US likely to tighten H-1B visa program

[OhioChick]

Source: itp.net/UAE

Monday, October 13, 2008

The US H-1B visa program is likely to face increased restrictions, following a report that suggested widespread abuse of the temporary US work visa scheme.

The internal report by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) found that as many as one in five H-1B visas are affected by fraud of technical violations.

Many technology companies rely on the H-1B visa scheme, which allows companies to employ foreign nationals on a temporary basis, to fill roles that require specialized or technical skills. The US awards 65,000 H-1B visas each year, with a further 20,000 visas reserved for foreign workers with US graduate level qualifications. The visas are predominantly taken by computing and engineering personnel.

Industry executives including Bill Gates have lobbied the government to increase the number of visas awarded, although the program has been criticized for giving jobs to foreign workers rather than to US citizens.

The USCIS report, released on Wednesday, found violations in 21% of 246 H-1B visa that were reviewed at random. Workers were frequently underpaid, or not paid when there was no work, and were also found to be working in other jobs than those they were hired for, including one worker who was employed in a launderette.


Read more: http://www.itp.net/news/534051-us-likely-to-tighten-h-1b-visa-program

---

About damn time that the U.S. tightens the H-1B visa program. I have no problem with bringing foreign talent into the U.S., however when you have so many American citizens in the IT field without jobs and the economy here in a downward spiral....it's time for corporations to hire at home first. I'm tired of hearing excuses that there is no talent here. There are many studies that prove otherwise. :thumbsup:

[lonestarnot]

1. Will there be a crackdown on corps advertising fictious jobs too?

Lying motherfuckers!

[OhioChick]

2. Let's hope....

Because there's a shitload of them out there.

[Azlady]

3. Well it is about time!

I hope they do away with the program completely. At least our voices are finally being heard, I'd love to be able to get a job in IT again without worry of having it taken from me by an H1B.
Thanks for the excellent post!

[Zuiderelle]

4. Maybe the economic downturn will have a positive effect on our technical job market.

Unfortunately, I think it will mean shipping more jobs to India, instead of bringing Indian citizens here on H-1Bs. And because of the economy, there are plenty of qualified Indian programmers out of work right now.

What's Obama's plan for limiting overseas outsourcing of technical jobs?

[OhioChick]

8. ........

"End Tax Breaks for Companies that Send Jobs Overseas: Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe that companies should not get billions of dollars in tax deductions for moving their operations overseas. Obama and Biden will also fight to ensure that public contracts are awarded to companies that are committed to American workers."

http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

[Zuiderelle]

28. I don't know if that actually addresses offshoring some work.

Moving operations overseas is a bit different than just subcontracting some of your work to offshore companies. At least, I would think so.

[Phred42]

5. It's about DAMNED TIME!

and these are here legally.

Next - get rid of those here illegally!

[lovuian]

6. Its about FREAKIN TIME ... the unemployment rate

skyrocketing is definitely going to be a factor

[Raster]

7. It is time for Congress to SEVERELY TIGHTEN the H-1B visa program.

It's only good for greedy American corporations, not American citizens. And I don't give a fuck what some obscure court ruling said in 1865, a corporation IS NOT A LIVING, BREATHING PERSON. It is time to change the legal definition of a corporation, adding new regulations to prevent their undue influence on American society and government.

[OhioChick]

9. Agreed. n/t

[antigop]

12. YES! n/t

[1776Forever]

10. Your comment is noted and appreciated but it is also the health care field that is suffering!

"About damn time that the U.S. tightens the H-1B visa program. I have no problem with bringing foreign talent into the U.S., however when you have so many American citizens in the IT field without jobs and the economy here in a downward spiral....it's time for corporations to hire at home first. I'm tired of hearing excuses that there is no talent here. There are many studies that prove otherwise." :thumbsup:

But it isn't just IT Field personnel - loads of non-English speaking health care workers are brought in for 3 months at a time when American citizens could be used if they would pay just a few dollars more. We have to start taking care of the citizens who want to work first and then bring in help if and when needed! Just think how my son who had Progressive MS and could hardly move and had seizures felt when he couldn't communicate with his "nurse" in the middle of the night! It could be you or your loved one next!

[OhioChick]

11. Duly noted...

However, if I don't have a job I won't have health care.

Foreign-born doctors fill gaps in health care system
http://www.knoxnews.com/news/2008/sep/28/foreign-born-doctors-fill-gaps-in-health-care/

[1776Forever]

14. We need to put more money into our own citizens Nursing & Doctor education!

Why this is not done is beyond me! It is time to stand up with our Nurses & Doctors and give them the help they need to succeed and graduate our own right here!

[blue97keet]

16. This is a patient safety issue

My 97 year old father was subjected to non-English speaking health care workers in a care facility, as if communicating with a very elderly person is'nt difficult enough even if you do speak the same language that they do. This is a patient safety issue here not a "cultural diversity" issue or something.

There is simply no excuse for an alphabet soup of temp visa work programs for every business special interest. Anybody who alleges a "mismatch" between needed and available skills is just covering up for gross resource mismanagement and discrimination in hiring.

[1776Forever]

22. I totally agree with you - it is a safety and ethical issue as well.

[Lost4words]

26. Kill the GD program!

it was a gift from clinton to his corporate masters, IMO!

8643

[antigop]

13. Let's hope they actually DO something and not just talk. Everyone please be on the lookout...

for updates on this.

Thanks for the post, OhioChick.

[pattmarty]

15. Hows 'bout doing away with it? Educate OUR citizens to fill.........

.........these jobs. And I don't want to hear any "you are a racist" or xenophobic bullshit either. Our people need proper education just to understand how they are getting fucked whenever they get a credit card or take out a "simple" car loan. Oh, and EXACTLY what I meant by "our people" is just that. I don't give a fuck if you or yours came from Ireland or Mexico, or if you're black, white or a weird shade of pink. Things are gonna change in this country after 2009 and it ain't just because Obama will be President. This is a time in our history kinda like the 30's or the 60's or even comparable to the 80's when shithead st ronnie was elected. The "old" way wasn't working and the citizens want a "new" way.

[blue97keet]

17. Our citizens are already educated to do these jobs,

just maybe not educated in how our own goverment is working against our interests.

[AlphaCentauri]

30. Probably not the brightest or smartest just the ones who can afford college

many countries where college education is free are exporting scientist, we can't match that when we discriminate against many smart kids who can't afford college

[OhioChick]

23. Our citizens are already educated to fill these jobs.

Corporations are looking for those on the cheap. You're right, we DO need change in this country! :thumbsup:

Study: There Is No Shortage of U.S. Engineers
http://www.eweek.com/c/a/IT-Management/Study-There-Is-No-Shortage-of-US-Engineers/

[NoodleyAppendage]

18. Here's an idea. Educate our citizens to do these jobs!!!!

An educated populace, particularly in the areas of science and engineering, are less likely to buy into the Xtian fascist bullshit that's been promulagated upon our populace. Imagine that! An American populace that understands that the Earth is not 6000 years old and material laws govern our evolution and world.

J

[OnionPatch]

19. Hurrah!! Hallelujah!!

Maybe they'll start being some more opportunities and better pay in my field of IT. I was afraid I was going to have to retrain a THIRD time and for what? It was starting to seem like there wasn't anything they couldn't outsource or bring in cheap labor to do. I already saw my work in the steel industry leave the country and had to retrain. I'm nearly 50 and was really not excited about changing careers again at this point in my life.

[Lifetimedem]

20. Exactly

These have been used fraudulently for years to depress US wages.


We have college educated engineers acting as managers in Radio Shack, then we hear the cry that our kids are not interested in the math and sciences, that we do not have enough engineers bla bla bla..

What they mean is we do not have educated engineers that will work for 12k a year.

[cascadiance]

21. Shut down the H-1B "body shops"... Expand the Green card propram if need be.

The key is that if there are skills that companies have that are TRULY not present in the American workforce, like multilingual skills along with certain technical skills, our companies should be willing to pay EXTRA for these employees. We don't need to allow any more "indentured servant" programs which keeps wages depressed.

Green cards give those hired the same rights to move jobs, etc. that American workers have, and should be encouraged over H-1B hires. Though even Green Cards don't provide them the right to vote. I'd far prefer that our American workforce also have the right to vote and organize into unions for representation, instead of us being underrepresented with so many of those in our workforce that don't have these rights.

[progressivebydesign]

24. About damn time! Gates is a hypocrite in pushing this!

Does anyone else see the hypocrisy in Gates? He pushes forcefully for this program because he says that the American workers aren't educated enough for the jobs... and he talks about improving education here..

THEN.. Microsoft is one of the biggest OUTSOURCER of bread-winner jobs to call centers and tech centers in other countries, so they can rake in even MORE Billions!! A smart guy like Gates should be able to comprehend that when you ship the fucking jobs overseas, the SCHOOL HERE suffer, as do the students. It's pretty hard for families to make sure their kids get a good education when they've lost their jobs.

If Bill Gates really cared about the education system here, as he claims, then he'd close down EVERY ONE of those offshore call centers and bring those damn jobs back here! The customer service and tech jobs are what kept many families afloat.. and were an ideal wage for a single parent, OR a family that wants to have someone stay home with the kids.

[Hannah Bell]

32. i wish more folks would pay attention to this kind of thing - what gates is actually DOING, rather

than the pr for his "philanthropy".

[OhioChick]

34. His "philanthropy"

Is hurting more than it's helping. People should read "Dark Cloud Over Good Works of Gates Foundation."

[ihavenobias]

25. K & R

[SahaleArm]

27. Are you willing to hand out unlimited green cards? n/t

[OhioChick]

29. I think that most programs need to be re-examined. n/t

[MrsBrady]

31. yes there is a problem here -- saw it first hand when i was in recruiting n/t

[ReadTomPaine]

33. Expect cheap labor conservatives to go berserk over any hint of curtailing the H-1B explosion...

It's taking gravy right out of their troughs.

[OhioChick]

36. You're absolutely right....McCain is all for opening those H-1B floodgates

More H-1B visas, McCain's top priority

http://specials.rediff.com/money/2008/may/23visa1.htm

[UndertheOcean]

35. Great , give foreign talent citizenship instead

so that they are not exploited

[OhioChick]

37. Better yet...

Hire current citizens that are out of work and after they're employed, bring in foreign help.

[UndertheOcean]

38. Ok, here is the deal , what if I need a Ph.D with experiance in Hybrid vehicles ASAP

and the only US people I get are B.Sc. holders with little experience. Should I hire one of them instead of the brilliant chinese Ph.D. with 20 journal publications in his field ?

I am talking about a real life situation here ....

[OhioChick]

39. Try MIT or Carnegie Mellon...

I have no doubt you'd find someone.

[Name removed]

40. Deleted sub-thread

Sub-thread removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

41. Why would you need one ASAP?

Do you make decisions about your products at the last minute? ("Hey kids, let's start making hybrids next week!")

You have time to advertise in the U.S. (sincerely, not with the intention of hiring a foreigner no matter what) and pay EXACTLY what you would pay a U.S. citizen or legal immigrant. If you aren't willing to pay an H1B visa holder exactly what you'd pay a U.S. citizen, then you are exploiting them.

[OhioChick]

42. Exactly and Well Said. n/t

[UndertheOcean]

43. Because we are a University , and we don't have the luxury

of waiting months till we "may" find someone , by then we would lose the grant.

But , even in the private sector , I know of of positions that needed a security clearance where the company had to wait 8 month till it found someone qualified enough.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

44. So if you ARE a university on grants, why are you applying for grants

for which you don't have the personnel?

Besides, academia is different. That's a worldwide job market in any case.

The question here is large, wealthy companies that are trying to get even wealthier by throwing Americans out of work and having them train their HB1 replacements, who will work for much less.

[UndertheOcean]

45. So , If we cancel the H1-B program and give green cards to foriegn talent

that will motivate those wealthy companies to only higher foreigners if there is a real need , since they will have to pay them exactly like a US citizen.

Everyone wins.

[UndertheOcean]

46. Thats the problem , no funding => no personnel ... The personnel can be assembled

only after the proposal is accepted and the funds come.

[Fumesucker]

50. Foreigners are going to have an easier time getting a security clearance than US citizens?

I've been through a couple of security clearances myself and I find that hard to believe..

My son in law has a higher clearance than I had and they investigated *me* and the rest of our family when he was under scrutiny.

[ChromeFoundry]

51. My secret clearance took over 2 months to process

They interviewed my family, neighbors, medical records, college professors and even went back to my High School. The process cost the taxpayers over $75K, and this was back in the mid-90s. It would be next to impossible to gain this depth of background check from a foreign national.

[UndertheOcean]

60. What , people here lost the ability to read and comprehend properly ?

revisit my post , carefully this time

[Fumesucker]

71. Here are your words verbatim...

But , even in the private sector , I know of of positions that needed a security clearance where the company had to wait 8 month till it found someone qualified enough.

You certainly imply that adding foreigners to the pool of potential applicants would have accelerated the hiring process for a position requiring a security clearance.

If that wasn't what what you meant then maybe you should express yourself a little more carefully and clearly.

[Azlady]

48. Why do you hate American workers??????

Man... sounds like you're on the side of McSame ???????

[Azlady]

47. All I know is I would LOVE to have one of my 4 jobs back

that I had to train H1b's and then got laid off from. What we do not realize is that many of H1B holders are slaves to their employers, it is NOT fair to them either. They need to go home, use their talents in their own country. We have endless trained, qualified, EDUCATED professional's out of jobs right now. Get them back in the workforce... including me and that will help the economy. Many States Unemployment funds are running dry!

[high density]

52. People like Senator Boxer are fighting that idea...

...of the people going back to their own country after getting their education here. She claims, like in some sort of cold war fashion, that this sort of "brain drain" hurts us. She wants to give them green cards instead!

http://boxer.senate.gov/news/releases/record.cfm?id=298804

Ensuring that the U.S. is competitive in technology means making sure that future innovators are putting their knowledge to work here, not competing against us abroad. The best way to do that is to offer greencards to those foreign graduates with career opportunities in the U.S. I am proud to work with Senator Gregg to help keep America’s economy at the forefront of technological innovation.

I emailed her about it, and her auto responder said she didn't respond to people that are outside of California. (I'm in Maine.) So the gist is that she can spend time and effort in drafting legislation that helps out foreign nationals who are being educated here, but she can't have a staffer responsed to a US citizen concerned about jobs.

[OhioChick]

53. Right, you are....

Lobbyists donating to Boxer's campaign:

Cisco
Intel
Comcast
Boeing
Viacom
Siemens
AT&T
Covad
Time Warner
Blue Cross Blue Shield
E*Trade
QualComm
T-Mobile
BellSouth
EBay
Genentech
MCI
Hewlett Packard
FedEx
SAP
National Semiconductor
Yahoo
SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP PAC FEDERAL
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
SONY
RAYTHEON COMPANY

http://www.campaignmoney.com/committee.asp?candidateid=S2CA00286&cycle=04&cnt=166&amt=604759&cname=Barbara+Boxer

This topic was discussed here not that long ago:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=3340830

[Azlady]

54. S U R P R I S E---------------- S U R P R I S E!!!!!

This type of CRAP needs to end!!!!!! Special interest up their BUTT & oozing out of their pockets!

[UndertheOcean]

62. I always loved Senator Boxer ! she never dissapoints

A real progressive

[OhioChick]

63. Screw the American worker

And bring in the foreign nationals! :woohoo:

Once again...Let's re-visit the lobbyists donating to Boxer:

Lobbyists donating to Boxer's campaign:

Cisco
Intel
Comcast
Boeing
Viacom
Siemens
AT&T
Covad
Time Warner
Blue Cross Blue Shield
E*Trade
QualComm
T-Mobile
BellSouth
EBay
Genentech
MCI
Hewlett Packard
FedEx
SAP
National Semiconductor
Yahoo
SILICON VALLEY LEADERSHIP PAC FEDERAL
MICROSOFT CORPORATION
SONY
RAYTHEON COMPANY

http://www.campaignmoney.com/committee.asp?candidateid=S2CA00286&cycle=04&cnt=166&amt=604759&cname=Barbara+Boxer

[UndertheOcean]

65. So you think Boxer is a right wing hack ?

there is no logic at all to her argument ?

[tabasco]

49. Finally, agfter eight years of republicans allowing corps all the foreign workers they wanted.

Republicans stand for outsourcing, free immigration, and most of all - CHEAP LABOR.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

55. Leave H1B's out of it - prosecute VISA FRAUD of all kinds

H1B's are NOT the issue, the issue is visa fraud - prosecute visa fraud of all kinds and leave the individual programs out of it.

[OhioChick]

56. Leave the H-1B's out of it?

In my field, they're driving down wages. I believe that's already been proven.

Research finds US H1B visa holders paid less

http://www.workpermit.com/news/2005_10_26/us/us_h1b_visa_holders_earn_less.htm

When the U.S. has so many tech workers out of jobs, H-1B's ARE an issue.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

58. and that is visa fraud

the purpose of an H1B visa is to bring specialized workers to the United States, when corporations are seeking and obtaining H1B visas for what are very often low level if not entry level positions that is visa fraud.

That isn't the fault of the existance of the H1B visa, that is the fault of criminal activity.

If you obtain an L1 visa for a US transfer for an "employee" you hired during his second year of univeristy and hasn't worked a day since then, that is visa fraud. This scam is increasingly common.

If you obtain a K1 visa to get married in the United States and then never see your "fiance" again, that is visa fraud.

If you obrain an EB5 visa and the only investment you ever make in the united states is a house and your only employee is a nanny, that is visa fraud.

If you obtain a J or M student visa and never show up for a day of classes, that is visa fraud.

[ChromeFoundry]

61. So in other words...

You have to look at the individual visa holder to determine if there is fraudulent activity. I think the prevail wage argument is a bunch of bullshit. If there can be found no citizen that can do the specialized duties of the job, and a visa is the only way to attain fulfillment of the position; The job's pay should greatly exceed the prevailing wage, yet 85% of the time the visa is holder is paid less. This is simple economics of supply-vs-demand, yet something in these visa programs smells foul.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

68. the largest issue is stupidity,

The first is the officials who are responsible for processing visas usually lack the skill or intelligence to maintain the lowest possible level of personal hygine and struggle with applications that are intended to be completely unintelligible. They need the skill to recognize when their being bullshitted. I am sure I could make a $15/Hour helpdesk position sound like nuclear physics to a moron - but there needs to be people in place who will kick my ass out the door when I tell them I can't find a helpdesk guy in the entire United States.

Unfortunately the older people are just incompetent or indifferent and the newer people are mostly wannabe fascists who fancy themselves to be fighting the war on terra and can’t be bothered with such trivialities.

[UndertheOcean]

64. Well said . n/t

[Azlady]

57. Tell me you are kidding!!

YES H1B's are the issue. I have trained FOUR (4) H1B's, then promptly lost all FOUR (4) jobs! There are endless IT workers out of jobs because of Corporations taking advantage of the laws! This indiviual program is T O A S T!
:grr: :grr:

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

59. and if it wasn't an H1B, it would have been an L1

and if not an L1 perhaps an O1 visa for "aliens of extrodinary skill"

An H1B is a stamp in a passport

Abolish H1B's and they will just be funneled through another channel, prosecute visa fraud harshly and the cost and risk will become to great.

[Azlady]

66. Not -

"aliens of extraordinary skill??"

Study Says H-1Bs Aren't the Best or Brightest

http://blogs.eweek.com/careers/content001/h1b_foreign_w...

[Name removed]

67. Deleted message

Message removed by moderator. Click here to review the message board rules.

[Azlady]

69. Dummy??? Dummy????

Back up your so-called facts bud, and stop with the name calling, it's naive and makes YOU look ignorant.

[UndertheOcean]

70. Just read the actual post before you post , then we can move to the next level