H-1B opponents challenge Bush administration in court

[OhioChick]

Suit filed over decision to extend work period on student visas to 29 months

May 31, 2008 (Computerworld) The Bush administration's recent decision to extend the amount of time foreign nationals can work in the U.S. on student visas is being challenged in a federal lawsuit by H-1B visa opponents.

The opponents argue that the administration exceeded its legal authority by stretching the rules for foreign students by extending the length of the visas from one year to 29 months.

The suit, filed in U.S. District Court in Newark, N.J., by the Immigration Reform Law Institute and joined by The Programmers Guild and other groups, charges that the administration's decision in April to extend the work period for students under the Optional Practical Training provision is little more than an effort to get around the H-1B cap limit.

"They did this with absolutely no legal basis," said John Miano, founder of The Programmers Guild in Summit, N.J. He said the federal extension will hurt U.S. workers who are seeking job training because it will divert training resources to foreign workers. "We hear over and over again that U.S. workers do not have the skills to do the job," he said.

Others that have joined in the lawsuit are the American Engineering Association and Brightfuturejobs.com.

Until the Bush administration, through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, made the change earlier this year, foreign national students typically worked for one year after graduation on their student visa while their employers filed for an H-1B visa. Tech industry groups, however, had sought the extension because of the backlog for H-1B visas.

The U.S. has an annual H-1B visa cap of 85,000, which includes 20,000 reserved for advanced degree holders. But demand for the visas has exceeded the cap and for the last two years the government has quickly exhausted the number of visas available. Industry groups argued that, as a result, it was becoming impossible for students to apply for an H-1B visa, through their employer, in the same year they graduate.


http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9091538&intsrc=hm_list

About damn time! :applause:

[Xipe Totec]

1. There go more jobs overseas

or haven't you figured out yet, that the H1-Bs pay taxes and eventually become US citizens?

This xenophobia is just driving me up the wall.

[OhioChick]

2. No xenophobia here....

Just concerned about my job, as well as my fellow co-workers jobs.

[fed_up_mother]

4. Xenophobia?

Bullshit. I'd just like my husband to retire before someone on an H1-B visa takes his job for a third his salary.

I'll tell ya' what. You come pay my mortgage and utility bills, and I'll lay off the "xenophobia."

[ChromeFoundry]

5. Most H-1B's become US citizens?????

You gotta be kidding me. And if you wish to try and make this into a xenophobic argument, you are simply out of touch with reality. I just love this right-wing attitude on here, in defense of corporations, touting the same old bullshit... "there is a lack of talent in this country." If you believe that, you are obviously not in a field that requires any talent to perform. I have first hand knowledge of excellent talent that has been pushed aside and let go in favor of hiring cheap replacements. You know what drives me up the wall... people like you that are utterly clueless spewing bullshit that they know nothing about.

[lumberjack_jeff]

7. What percentage of H1-B's become US citizens?

Besides, if your assertion is the primary benefit, wouldn't it be better for the jobs to go to people who already are taxpayers and citizens?

[robinlynne]

11. a small percentage. most return home. If they do work they send their money to their home countries.

[robinlynne]

10. WHat makes you think that? H1Bs are temporary visas. They don't pay taxes, and they

don't become citizens, with exceptions, of course. But it is certainly not the norm.

[SergeyDovlatov]

18. Ahem.. H-1B pay all the taxes, including medicare and social security

where are you getting your info, robin?

1. H-1B holders do pay all the taxes (taxation without representation, anyone?)
2. Government does not track conversion ratio of H-1B to greencard. So I don't have any statistics for this. However I have not met a single person who did not want to convert from H-1B to greencard.

Normally what happens is that H-1B requirements are less strict then greencard. You hire someone on H-1B and if he seems like a promising employee you sponsor that person for a greencard.

[Life Long Dem]

3. It's sickening with this economy to be handing out jobs to foreigners n/t

[Larkspur]

6. I can't wait for your job to be outsourced or you replaced with a chaper H-1B visa

employee who will work for a third of what you do.

It's corporate greed that is raising the demand for H-1B visa. You don't see corporations bringing in foreign CEO's and executive VP's to run the companies. Nope. They are using H-1B visas along with outsourcing to lower wages for us all. The goal of oursourcing and H-1B visas is to create a global peasant class and a global corporate aristocracy.

[OhioChick]

8. ??????

Quote: "I can't wait for your job to be outsourced or you replaced with a chaper H-1B visa employee who will work for a third of what you do."

Are you responding to me? Judging by the remainder of your post, I would assume not. Just checking. :)

[robinlynne]

12. absolutely.

[SergeyDovlatov]

19. how about applying the same argument to fresh college graduates?

They are also in the market competing with people working in that field.
They are also may accept lower salary than more experienced person.

[Larkspur]

21. There aren't level entry positions for college grads because those jobs are being

outsourced or filled by H-1B Visa holders. H-1B visa holders usually have more experience than college grads, but their experience may not be the same as that of an experience American programmer.

[ihavenobias]

9. K & R

[Thor_MN]

13. It's interesting that the excuse for high CEO pay is to attract talent, while

out their other face, they whine about not being able to find talent to do IT and engineering work. Seems like the solution to CEO problems is more pay, while IT problems are solved by bringing in cheap labor. Maybe the solution is to make a H1-CEO visa so that the corporations can solve their apparent CEO labor shortage. Once they see how well that works out for them, they might stop pushing to give jobs away.

[ChromeFoundry]

14. Hell... just reduce their pay for every H-1B they employ

and that will put a stop to it lickity-split!

increase it for every US worker hired and there will be a shortage that cannot be solved by importation.

[mcg]

16. Great point! nt

[acmavm]

15. Damn! All this turmoil over H-1B visas and the jobs that go to

foreigners in the tech field. I guess this is different than the jobs that used to go to Americans in the meat packing and construction fields. You know, the ones where if you object to those jobs going to non-Americans you're a racist.

Some day maybe I'll figure out what makes some Americans more important than their manual laboring fellow countrymen.

[ChromeFoundry]

17. I'm with you.

I am in the IT field... my job is just as important as the next one to be outsourced, and all the ones prior, including yours. Insourcing and outsourcing of any US job has the same net effect - more poverty here.

[antigop]

20. You are correct....about damn time! Thanks for posting... n/t