Thread: US firms brace for new squeeze on high-tech visas

US firms brace for new squeeze on high-tech visas
10 hours ago

WASHINGTON (AFP) — Facing another squeeze on a visa program for skilled workers, US business leaders are stepping up efforts to raise the limits, arguing that the nation is running short of the talent it needs to remain competitive.

A broad coalition of businesses, especially in the tech sector, are warning that the quota of 65,000 for the so-called H-1B visa program on April 1, is likely to be filled the first day submissions are accepted for the fiscal year starting October 1.

If that occurs, employers seeking to hire skilled foreigners will have to wait for next year's application to hire people in October 2009.

It would be the second year in a row that the limit will have been reached on the first day, and will prompt the US Citizenship and Immigration Services agency to resort again to a "lottery" to award these visas.

Robert Hoffman, vice president at software giant Oracle and head of the Compete America coalition, said the squeeze on these visas is hurting the ability of American companies to compete in the global marketplace.

"This is an arbitrary and outdated cap set in 1990," Hoffman told a gathering of business leaders and journalists in Washington this past week.

"For the second consecutive year, US companies and research institutions will be forced to put plans on hold as they wait for a random lottery to determine who gets to hire the scientists and engineers they need. It's no way to run a business, or a visa program."

Hoffman said a recent survey showed some 140,000 job openings for skilled positions among the Standard & Poor's 500 companies, the largest firms in the United States.

"It's not just a tech problem or an aerospace problem, it's a national problem," he said.

Other business leaders have blamed the cap and a backlog in other programs for permanent US residency for a shortage of computer scientists, engineers and other professionals, and argue that the inability to fill the jobs forces companies to outsource work overseas.

Yet lawmakers have been cool to increasing the quotas for H-1B visas at a time of rising unemployment.

Critics of the program argue that loopholes are being exploited by overseas firms, which send their nationals to the the US at low wages and deprive Americans of employment.

Data released by the government showed many of the biggest users of the program are technology firms located in India.

Ron Hira, a Rochester Institute of Technology professor who has been a harsh critic of the H-1B program, argues that it is abused by offshore firms that "recycle" workers to give them training in the US before outsourcing the work.

"The program does not require companies to look for Americans first," he said.

"Some people claim they want to bring in the 'best and brightest' but they bring in cheap labor, and it undercuts US workers' bargaining power and puts US companies that hire Americans at a competitive disadvantage."

Despite shortcomings in the program, some analysts argue the US is in danger of losing its competitive edge if it fails to take steps to attract and retain top professionals, many of whom come to the United States to study.

"America rose to economic prominence on the shoulders of the mostly highly skilled workforce in the world. However, during the last 30 years, skill levels in the US workforce have stagnated," says a report by Jacob Kierkegaard, a Danish H-1B visa holder and researcher at the Peterson Institute for International Economics.

"For America to regain its leadership in global talent, it must urgently reform its high-skilled immigration."

Launched in 1990, the H-1B visa program allows foreign scientists, engineers and technologists to be employed for up to six years, at the end of which they must obtain a permanent residency or return home. A large number come from Asia, especially India.

Microsoft chairman Bill Gates told Congress recently that US high-tech firms are forced to outsource jobs overseas because of immigration restrictions.

Gates argued that for each person hired on an H-1B visa, four additional employees are hired in the US in support positions.

Both supporters and critics of the program however agree that the prospect of a lottery for skilled workers is a flawed way to allocate the visas.

"Companies don't want to play the lottery. They want to figure out how to invest their resources," said Angelo Amador of the US Chamber of Commerce.

Kim Berry of the Programmers Guild, an association of IT professionals who claims US workers are hurt by the visa program, says it can be fixed with an alternative to the lottery.

"The guild advocates that priority be given to higher skilled H-1B candidates, and that US employers be given preference over foreign consulting firms," Berry said.

"These simple changes would provide a means for Microsoft and other US employers to have every H-1B that they submit on April 1, 2008 approved."
http://afp.google.com:80/article/ALeqM5 ... wu8mQOFkdA

Gates argued that for each person hired on an H-1B visa, four additional employees are hired in the US in support positions.

Frankly, Mr. Bill...I don't believe you nor a word you say regarding immigration/H-1B visas. You, Mr. Bill, are a big part of the problem we have in this country. Rich, arrogant, business elitists that would destroy our once great country for another dollar. Thomas Jefferson, over 200 years ago had you pegged perfectly, Mr. Bill when he said:
[color=darkred][i]“Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.â€

I would never believe a word Gates says again!

I wonder what the high-tech, over-qualified, unemployed worker out there thinks of the H1B, slave-wages, no benefits, mostly Indian, visa workers out there, hired by people that could care less about the American, and only think of their pockets being lined? Like the savings are passed on the us!! Fat chance....

There should be a site made out there on the internet for just these American workers in needs of jobs because they are displaced by unscrupulous Corporations. That way that idiot Gates, can look there first! He also would have to STOP lying.

Originally Posted by zeezil

Gates argued that for each person hired on an H-1B visa, four additional employees are hired in the US in support positions.

Frankly, Mr. Bill...I don't believe you nor a word you say regarding immigration/H-1B visas. You, Mr. Bill, are a big part of the problem we have in this country. Rich, arrogant, business elitists that would destroy our once great country for another dollar. Thomas Jefferson, over 200 years ago had you pegged perfectly, Mr. Bill when he said:
[color=darkred][i]“Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains.â€

Gates argued that for each person hired on an H-1B visa, four additional employees are hired in the US in support positions.

Yes, four illegal aliens are hired to pick their food, mow their lawn, take care of their kids, and build their house!!

As our economy is in recession and as skilled Americans are getting laid off and not getting rehired, there are FIVE pieces of legislation (that we know of) in Congress that seek to double and triple the H-1B visa cap, or worse yet, make the increases permanent:

1 - HR 5630: The Innovation Employment Act sponsored by Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.), would double the H-1B cap to 130,000 beginning in 2008 and would allow the cap to almost triple to 180,000 if the limit is reached in the preceding year. At the same time, it would potentially allow in many more foreigners, as the bill would exempt from that cap anyone who has received a master's or doctorate from a U.S. university in math, science, engineering, and other technology fields (STEM). It would also undermine the value of a U.S. education by allowing up to 20,000 additional H-1B visas to be allotted for people who obtained STEM degrees from institutions outside the United States.

2 - HR 5642: The Strengthening United States Technology And Innovation Now (SUSTAIN) Act, proposed by Lamar Smith (R-TX) and Eric Cantor (R-7th-Virginia), would triple the visa cap to 195,000 in 2008 and 2009. The bill also seeks to keep foreign graduate students in the fields of science and engineering from returning to their home countries.

3 - Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is calling for a bill that would make Rep. Smith's increases permanent.

4 - Sen. Judd Gregg (R-N.H.) announced a new amendment to expand the H-1B program. On March 12, 2008, Greg spoke on an amendment he intends to offer regarding H-1B visas. SUMMARY "i will have an amendment to expand the h-1b program... i expect that this amendment will be strongly supported by those who wish to expand our economy especially by advancing our leadership in the area of technology. and i would hope would be strongly supported by everybody." Also, last year, Gregg filed a bill (S 1351) that proposed raising the number to 150,000 in fiscal 2008.

5 - HR 5634: Sponsored by Rep. Patrick Kennedy [D-RI], Mar 13, 2008 "To exempt from numerical limitations any alien who has received a Ph.D. from an institution of higher education". Exemptions from the cap are given to all foreigners who have a PhD. There is no qualification as to the type of PhD as long as it was granted from is an institution of higher education. No specifics are given where the institution must be located, so it could be anywhere in the world. Nothing requires that the institutions be certified by an accrediting board so it's not clear what types of foreign schools would be acceptable for this exemption.

"This is an arbitrary and outdated cap set in 1990," Hoffman told a gathering of business leaders and journalists in Washington this past week.

There are alot of Americans qualified for those positions but the greedy companies want cheap labor. And alot of Americans have been laid off or cant find jobs because of the H1-B visa program.

Hoffman said there were 140,000 job openings for skilled positions among the Standard & Poor's 500 companies. NO ONE CAN CONVINCE ME THAT WE CANT FIND 140,000 AMERICANS TO FILL THOSE POSITIONS. Are these jobs advertised in local papers? Are they paying competitive wages? Why are so many Americans looking for these jobs but cant find them?

During the period of 1990 through 2008: 65,000 per year in H1-B visas X 18 years=1170000 people. This doesn't even mention the ones who came here illegally to get these jobs. WHY DO WE NEED MORE?!

H-1B (skilled, high tech), H-2A (agricultural) and H-2B (non-agricultural) temporary/seasonal worker visas are contributors to our illegal immigration problem. The government issues these visas with no mechanism to ensure that the recipients depart when their visa expires. Approximately 45% of illegal aliens in America are here because they have overstayed their visas and refuse to leave, greatly contributing to our illegal immigration problem.

Remember this: there is nothing more permanent than a temporary worker.

We should not be issuing any visas unless we ensure we have enforcement mechanisms in place to make sure the temporary workers depart and abide by the terms of the visa. And we should NEVER issue a work visa for any foreigner unless it has been proven that there are no American citizens or legal immigrants already here that can fill the position. The burden of this proof is on the business claiming the need to fill the position.

As you all will recall from last June/July when Sen. Sessions so eloquently fought back the latest serious amnesty attempt... he said something to the effect that "Americans don't have a problem with allowing people to immigrate here, what they want is a legal system - to ensure that people come here legally, according to the rules, etc..."

So, my position is: we can have a reasonable and honest discussion about this presumed need AFTER the current deficiencies about people overstaying visas and the misuse/abuse of work visas is properly addressed - but not until then. Allowing more people in under the current system all but guarantees a greater problem with illegal immigration later on.

In general, right now, I oppose the presumed increases - simply because the need is largely unproven. One simple thing that could be done today to help add integrity and do a more 'surgical fit' between foreign skilled workers+employers, is to only issue H-1Bs for Master and PhD level people.

You have the "Best and Brightest" here already pay them what they are worth!!