Senators’ concern over H-1B visaDayanand Edappally, 06 April 2008, Sunday
THE UNITED States (US) senators – Richard Durbin and Charles Grassley – have expressed concern over the US government’s policy of issuing 65,000 H-1B visas every year to highly skilled foreigners. In their words, “The H-1B programme cannot be allowed to become a job-killer in America…causing American workers to be unfairly deprived of good high-skill jobs here at home.”
So, they are looking for ways to curb the issuance of visas to foreigners because in their opinion, there are highly-skilled American workers being left behind, searching for jobs that are being filled by H-1B visa holders. Durbin and Grassley want to enact real reform because “it’s time to close the loopholes that have allowed this to happen.”
These senators want to restructure these visa programmes, which are facilitating the outsourcing of American jobs. American workers’ interests need to be protected at all costs. This new policy, which has not yet been taken up for discussion by the senate, smacks of narrow nationalism. Through the World Trade Organisation (WTO), it was mainly the Americans who clamoured for the opening of national boundaries to trade and commerce, fallout of which is the new impetus to immigration.
Technically qualified and highly skilled workers wish to utilise their skills and find highly paying jobs in any corner of the world. The USA is still the El Dorado to most third world countries. Workers from these countries wish to find jobs in the US and Europe. But this resistance to their efforts at the government level is enough to shatter their dreams. The United Kingdom (UK) has been an equally resistant employer.
While the first world countries want to sell their agricultural and technological products in all markets, they do not welcome workers from other countries with open arms. They place obstacles of all sorts to their immigration plans. They only want globalisation in so far as it serves to fatten their pockets. They do not want people, however, highly qualified, to enter their borders to look for jobs. This is manifestly unfair.
http://www.merinews.com/catFull.jsp?articleID=131889Durbin wants info on use of visa programsApril 01, 2008
(Crain’s) — Motorola Inc., the University of Illinois at Chicago and Accenture are among 25 businesses and organizations targeted by Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., to determine how they use the country’s H-1B and L-1 visa programs and whether Americans are losing out on jobs as a result.
Sens. Durbin and Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, on Tuesday sent letters to the 25, which collectively used nearly 20,000 H-1B visas to hire foreign workers for U.S.-based jobs. The firms were identified through data released by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service. Sens. Durbin and Grassley wrote in their letter that they are “concerned that these (visa) programs, as currently structured, are facilitating the outsourcing of American jobs.”
Tuesday was the first day H-1B visa applications were accepted for 2008. Demand for the visas, which will be allocated starting Oct. 1, has far outstripped the number available.
“I have no doubt that we’ll hear arguments all day as to why the cap on H-1B visas should be raised, but nobody should be fooled,” Mr. Grassley said in a statement. “The bottom line is that there are highly skilled American workers being left behind, searching for jobs that are being filled by H-1B visa holders.” http://www.chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=28804&seenIt=1Senator describes black market in H-1B visas
Charles Grassley releases letter to DHS outlining program abusesMarch 10, 2008 (Computerworld) U.S. Senator Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said yesterday that the White House isn't enforcing the H-1B program, and he cited a number of abuses to it in a letter released late Monday.
Among the practices Grassley pointed to in his letter is the "leasing" of H-1B workers by contractors that don't have work for their foreign hires, as well as a number of court cases that point to a market for buying and selling fraudulently obtained visas.
These practices, which in sum describe an underground economy in visas, were outlined in a strongly worded letter Monday to Department of Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff asking him to detail what that department is doing to enforce the program.
Grassley said the Bush Administration isn't enforcing the program.
"Everyday we're learning more and more, but it appears that most H-1B visas are going to foreign-based companies," said Grassley, in a statement. "U.S. businesses that need highly skilled workers are getting the short end of the stick."
In regard to the leasing of H-1B workers, Grassley, in his letter to Chertoff, charged that "hundreds" of foreign workers are "standing by, waiting for work" and are being offered for lease by their employers. The information about this practice came from a constituent in Iowa, not identified in the letter, who was being "bombarded" by these requests to lease H-1B workers, wrote Grassley.
"My constituent even said one company went so far to require him to sign a memorandum of understanding that helps the H-1B "factory firm" justify to the federal government that they have adequate business opportunity that requires additional visa holders," wrote Grassley. "It's a complete falsification of the market justification for additional H-1B workers."
Grassley's letter arrives in advance of Microsoft Corp. Chairman Bill Gates' testimony Wednesday before a U.S. House Committee. Gates is expected to argue for making it easier to hire skilled workers. All sides on this issue have been turning up the volume in advance of April 1, the first day the U.S. will begin receiving H-1B visa petitions for the 2009 federal fiscal year.
http://www.computerworld.com/action/article.do?command=viewArticleBasic&articleId=9067738When some of our "elected officials" are getting involved....you KNOW there's a problem.
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