House lawmakers work to replace the hated H-1B lottery

[OhioChick]

Employers who offer generous salaries will be first in line to hire foreign workers

May 17, 2016 3:01 AM PT

Two U.S. House lawmakers are involved in a bipartisan effort to change how H-1B visas are allocated, moving away from a random lottery and using salary offers instead.

The legislation by Reps. Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) and Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) has not yet been introduced. It's uncertain whether it will be put forward anytime soon or whether this effort to reach a bipartisan agreement will stick. While staffers have met to discuss the bill, and Issa has indicated support for a joint effort, it has little chance unless Issa is firmly behind it.

Issa and Lofgren have been critical of H-1B wage rates. When it was disclosed that Southern California Edison workers were training their replacements, Issa said the case "appears to be an example of precisely what the H-1B visa is not intended to be: a program to simply replace American workers en masse with cheap labor from overseas."

Lofgren has cited problems as well. "We can't have people coming in an undercutting the American educated workforce," she said at a hearing several years ago.

More: http://www.computerworld.com/article/3071016/h1b/lawmakers-work-to-replace-the-hated-h-1b-lottery.html

[AgerolanAmerican]

1. H1-Bs ought to be limited to one per thousand US workers

if a company wants more than that they're not really looking for American workers