly agree with OnesilentKnight and the predicament that many US under graduate degree holders face with the importation of H1B by Indian companies to be farmed out as consultants.

[aka_tripleB]

OnesilentKnight's perspective might seem narrow minded, but it could actually be signs of a much larger issue. According the laws involving H-1B visas, visas are only to be issued IF there are no qualified US citizens to fill the position.

I am in the same boat as Knight, and finding incredibly hard to find a job. When companies use ambiguous states like, "we cannot hire you because you are not qualified for the job," it is easy for job seeker to get furious with the H-1B visa program. That statement can mean anything from "you applied to a job that is nowhere close to what you are actually qualified for," to "you know how to use Dreamweaver and we are looking for someone who knows how to use Ruby on Rails," or even "you are qualified, but we just do not want to hire you." Then as far as qualifications go, if any US citizen applies for a job, by definition of the law, it is suppose to go to the US citizen regardless of how much more qualified a foreign worker is.

If that was not bad enough, I have even received two letters that said the position was closed after I applied to it for the reason that there was no interest in the job. That statement is obviously a dishonest statement given the fact that I did apply for the jobs. When you factor in the point that US companies have gone from outsourcing to H-1B visas at about the same rate as the decline in the value US dollar, it does sound like companies are partaking in illegal activity.

[kjharris]

All I can say is that I believe that H-1b is mostly a way for U.S companies to bring in workers who will do the job for 50-60% of what American workers will. Most of these shortages are fictional. Why do I think this? One of my children is a professional in computer graphics/animation/digital compositing working for one of the larger large houses in southern California, and is very familiar with the job market in this field and the hiring practices of the major employers. There is no shortage of Americans trained in this area--it's just that companies are much happier when they can get equivalent skills for a substantially lower price. Note that I am not questioning the abilities of the workers from India(mainly) and China, just the adverse effect they have on the employment of Americans in the same field.

[Leroy_Jenkins]

How much money do Microsoft and Google spend annually on scholarships and grants to encourage Americans entering college to study Computer Science in exchange for a work commitment upon their graduation? How do they spend in that area relative to their expenditures to lobby Congress for H1B Visa increases? Ask your Congressional representative that question.

H1B will never be shut down, however, at the very least, Congress should make tech companies pay to play in the H1B pool. There should be a significant financial contribution made, proportionate to the extent that a company dips into H1B, to School Districts and educational institutions where that company's corporate headquarters are located.

[Leroy_Jenkins]

How much money do Microsoft and Google spend annually on scholarships and grants to encourage Americans entering college to study Computer Science in exchange for a work commitment upon their graduation? How do they spend in that area relative to their expenditures to lobby Congress for H1B Visa increases? Ask your Congressional representative that question.

H1B will never be shut down, however, at the very least, Congress should make tech companies pay to play in the H1B pool. There should be a significant financial contribution made, proportionate to the extent that a company dips into H1B, to School Districts and educational institutions where that company's corporate headquarters are located.

[bluerain44]

Right on, Leroy Jenkins.

These companies have stopped thinking of themselves as 'American' a long time ago, and with it, they don't have concern for the citizens of the U.S.

Continuing to use fees from the H1B program to fund retraining programs for Americans would be my choice...

[blueyes123]

Excellent idea! Give the country away for some income. All of us here legally would have to move out for the illegals and to ensure Gates et al maintain their wealth. Why pay Americans what the positions are worth when you can hire foreign nationals for half price and pocket the other half. Of course the big philanthropist Gates will contribute the money to his foundation for Africa. He like obama loves America!!

[lpnguyenn]

H1B is a way to sell out American for their own properity.
Where is that proposal to give free education of math and science majors for american students?
The funding must come from H1B fee and those who apply for those visas.

[unholyguy]

They are quite right to link raising the cap with immigration reform

Raise the cap, but allow H1B holders to freely seek employment elsewhere, even if it means they are unemployed for a reasonable length of time. Then watch this so called "demand" dry up as the effective indentured servitude is removed.

[califguy]

I agree that some companies exploit the H1B category, but you have to be kidding to be totally opposed to letting skilled guys from working here just because they aren't born in the US.
This is how globalization works. No boundaries for labour and no boundaries for customers.
And just like every other system, there are going to be issues here too.

[igl00lgi]

I would say that the point you and I disagree on is the definition of skilled. If they hold an advanced degree from a US university they should be allowed to stay and work with on an HIB Visa. If they are educated outside the US or do not hold an advanced degree they should not be allowed to participate in the H1B visa program. Education means everything in this country and H1B visa applicants should be held to no less of a standard.

[michael_o]

Score another point for sanity.

[pmfjoe]

@califguy

I am sure globalization has it's good points besides the loss of jobs. I mean some good point might include toxic toys, polluted pharmaceuticals, and of course foreign manufacturers learning how to make US designed goods so they can pirate them in their home countries. Did I miss anything? Well it will be so nice when the US citizen makes as much as a Chinese or Mexican citizen won't it? That is what globalization is all about isn't it spreading the wealth around. So in the end it destroys our quality of life (middle class American) the corporate executives who push it won't care they will have theirs.

[your_it]

Ban all H1B ,, Stop Importing Oil from middle east, Stop buying goods from China/India/Russia/Ikea .. Stop War in Iraq.. When it comes to taking from other country there is no limit? Do you know how much U.S import from other countries .. Just from china its $500 BILLION .. and good from india.. coffee.. tea.. vegetables.. rice..fuel..coal.. pulp..cotton..steel..cooper.. zinc.. textile..cars..chassis..leathers..books.. you name it..

[YankeePoodle]

Right thing to do on wrong grounds. Hispanic Caucus getting VETO over immigration policy. Say no to college graduates and Yes to school drop-outs. I am sure America is digging its way out of Success and Innovation.

Long Live Pelosi.

[AmericanITWorker]

Pelosi supports you foreign guys... Haven't you read her immigration report card?
http://grades.betterimmigration.com/testgrades.php3?District=CA08&VIPID=61
PS: an F is a better grade for bringing in more critical skills for "jobs that Americans won't do" (for the price that Bill Gates and Larry Ellison are willing to pay)

[ST111]

califguy and other 'globalization' = open border supporters

Sure all the other countries allow 'free movement of labor' into their sovereign borders. Try going to Mexico or Germany or India or japan & settle there - there systems are stacked against foreigners entering unless they are super-rich retirees.

Remember the USA is a constitutional republic governed by the express will of its citizens not a corporate office park for anyone to come & live. If the companies cannot find the talent here, they *should* move to where they can find it.

[go_getter007]

Dear All, think about how the demographics would look, if skilled immigration were restricted. The influx of illegal aliens (who, unlike H-1Bs, may not always be scientists, doctors, engineers, managers, nurses, pharmacists, teachers, techies etc.) will far outnumber that of skilled immigrants. In the not-so-long run, it can adversely affect this country's competitive advantage and social fabric (and hence quality of life).

GG_007

[chash360]

State Employment Offices only track unemployment by those collecting unemployment benefits. When those benefits run out you are no longer counted among the unemployed. These numbers filter up to the US Dept of Commerce, where they report these feel good numbers of low unemployment. There are out of work IT employees all over the place thanks to free trade agreements and offshore outsourcing. There should not be a single degree holding American that is not gainfully employed in their chosen field, and it should be relatively simple to look at the numbers of degree holding Americans coming out of our Universities, verses the numbers of jobs filled with them to see the huge descrepancy.
H1-B's and L1's are displacing American workers, and depressing those that remian by holding the wages down. This is big corperates way to break the laws of supply and demand, if the demand is really there but the supply is low the wages should go up to attract the talent. But by usage of H1-B's and L1's they can hold those wages steady and displace American workers. I have nothing against the actual workers who fill these positions, they do bring a level of diversity to the workforce that is valuable, but what they recieve as pay is not what they or the rest of the American workers are worth. From an Immigrants perspective its a valuable opportunity, from the Americans perspective its an insult to their profession. IT is an especially demanding field of constant education, no other field evolves as quickly or as much, and I truly believe that no University or degree program can actually keep pace with it. From what I have witnessed, most of the foriegn labor is being utilized as simple IT grunt work, that hardly requires a degree. H1-B's I feel should be limited to only distiguished foriegn individuals who are personally desired for Employment in the US, not general workers. L1's need to be eliminated altogether.

[dkristoff]

Business Week has published two articles in the last few months showing that 3 of the top 5 and 8 of the top 10 users of H-1B visas are Indian outsourcing firms, NOT American companies. I have written both of my senators about this abuse and have received only canned replies about general immigration issues. I have no problems with American companies hiring foreign workers if they can not find comparably skilled American workers, but it is the height of stupidity for America to allow in outsourcers to help reduce our job base.

Free trade is justified as an overall win-win between two countries. However, it is too often used to disguise a stupid disregard of our country's self-interest, or, worse, corrupt influence peddling by congresspeople taking foreign lobbyist money. We seem to forget that capitalist economic theory is based on competition between self-interested parties, not on one party giving away the store to benefit others.

U.S. management should remember that they are "overpaid" far more compared to their foreign counterparts than most tech workers . If they persist in the current trends, those jobs will eventually be gone too.

[lpnguyenn]

If those Indians are so smart I wonder why their country is still so impoverished?