U.S. Overwhelmed By H-1B Visa Requests

[OhioChick]

Source: Information Week

In a seven-day period, Citizenship and Immigration Services said it received nearly double the 85,000 visas that can be issued for fiscal 2009.

By Marianne Kolbasuk McGee
InformationWeek
April 14, 2008 11:00 AM


During the five-day window in April that the U.S. was accepting H-1B visa petitions, the government received 163,000 H-1B applications, nearly double the 85,000 visas that can be issued for fiscal 2009 starting Oct. 1.

Of the petitions received by U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, more than 31,200 were for the exempted category of foreign students with advanced degrees from U.S. schools. The annual cap on that exempted group is 20,000, while the annual cap on general H-1B visas is set at 65,000.

Although the preliminary number of 163,000 petitions filed this year from April 1 to April 7 exceeded the 133,000 that were filed last April, the figure isn't as high as some tech industry groups had expected. That's because last year USCIS received the 133,000 petitions in two days before it stopped accepting any more.

"There was speculation there would be more," said a spokesman for Compete America, a coalition of tech companies and educators lobbying Congress to raise the cap. Yet, "as expected, tens of thousands of highly educated professionals will lose the random lottery, and America's door will be shut to this talent," said Robert Hoffman, co-chair of Compete America and VP for government and public affairs at Oracle (NSDQ: ORCL) in a statement. "Congress must address this problem once and for all this year," he said.



Read more: http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/h1b/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=207200433

---

Snip~ "America's door will be shut to this talent," said Robert Hoffman, co-chair of Compete America and VP for government and public affairs"

Guess he didn't get the memo from Duke:

Study: There Is No Shortage of U.S. Engineers

http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Careers/Study-There-Is-No-Shortage-of-US-Engineers/

[babylonsister]

1. Our priorities are SO screwed up! nt

[musette_sf]

2. the REAL headline:

"U.S. Overwhelmed By Experienced, Knowledgeable Engineers Displaced By Unneeded, Incompetent Foreign Workers"

[1776Forever]

3. You said it! I have a high degree and having trouble finding jobs in FL......

so much for higher education - and I have excellent references!

[OhioChick]

4. You think it's tough in FL

Try OH.

[1776Forever]

11. I am from Ohio - moved here in 1989. Love Ohio - Will always be a part of me.......

Wish you the best! I know it will be awhile until people can get back on their feet there. I have 2 sons that have good jobs in Ohio but they were lucky and worked their way up in companies that decided to stay in Ohio thank goodness! I may still move back there some day!

:pals:

[Freddie Stubbs]

6. What evidence do you have that these foreign workers are incompetent?

:shrug:

[EnviroBat]

7. Perhaps the job interviews I conduct with them weekly.

I think one of the classes the are teaching is resume padding 101.

[OhioChick]

8. Those "Resume Padding 101" Classes

Have been taught for years. They're just lately getting more unbelievable.

[barnel]

30. i had to do tech screens

and at one firm, h-1b tech screens were 'double due dilligence', because of observed increased tendency to make false claims on resumes with h-1bs

[sudopod]

14. It isn't anything having to do with racial prejudices or nationalism

Believe me, there is nothing that pisses me off more than those sorts of attitudes, and if I were Chuck Norris I'd readjust them with my bare hands. ;)

However, the education systems in some other countries just don't prepare students for certain situations. Mind you, this applies to different countries in different ways. Indian students from high-end Indian universities are as sharp and creative as anyone here in the states. You'll find, however, that many (not all, certainly!) students educated in some countries, like mainland China for example, lack that "knack" for seeing how to solve unexpected challenges.

Let me make a disclaimer real quick: this is all from my own personal experience working with other engineers who have relayed their stories to me, or whose stories I have heard from colleagues. This is in no way the result of a scientific study, so feel free to take it with a grain of salt.

It goes back to how the educational system imparts knowledge to the students. The best teachers show students how to think creatively as well as how to utilize resources to fill in the gaps in their knowledge. That is, they teach students how to gain that special meta-knowledge of "knowing what they don't know," and how to go about fixing it. This, along with the standard instruction in how to vector calculus and solve differential and integral equations are the tools that a great engineer needs to do their job the best.

In places like the PRC, where there is a desperate need for trained engineers, there is more of an "assembly line" method of teaching employed. Students are taught how to solve a wide variety of classes of different problems, and then they are drilled on their knowledge. Thus, these students have a toolkit of methods with which to solve problems, and their degrees indicate their degree of mastery of these tools. There is a problem with this system, though, that presents itself when the student is presented with an unforseen challenge in their work. If a problem doesn't fit into one of the predefined classes with which they have experience, they can get stuck pretty badly. Many of you who have helped friends or children with their math homework may have encountered a similar form of this problem when working on "word problems" that break the rigid forms that the students practiced and drilled upon in earlier classes. These problems force students to separate the quantitative from the qualitative and apply their previous learning to a new situtation, and if they haven't been forced to do this beforehand, it can be very troublesome.

Questioning and free searching for new solutions aren't especially encouraged in some schools in some nations, either due to politics or tradition. Mind you, this difficulty is entirely artificial, and the sharp guys and gals figure out how to teach themselves. For many students coming from these learning environments, however, their method of training can prove to be a real handicap, especially if their employers and coworkers don't have the patience to show them the ropes.

That's just my view of the situation. What do the rest of you science/engineering nerd types think?

[fedupwithbush]

17. You got that right

My husband is an advanced design engineer. The company he works for is great. However they've been trying to find advanced design engineers for several years now. They can't afford to hire a lot of engineers who apply (the majority are from the east or west coast and won't accept the salary offered although it's great for this area), although they recently got one from California who was originally from our state. But they've had a lot of interviews and resumes from foreign students and they aren't "all that". The latest that actually got hired when my husband wasn't at work the day of the interview, wants to do a google search to find things out. He got hired as advanced design based on his resume. The two engineers who interviewed him were not advanced design, so he got hired. But my husband is also a supervisor, so this guy will get sent to production soon because he isn't qualified as an advanced design engineer. He can't think outside the box and doesn't know the software he said he knew on his resume.

[Gman]

5. No, the doors will be shut on slave wages for good talent

and business might be forced to pay going rate wages for equal domestic talent.

[HowHasItComeToThis]

9. NAMASTE

[shireen]

10. which fields are being abused?

I'm asking out of genuine curiosity to understand this problem better ...

For those with advanced degrees unable to find work, what fields are you in?
What kinds of lower to upper salary ranges are acceptable?
You don't have to discuss your specific circumstance, just talk about the situation in general terms or mention the problems faced by people you know. I just need to understand which fields are being subject to this abuse. Computer sciences seems an obvious one. Engineering too, but which types?

I've defended the H1-B visa program in the past, but clearly, I did not understand the scope of the problem and apologize to those I may have inadvertantly offended. Since then, I've tried to learn more about it, and am appalled by the abuse of the system. My job is in a very specialized field, and we continue to bring in foreign hires because there aren't enough US citizens applying for the jobs. As a result, I have not seen this abuse where I work, at a non-profit research institution.

I started on a H1 visa 18 years ago, and have felt very grateful for that opportunity to work in a field that I love, and to become part of a country that I've grown to love and would defend with my life. When I took the oath of allegiance during the citizenship swearing-in on August 2002, I meant every word of it (oh, ok ... except the "Under God" part!).

But it appears that things have changed a lot since I was on that visa. The thing that hurts about it, personally, is that this situation could exclude people who don't just want to work here, but also genuinely want to become a part of this country and work towards her greater good.

[superconnected]

12. Development, programing and support now. Even managment has been hit though.

They laid off the people here and gave all the jobs(exact same job) to the h1 visa people.

My job will disappear in September to them.

I'm a systems engineer. It can be done over seas. It can be done equally well here. Over seas labor is cheaper.

[shireen]

18. i'm really sorry to hear that!

That should be illegal!!!

Has anyone brought this up with your member of Congress?

Any company that resorts to such destructive "cost-saving" techniques deserves bad publicity. Any of them who lays-off a qualified citizen or permanent resident employee in favor of an H1-B employee that is paid less, or transfers the job overseas, belongs in a hall of shame. I wonder if such a website exists. It would be good to also post the salaries of their CEOs and top managers, after all, that's where the "savings" are going!

[aggiesal]

16. H-1B visas are for technical engineering positions, ...

But the law states that H-1B visa holder is suppose to get paid the prevailing wage. Tell when that happens.

Also, before the position can be offered to an H-1B visa holder, the position has to be advertised in the states
for that position. Only when the corporation can't find an engineer to meet the qualifications for the position
advertised, can the position be offered to the H-1B visa holder.

Unfortunately, there are law offices throughout the country that are showing the corporations loopholes on how
to bypass some of these requirements.

So the corporations end up advertising in some Podunk, Nebraska newspaper with a distribution of a few 100 maybe 1000's.
Or they advertise a position that no sane engineer could possibly qualify for, because no engineer can meet all the
requirements. Basically looking for a super-engineer.
And last but not least, the position is offered about 35% of the prevailing wage, knowing that no sane engineer would
accept such low pay.

[barnel]

28. that's only true for green card applications

an most green card applicanst are current H-1b visa holders

there's no advertising requirements for new H-1b AT ALL

more workers = lower prevailing wage - same economic laws that apply to corn prices

[aggiesal]

35. I'm not an expert, but this is what I've been told, ...

by people who do this for a living.

Either way, the US Engineer is getting screwed out of a job.
And if they get lucky enough to find one, they get screwed out
of pay.

BTW, welcome to DU.

Hope your future posts are as insightful as this one.

[fedupwithbush]

19. My husband is an electronics design engineer

And contrary to some posters, his company doesn't scrimp on the salary (unless you expect what you were paid on the east or west coast where you'd pay 300,000 or more for a decent home), plus they get excellent benefits, a large ($1000's) Christmas bonus and it's a small company still (only been around about 10+ years).

He has 2 degrees and went to school for awhile after those deciding whether to get a masters but ended by just taking some more advanced courses. He had to deal with a lot of foreign students as teachers assistants too, so when he went to computer lab to work on projects, he couldn't understand what they were saying and sometimes they stood in for professors (okay, a lot) and he had to tape record the lecture and listen to it multiple times to even understand what they were saying.

We've had discussions on that fact too. If you come here to get an education and are lucky enough to get a teachers assistant job, shouldn't you be able to speak well enough that your fellow students can understand what you are saying?

And before you criticize me for "English only", I'd say we both agree that if we were moving to a foreign country to work or go to school, we better be able to speak their language.

And I'd add something else too. They've interviewed a lot of engineers, not just from other countries, who just aren't up to par. They don't know how to think outside the box, so to speak, and also can't seem to do anything but work on a computer. They don't know how to sodder? (how can you make up prototypes and not know that?) or how to do board work. If it isn't on the computer, they don't seem to have been taught it.

[Sen. Walter Sobchak]

23. H1-B's are not the issue - visa fraud is the issue

The company I work for has H1-B's and these are people with knowledge who would have been impossible to find in America outside of maybe a few dozen professors and they sure as hell aren't cheap.

[nbcouch]

13. There's no shortage of demand

for cheap, exploitable labor, nor any shortage of corporate greed, nor any shortage of corporate disregard for the human effects of their own actions.

[aggiesal]

15. Until evryone stops buying whatever that ...

corporation is selling, because nobody can afford to buy their product.

Then they wonder why their sales are dropping.
So, they lay more off, and off-shore more work to make more profit on the
sales that they do get. Yet their sales continue to drop.

Vicious circle. Until they have to get rid of management.
Ooops, we hadn't thought of that.

[nbcouch]

22. Think globally

You've got to stop thinking only in terms of the US market. The powers that be don't think that way, I can assure you. They know that if the American middle class is being irrevocably undermined by cheap foreign labor, the damage to the US market is inconsequential relative to the emerging markets in Asia.

Think 1.3 billion Chinese. That's where they're expanding. That's who they're going to be selling to in the very near future, if they aren't already.

[antigop]

20. A treasure trove of info

http://programmersguild.org/

[antigop]

21. Some videos to watch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UhLBSLLIhUs
Hillary pushes for more h1-b visas and outsourcing

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cLNOSGM2jK4
Lou Dobbs: Hillary Clinton's hypocrisy (part 1)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jgdrh2Bc95M
Lou Dobbs: Hillary Clinton's hypocrisy (part 2)

[OKthatsIT]

24. Our children graduate, have loans to pay off and find no jobs

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL_fTICwFCA&feature=related

[barnel]

25. Homeland Security uses emergency powers to increase tech visas over Senate objection

In the last week, Homeland Security used emergency powers for a 'de-facto' increase in H-1b foreign tech workers at a time when American workers are being layed off by the tens of thousands, and more importantly, there is known opposition to a foreign worker increase in the Senate. I think this is a case of 'how it happened' is actually worse than 'what happened':

http://www.washingtontechnology.com/online/1_1/32581-1.html

(from above link) "Sen. Joseph Lieberman (I-Conn.) proposed in November 2007 to extend the term for foreign students studying in the United States to 29 months in part to relieve pressure on the H-1B visa program"

the link below contains more details, and the link to the actual letter. Note that John Kerry is a co-signer. Members of both the 2000 and 2004 Democratic presidential ticket were a party to this action (Kerry & Lieberman)

http://immigrationroad.com/immigration-news/senators-expansion-student-opt-program.php

Chertoff is aware of serious and immediate concerns about H-1b from two senior senators (Grassley & Durbin) on the Senate immigration committee

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HCRZK1TH23ELQQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=206903022&_requestid=379117

Senator Grassley's own press release last month: "GRASSLEY TO GATES: SOLUTION ISN’T IMPORTING MORE FOREIGN WORKERS"

http://grassley.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=a5888909-cf84-c9a9-91ee-cb3e5316a677

Chertoff uses emergency powers to enact Lieberman's original proposal from Novermber 2007, over the concerns of Charles Grassley. Note that Mr. Chertoff had received this request 5 months ago, sat on it, then enacted it last week with 'emergency powers' (no input), because 'there isn't enough time to consider other opinions'.

(from link below)

"Administrative Procedure Act
To avoid a loss of skilled students through the next round of H-1B filings in April 2008, DHS is implementing this initiative as an interim final rule without first providing notice and the opportunity for public comment under the good cause exception found under the Administrative Procedure Act (APA) at 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
The APA provides that an agency may dispense with notice and comment rulemaking procedures when an agency, for good cause, finds that those procedures are impracticable, unnecessary, or contrary to the public interest. See 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B).
The exception excuses notice and comment, however, in emergency situations, or where the delay created by the notice and comment requirements would result in serious damage to important interests."


http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/26729

this is getting pretty close to dictatorship, people

if this bothers you, contact your Senators and Reps

[OhioChick]

26. I read that last week and it pissed me off.

:mad:

[barnel]

27. in my opinion, it's the worst thing that's ever happened on this subject

and that's saying A LOT

a direct 'veto' of senate will, using homeland security 'emergency powers'

and does any mainstream media question such a direct affront to democracy?

of course not

[OhioChick]

29. Damn Straight.

You never hear anything from the MSM.....only what they "want" you to hear.

[barnel]

31. and it's not because they dont know about it

i sent that info to a well known paper in my state

did they cover it?

of course not

'NOA'

Not
Our
Agenda

they're always talking about middle class struggle though ... hmmmmmmm

they DID however, run a story on the 'desparate shortage of foreign workers' that week though. LOL

Pravda had more credibility

[barnel]

36. Lou Dobbs youtube on Homeland Securty visa increase

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3SzgpHBFUkE&eurl=http://blog.noslaves.com/dhs-illegally-changes-rule-to-increase-foreign-guest-workers/

page with more detail on this

http://blog.noslaves.com/dhs-illegally-changes-rule-to-increase-foreign-guest-workers/

[barnel]

38. Gates testimony is cited in official ruling

open the pdf and search the name 'gates'

http://www.dhs.gov/xlibrary/assets/press_opt_ifr.pdf

remember, Senator Grassley responded to Gates' testimony with an open letter to gates

Senator Grassley's own press release last month: "GRASSLEY TO GATES: SOLUTION ISN’T IMPORTING MORE FOREIGN WORKERS"

http://grassley.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressReleases.Detail&PressRelease_id=a5888909-cf84-c9a9-91ee-cb3e5316a677

Grassley also contacted Homeland Security head Chertoff DIRECTLY about H-1b problems

http://www.informationweek.com/news/management/showArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=HCRZK1TH23ELQQSNDLRSKHSCJUNN2JVN?articleID=206903022&_requestid=379117

And then, after all that, Chertoff issues ruling with 'emergency powers' to increase visas with no input from anyone, citing Gates testimony, and no mention of Grassley's opposition - it doesnt exist to Chertoff


Regardless of how anyone feels about guest workers, this is an extrordinarely dangerous precident to set, and let go unchallanged, Counterterrorism agency 'emergency powers' being invoked because a senior REPUBLICAN Senator disagrees with the richest man in the country - that's what happened here

[high density]

32. Compete America?

What sort of Orwellian name is that? I really hate this labor shit, especially when it comes to tech jobs.

[barnel]

33. compete america always suggests H-1b to help compete

wonder if that has anything to do with their former name "American Business for Legal Immigration"

Kinda like asking 'Tony the Tiger' what to have for breakfast

but, anyone who disagrees with them, is 'afraid to compete' ;

it's a really cheap trick, but since the money's on their side, they always get away with it

in our government, you're far better off with a lame arguement and a bribe, than the truth with just your taxes paying their salary

Compete America
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Jump to: navigation, search
This article is orphaned as few or no other articles link to it.
Please help introduce links in articles on related topics. (July 2006)

Compete America, formerly American Business for Legal Immigration, is an industry trade group representing hundreds of information technology companies, universities and research organizations.


External links
http://www.topproducer.com/
This article about an organization in the United States is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it.

Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compete_America"
Categories: United States organization stubs | Technology trade associations
Hidden categories: Orphaned articles from July 2006 | All orphaned articles

[barnel]

37. other names they might have considered

when they changed their name from "American Business for Legal Immigration" to "Compete America"

'American Business against American Workers'

'American Business for Indentured Servitude'

'MultiNational Corporations for Dictatorship'

[barnel]

34. total tech worker visas are 400,000/year+ already

the 65,000 you always hear is a bare faced lie

65,000 +
20,000 'masters degree only' H-1b +
10,500 austrailian exempt from cap
all research, non-profit and educational H-1bs exempt from the cap +
315,000 L1 visas, essentially the same as H1-b from http://www.infoworld.com/article/07/12/28/52FE-underreported-visas_1.html

= at least 400,000

PLUS our little bonus from homeland security last week, add 23,000

so at least 423,000 per year

oh, and by the way, there are bills in congress right now to tripple the '65,000' cap