The War on Geeks
Kerry Howley | November 2, 2007, 12:16pm
The H-1B Visa program allows U.S. employers to recruit skilled, college educated foreigners, but an arbitrary visa cap forces tens of thousands of educated workers with American job offers to take their skills elsewhere. The first day the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting 2007 applications for H-1B visas, it received 120,000 requests for the 65,000 available slots. Democrats led by Speaker Pelosi have been talking about increasing the supply of visas to ease a "talent crisis." The Republican response?
Last week Mr. Grassley, the Iowa Republican, slipped an amendment into a spending bill that would tax businesses that hire skilled immigrants an additional $3,500 per visa to a total of $5,000 each. According to the National Foundation for American Policy, this represents a $3.1 billion tax increase over five years on some of America's fastest growing companies.
YaleGlobal has more on the tech quota here, and Bill Gates argues for an infinite supply of H-1Bs here.
Gavin Peters | November 2, 2007, 1:16pm | #
Disclosure: I'm an H-1b foreign worker from Canada, living in the USA.
The H-1b cap has made hiring foreign nationals a total pain in the ass. Now, you have to apply in April to get an H-1b for October 1st, so you have to have a phenominally long lead time in order to get anyone inside the door. Previously, when the cap wasn't being hit until into the fiscal year, you could find some talented guy in, say, Paris on December day, and hire him and have him in your office sometime in February. A tolerable situation, if a bit slower and more expensive than hiring someone from Tucson (which it probably should be).
Now though, the dynamics are very different. It's difficult in practice to actually hire people from other first world countries. Our hypothetical Parisian programmer looking to move to Boston is not going to be happy when we tell him in December that sure we'd like to hire him, we'll do paperwork in April or May, and we'll get him at his desk on October 1st. By April, let alone October, he'll have another job. Why should he wait for us and put his life on hold?
On the other hand, another kind of business and employee is fine with this. There are consulting companies that operate basically as H-1b factories. They get H-1bs to bring foreign workers in from India or China, the developers come in, and basically find their own jobs as consultants, and go work at the company they found; giving a portion of their wages to the factor that holds the H-1b.
These guys, being from the third world, don't mind waiting for their kick at first world wages.
But but but... really skilled technical professionals are more commonly found in other rich countries! So hitting this cap the way that we are is actually hurting our ability to hire good talent into the USA.
Something should be done. Raising the cap so we don't run out is one idea, having an infinite number is another. Or, releasing the damn things every few weeks, with some auction to see which employer can get them is another.
Warty | November 2, 2007, 1:52pm | #
What is a fuckwit?
A "fuckwit" is a person who has consistently failed to obtain any degree of 'clue'.
This will often be in a technical sense, such as 'top posting' to usenet, quoting the entire text of a usenet post or email in your reply and adding a few words in response, or continually being a complete dickhead.
(Additional reference may be found on Dick Gaughan's site)
A fuckwit is often the cause of an id-iot interface error
Spammers are always fuckwits.
The term "fuckwit" may now be used quite easily in non-technical circles and probably applies just as equally to many people we meet in everyday life. Rude people, devoid of manners. Loud people, especially those who use their mobile telephone in totally inappropriate environments and only know two voice volumes ('silent' and 'shouting').
Many fuckwits drive buses. Actually, many fuckwits just 'drive' - badly.
However, not all drivers, of buses or otherwise, are fuckwits.
Fuckwits park on pavements and in disabled parking spaces when they are not entitled to do so.
Fuckwits always believe they have 'right of way'.
Fuckwits drop litter in the street.
Fuckwits only generally care about themselves and this is evident in their overall attitude toward everything and everyone else.
Fuckwits always know absolutely everything in the history of everythingness.
Fuckwits talk lots and listen little.
Fuckwits never allow evidence to prevent them continuing to be a fuckwit.
Fuckwits, basically, are fuckwits.
There is no cure.
You'll know when you meet a fuckwit.
Bill Gates | November 2, 2007, 5:06pm | #
Dennis wrote
"Part of the process for securing an H-1b visa is showing that the foreign employee will be paid a "prevailing wage;" i.e. that commonly paid to American employees in a similar position. If the employer tries to cut out the American employee by paying the foreign employee a cheaper salary, the employee will not qualify for an H-1B visa. Therefore, the likelihood of H-1B visas depressing the wages of skilled American workers is nil.?
It is amazing how someone like Dennis, who does not know squat about the H-1B program, can potificate about it with such authority.
I refer everyone to 8 USC 1182(n).
Yes, the as part of the H-1B process and employer must submit a labor condition application LCA giving the wage to be paid and the prevailing wage. Dennis got that much right -- and that's all.
In an LCA, the employer determines the prevailing wage. The employer can use nearly any source for the prevailing wage. While there are some limitations on sources, they are routinely ignored because (Dennis, pay close attention here) the law specifically limits the approval process of an LCA to checking the form is filled out correctly.
That's right Dennis, an employer can put anything down as the prevailing wage, use an invalid source (as many do) or simply invent one and the LCA will be approved.
As of last year, LCAs where the wage to be paid was lower than the prevailing wage were being approved.
As far as anyone going back to investigate bogus prevailing wage claims, the law specifically requires the personal approval of the Secretary of Labor for that. Something that has never happened.
In the computer industry employer prevailing wage claims on LCAs average $18,000 below the U.S. median for the same occupation and location. So Dennis, I hope you can begin see how employers can use the H-1B program to depress wages.
Your see Dennis, the H-1B statutes have been been written to allow employers to abuse the program with impunity.
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