In a message dated 3/26/08 3:22:06 A.M. Central Daylight Time, News@JobDestruction.info writes:
<<<<< JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER No. 1843 -- 3/26/2008 >>>>>
A plethora of articles is being published that support an H-1B increase --
and they don't even pretend to be objective. There is such an avalanche of
articles and op-eds that I simply don't have time to debunk them. One
common theme you will see in all of them: Bill Gates.
If you only have time to read one article go for #4 in the NY Times.
Despite its obvious bias, it dispels lots of myths, such as the widespread
belief that the only ones who hire H-1Bs are big corporations, and that
H-1Bs are almost all computer programmers. Some surprising statistics are
revealed about the huge number of H-1Bs that are employed in the State of
New York.
Article #1:
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/immigration-american-workers-2003935-visa
s-high
Visa lottery means high-tech uncertainty
Article #2:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402
354.html?nav=rss_opinions
Visas Needed
Article #3:
http://www.infoworld.nl/idgns/002570DE00740E180025740A007EAA06/bill-gates-st
umps-for-h-1b-as-debate-rages.html
Bill Gates stumps for H-1B as debate rages
Article #4:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/nyregion/24visas.html?_r=1&ref=nyregio
n&oref=slogin
Businesses Say New York’s Clout Is Emigrating, With Visa Policies to
Blame
Article #5:
http://newsok.com/article/3219555/1206212874
Out of focus: An immigration issue we can fix
Article #6:
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/03/24/story5.html?t=printa
ble
Firms set to scramble for limited foreign worker visas
Article #7:
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004280785_microsoft
ed14.html
Gates searches for best, brightest
Article #8:
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/blogs/editorsnotebook/32365.html
Time to reform H-1B
Article #9:
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/03/our-view-on-imm.html
Our view on immigration: Giving visas to skilled workers bolsters economy
Article #10:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120588373419146905.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
More Visas, More Jobs
Article #11:
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0319biz-visas0319
.html
Immigrant-worker visas could double if new bill passes
Article #12:
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1748793799
Bill would double cap on H-1B visas
1. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.ocregister.com/articles/immigration-american-workers-2003935-visa
s-high
Sunday, March 23, 2008
Visa lottery means high-tech uncertainty
Letter from Washington: The H-1B controversy is one example of
congressional inertia on immigration.
DENA BUNIS
When the Senate was grappling last spring with a sweeping fix to the
nation's immigration system, Sen. Dianne Feinstein pleaded with her
colleagues to find a compromise and not let the perfect be the enemy of the
good.
Feinstein -- who has walked a middle road on the issue -- was dubious from
the outset that a comprehensive solution was politically palatable and the
California Democrat was particularly intent on getting an overhaul of the
agricultural worker program.
But in the end nothing happened.
That has meant that everything from the Ag Jobs bill that would legalize
long time farm workers to a measure to allow local law enforcement to
enforce immigration laws has been put on hold.
These issues all have some strong support and some intense opposition. So
it is with an immigration matter that will be front and center in the next
few days -- the H-1B visas.
These visas were designed to let American companies hire foreign workers
who have special skills that employers can't find in the United States.
Over the years, the program has given out as many as 195,000 in a year. Now
the number is capped at 65,000. The high tech community has been
complaining for years that it's just not enough.
Microsoft's Bill Gates testified on the Hill earlier this month and got
into a tiff with Rep. Dana Rohrabacher over whether H-1Bs really take jobs
away from American workers -- which Rohrabacher believes -- or are
necessary and actually create more jobs for Americans, which Gates and his
colleagues say.
Rohrabacher and other H-1B opponents say these foreign workers depress
wages and if they weren't available, companies would find American workers
and pay them more. High-tech executives say no way -- these are high-paying
jobs and they'd love not to have the hassle --and expense -- of applying
for these visas.
Whatever the real answer, what will happen on April 1 is a bizarre way for
government to hand out passes for people to come to the United States.
For the past several years the 65,000 cap has literally been reached on the
first day applications are taken. That's April 1.
U.S. Citizens and Immigration Services, which processes these requests,
won't look at an application before April 1 and now has decided to allow
five days before it closes down the window and begins the random lottery to
see who gets the coveted 65,000 visas. It also took steps this year to
ensure that one company can't file many applications for one worker to get
a better chance to win the lottery.
About half of these visas go to the high tech firms Gates talked to
Congress about. But there are teachers, health care workers and other
foreign nationals also brought to the U.S. under this program. And last
year, 80 percent of the visas for the top 10 companies went to Indian
outsourcing companies. That has gotten several senators up in arms and we
may see some action on that front down the road.
Kevin McDonald is vice president of Alvaka Networks, a 31-worker IT firm in
Irvine. He also is a board member of the American Electronics Association.
McDonald said his company spent 18 months looking for a qualified employee
for his firm and it wasn't until he had an op ed published in the Register
about his problem that someone who saw it applied and they filled the spot.
"We need higher end engineers,'' McDonald said. U.S. schools, he said. Are
"developing our competition and then sending them home.'' In fact, he said,
the majority of students in top masters and PHD programs in engineering and
other technical fields are foreign students who can only stay in the U.S.
for a year before having to go back to their home country -- except for
those who may be lucky enough to win an H-1B in this crazy lottery. Rep.
Zoe Lofgren, the San Jose Democrat who chairs the immigration subcommittee,
believes it's nuts for us to send these young minds away.
Lofgren has been talking with her colleagues about giving permanent
residency to these masters and PHD degree holders so we can keep their
talent here.
But the political climate when it comes to immigration is so toxic, that
she has little hope that anything can be done before the next election.
Interestingly, the way lawmakers feel about the H-1B problem doesn't always
fall along partisan lines or even necessarily break the way they come down
on illegal immigration in general.
Rep. John Campbell, for example, has opposed any amnesty effort and is
considered a hard-liner on immigration. But he supports an increase in
H-1Bs. These people, he said, would come here, pay taxes and not be a
burden on society while helping the American economy.
And Rep. Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who has staunchly opposed illegal
immigration and used to have Lofgren's job, introduced a bill after Gates'
House appearance to put the H-1B visa cap back to 195,000.
Congress has been arguing about these visas for a decade. Sen. Edward
Kennedy, for example, agreed in 1998 to support raising the cap, but only
if an additional fee was put on the H-1B application that would go to
education and training for Americans. In his words, he wanted us to grow
out of this problem.
That fee is now $1,500. Since 2000, $1.2 billion has gone to the Department
of Labor and the National Science Foundation.
But these dollars don't seem to have paid off.
I looked at a Congressional Research Service report that shows that between
2001 and 2006, 156 grants were awarded under a labor department program
supposed to increase skills in high growth industries.
Of them, only three were in IT. None were in engineering. But 31 were in
advanced manufacturing. Not exactly where the worker shortage is.
The Labor Department Inspector General is in the midst of doing a report on
whether this money has been wisely spent and so is the General
Accountability Office.
Labor Department officials say they while most of the grants aren't going
to IT, that given that computers are everywhere they think they are helping
the effort with grants in other fields, like biotech.
But whatever the process, the end result is that after a decade of
concentration on this, American industry is still going overseas.
2. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/24/AR2008032402
354.html?nav=rss_opinions
Visas Needed
By keeping out needed high-tech workers, U.S. immigration policy pushes
U.S. jobs abroad.
March 25, 2008
APRIL'S JUST AROUND the corner, and that means it's H-1B preparation time
once again. H-1Bs, which are visas for skilled foreign workers, are capped
at 65,000, with another 20,000 given to foreign alumni of U.S. postgraduate
programs. Last year, the cap was reached within hours on the first day that
the U.S. Bureau of Citizenship and Immigration Services began accepting
applications. Because a bachelor's degree is required for these
applications, most foreign graduates from the class of 2007 were among the
tens of thousands who were shut out of the process. If nothing changes,
America will miss out on another crop of talent this year.
H-1B visas are reserved for the world's best and brightest, and barring
their entry is economic self-sabotage. The cap keeps out doctors, engineers
and other specialists -- people who save lives and often create jobs for
others in America. One need only look at the national origins of founders
of companies such as Google and Sun Microsystems to realize that foreign
talent has helped keep the U.S. economy on the cutting edge. These are
talents the United States has been struggling to grow at home, given that
more than a third of all science and engineering doctorates awarded in the
United States go to foreign students (for whom the number of visas is not
capped), according to the National Science Foundation.
The H-1B visa cap was set well before the tech boom and so does not reflect
current needs. It was raised temporarily in 1999, but that increase was
allowed to lapse a few years later. Since last year's debacle, there have
been congressional attempts to increase the cap, but these have been held
up by the political sensitivities surrounding immigration reform, and in
particular reforms aimed at illegal and unskilled workers. Because
lawmakers lack the political will to keep the world's talent in America,
companies are following it overseas, setting up shop in Canada, India,
Eastern Europe and other areas where the skills they need are plentiful. As
a result, investment and jobs are being shipped abroad. As Bill Gates
testified this month, the jobs created by the A-earning foreign students
who did not remain in the United States will now go to the "B and C
students" surrounding them at home in India rather than to their American
counterparts.
One solution that may be less politically inflammatory would be to
recapture H-1B visas that Congress has already approved but that went
unused during the post-Sept. 11 economic downturn. About 300,000 surplus
visas could be doled out over the next several years to provide a
short-term fix to the current shortage and could perhaps include an
additional fee -- which employers would pay -- to create more revenue. A
long-term solution is still necessary. Allowing the cap to stay so low
effectively exiles not only the world's best and brightest but also the
U.S. companies that employ them.
3. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.infoworld.nl/idgns/002570DE00740E180025740A007EAA06/bill-gates-st
umps-for-h-1b-as-debate-rages.html
Bill Gates stumps for H-1B as debate rages
John Fontana and Denise Dubie
Microsoft's Bill Gates Wednesday told Congress it must relax caps on visas
for highly-skilled foreign workers if the United States wants to remain
"the world's innovation leader."
While Gates had the ear of Congress, critics say the H-1B lowers wages or
outright robs Americans of jobs. In addition, they say eligibility
requirements are vague and the system is abused by foreign companies, who
are only required to have a presence in the United States to use the H-1B
visas for their employees.
Gates has been crusading the past few years on the topic of H-1B visas,
which allow highly skilled immigrants to work in the United States, saying
the cap of 65,000 per year is "arbitrarily low."
But there is a different picture forming, critics say.
Recent statistics put out by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services
and the National Science Board show that many of the H-1B visas are going
to foreign companies and that half of the recipients are from India.
Indian nationals received 54% all H-1B visas approved in 2006, according to
a study by the National Science Board. That same year, 51% of all visa
recipients worked in computer-related jobs.
A ranking released by the U.S. Citizenship & Immigration Services show that
Microsoft and Intel are the only true major U.S. technology companies
ranked in the Top 10 of visa approvals in 2007.
Ironically, the top two, outsourcers Infosys Technologies and Wipro are
both based in Bangalore, India. In fact, the data shows six of the top 10
are based in India.
The top two companies were also the top two in fiscal 2006, according to
data released last year by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin (D-Ill) and Chuck
Grassley (R-Iowa). The two senators claim outsourcers are abusing the H-1B
rules. Last year, the pair introduced "The H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and
Abuse Prevention Act of 2007."
Critics contend foreign-based companies use their U.S. locations to train
workers before funneling them back to India.
The jobs issue has been a contentious one and is even more so now that the
United States is facing a recession.
"Bill Gates, Oracle, and Google strongly lobby for more visas," says James
Kritcher, vice president of IT at White Electronic Designs in Phoenix. "But
at the same time, these companies receive thousands of resumes every week.
I would think that they have their pick of top talent and could meet their
hiring objectives without the use of visas."
Some experts say American workers don't find Microsoft or Gates to be
genuine over concern for the future of U.S. innovation. Microsoft has
foreign workers north of Redmond on the Canadian side of the border where
immigration laws are more lax.
"Microsoft left the U.S." by sending work and jobs overseas, says Sonia
Munoz, president of Immigration Legal Counsel, a law firm specializing in
immigration law. "Some Americans feel the H-1B is evil and gives away jobs
[that] Americans could have, but if a company leaves physically from the
U.S. -- that takes away far more jobs than H-1B does."
Gates has been the vocal champion of visa reform, however, holding to the
spirit of the law that originally was drafted to allow U.S. companies to
recruit the best technologists, engineers and others from around the world
when the U.S. was unable to meet demand.
"The United States will find it far more difficult to maintain its
competitive edge over the next 50 years if it excludes those who are able
and willing to help us compete," Gates told the U.S. House Committee on
Science and Technology, which was celebrating its 50th anniversary
Wednesday. His oral statements were documented in a 19-page written
testimony submitted to the committee.
Gates said he was optimistic about the potential for technology to improve
people's lives and tackle important issues. He repeatedly made references
to education and health programs funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates
Foundation, which he co-chairs.
But Gates Wednesday told the committee that he was less optimistic that the
United States. would continue as a global leader in technology innovation.
He said there is a need for better educational opportunities for American
students; increased federal funding for basic scientific research;
incentives for private-sector research and development, and the loosening
of caps on H-1B visas, which allow highly skilled immigrants to work in the
United States.
He specifically called on Congress to drop the cap on H-1B visas.
"Evidence is mounting that we are failing to make the investments in our
young people, our workers, our scientific research infrastructure, and our
economy that will enable us to retain our global innovation leadership,"
Gates said.
He said one goal should be to "double the number of science, technology,
and mathematics graduates by 2015." And he added that funding is needed to
train the next generation of innovators.
"If we are to align our immigration policy with global realities and ensure
our place as the world's leading innovator, Congress must make additional
changes to our employment-based immigration system," he said.
He cited immigration statistics that show that the supply of H-1B visas in
2007 ran out four months before they were even valid. In fiscal 2008, the
H-1B visas ran out just one day after applications could be filed.
Gates put forth three steps that should be taken by the United States:
encourage the best foreign students to enroll in U.S. colleges and
universities and to remain in the United States when their studies are
completed if they desire; that Congress should create a streamlined path to
permanent resident status for highly skilled workers; and third, Congress
should increase the cap on visas.
He concluded that the country stands at a crossroads.
"If we do not implement policies like those I have outlined today, the
center of progress will shift to other nations that are more committed to
the pursuit of technical excellence," he said.
While the debate continues to rage over immigration limits, some say there
is a silver lining in the back and forth.
"Leaders of a company of Microsoft's profile speaking to Congress certainly
help bring home the U.S. need for talent," said Bo Cooper, a specialist in
business immigration law in Paul Hastings' national immigration practice.
4. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/24/nyregion/24visas.html?_r=1&ref=nyregio
n&oref=slogin
March 24, 2008
Businesses Say New York’s Clout Is Emigrating, With Visa Policies to
Blame
By PATRICK McGEEHAN and NINA BERNSTEIN
New York officials have long taken pride in the city’s status as a global
gateway. But lately, senior executives of some of the country’s biggest
corporations, like Alcoa, have been complaining that American immigration
policies are thwarting New York’s ability to compete with other world
capitals.
Every big employer in the city, it seems, can cite an example of
high-paying jobs that had to be relocated to foreign cities because the
people chosen to fill them could not gain entry to the United States.
In Alcoa’s case, one of its chief financial executives, Vanessa Lau, who
is from Hong Kong, is working from the company’s offices in Geneva when
she should be at headquarters on Park Avenue, according to Alain J. P.
Belda, the chairman and chief executive.
Officials of large investment banks on Wall Street said the difficulty in
obtaining visas for foreign workers, many of them graduates of American
universities, had caused them to shift dozens of jobs to other financial
capitals this year. In some cases, foreign-born professionals have grown
weary of the struggle to get and renew a work visa in the United States and
moved on to cities like London, where they say they feel more welcome.
"In a company like ours, we have people moving all over the place all the
time," Mr. Belda said. "This visa situation is causing difficulty."
Mr. Belda is particularly frustrated, given that he is a Moroccan-born
citizen of Brazil whom Alcoa brought to the United States in the early
1990s when immigration rules were looser. Now, with visas for immigrants
with special skills tightly controlled and awarded in an annual lottery in
early April, managing a global enterprise from New York can be a
competitive disadvantage, he said.
"After 9/11, it just became more and more complicated," Mr. Belda said.
"You’re fighting to get everybody in, "he said, then fighting for renewal
of their visas so that they can stay more than three years. "How do you
move somebody with a family if they don’t know they’re going to be
renewed?" he said.
Until now, visa restrictions have been seen as a problem that primarily
affected technology companies in Silicon Valley and elsewhere in the West.
Bill Gates, the chairman of Microsoft, has been railing against them for
years.
But according to the Partnership for New York City, a business advocacy
group, there is more demand for visas for specialized jobs in New York, New
Jersey and Connecticut than in California, and most of the demand comes
from small and midsize companies, not the largest corporations. The
partnership, whose members include many of the city’s biggest employers,
has lobbied legislative leaders, including Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senator
Charles E. Schumer, for a relaxation of visa policies.
"New York’s ability to compete with London, which has much more open
immigration, or with the emerging financial capitals in Asia and the Middle
East, depends on mobility of talent, both in terms of new and current
employees," said Kathryn S. Wylde, president of the partnership. "What
people miss is, New York’s standing as an international capital of
business and finance depends on the professionals within these companies
being able to come to New York to be trained and groomed for leadership
positions around the world."
Indeed, companies are capitalizing on more open visa policies elsewhere to
recruit some of the leaders educated and trained in New York. Gaurav Gaur,
for example, an Indian who earned his M.B.A. from Cornell in 2004, said he
seized the chance to leave New York last year for London to work for
Barclays, though it meant turning his back on opportunities at Bloomberg
L.P. and other American companies.
"The whole visa situation was one of the biggest reasons that I took the
job," Mr. Gaur said in a telephone interview from London, where he is a
senior project manager for the British bank. "I didn’t want to keep going
through this uncertainty -- it’s just a nightmare."
In New York, Mr. Gaur, 33, had managed to secure one of the three-year
visas for professionals known as H-1B visas, and he probably could have
renewed it for another three years, he said. But after that he knew he
would be faced with the prospect of year-to-year renewals while he waited
in a long and unpredictable line for permanent residency -- and remained
tethered to whatever company was sponsoring him for a green card.
Moreover, he said, his wife, Bhavna, who has a master’s degree in social
work from Washington University in St. Louis, had work visa woes of her own
in a field where few employers were familiar with the H-1B program.
In Britain, he said, "it’s drastically different." There is no cap on
work visas, and since he had a work permit, his wife was automatically
allowed to work; she quickly found a good social work job.
"If I stay here for five years," he added, "I automatically become eligible
for a green card, for permanent residency."
In the United States, companies apply for the three-year H-1B visas
annually, starting on April 1. The demand typically far outstrips the total
supply of visas, limited to 65,000 a year, with an additional 20,000
available for those with advanced degrees from American universities. Last
year 120,000 applications came in on April 1 alone, including hundreds of
duplicates, and United States Citizenship and Immigration Services
conducted a lottery for the first time.
This year, officials warned, multiple petitions by the same company for one
candidate will be disqualified, to prevent businesses from trying to game
the system.
In 2006, more than 10,000 companies sought H-1B visas for jobs in New York
City, according to the partnership’s analysis in a soon-to-be-published
report. Only about one-tenth of those applications came from the
country’s 1,000 biggest companies, it said.
Data about who holds these visas and where they work is closely guarded.
But judging by the applications filed, the partnership concluded that the
greatest demand is from the New York area.
More than one-fifth -- 21 percent -- of the applications were for jobs in
New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, according to the report, titled
"Winning the Global Race for Talent." In contrast, about 18.2 percent of
the H-1B visa applications were for jobs in California. Texas ranked fourth
behind New York and New Jersey with about 7.7 percent of the applications,
according to the report. A survey by the partnership found that employers
had complaints about other immigration policies, including long delays in
obtaining visas for employees transferring from offices in other countries
and visas for their employees to make short-term visits to the United
States. They also said they were constrained by big backlogs on
applications for employment-based green cards, which offer permanent
residency to sponsored workers.
The partnership recommended adjusting the cap on H-1B visas to meet demand
and more than doubling the annual limit on employment-based green cards to
290,000 from 140,000. It also suggested exempting workers with advanced
degrees in science and math from any cap on H-1B visas and extending the
term of visas for workers receiving practical training to 29 months from 12
months.
Mark Krikorian, executive director of the Center for Immigration Studies in
Washington, which advocates less immigration, dismissed the partnership’s
argument as merely "trying to bend the law to benefit them financially."
The H-1B visa program creates a form of indentured worker whose pay, on
average, is lower than that of American counterparts, Mr. Krikorian
contended. The only morally defensible way to bring workers into the
country, he said, is with green cards that allow them to quit working for
the sponsoring employer and stay in the United States. Still, he added that
he opposed increasing the number of such green cards without the
immigration service’s raising its standards "so that it’s really
Einstein immigration."
Ms. Wylde disagrees.
"It’s a 20th-century, pre-globalization mentality that thinks somehow
American companies and jobs can grow if we cut ourselves off from foreign
talent," she said.
5. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://newsok.com/article/3219555/1206212874
March 23, 2008
Out of focus: An immigration issue we can fix
The Oklahoman Editorial
WHEN talk in Washington turns to immigration, the focus is always on
illegal activity and ways to curb it. How about paying some attention to
legal immigration and ways to enhance it?
We're talking specifically about the visas that are granted to
well-educated, highly trained professionals from other countries. The
United States dishes out just 65,000 of these H-1B visas each year, but the
demand far outstrips that total. In fact last year (and in other years) the
government's H-1B allotment was tapped out on the first day applications
could be filed.
As a result, people who are clamoring to work in this country and who would
be tremendous assets to U.S. firms and our society, instead wind up working
and settling elsewhere.
Microsoft chairman Bill Gates tried to make this point to Congress
recently, saying the lack of reform in this area of immigration "has
exacerbated an already grave situation." He pointed out, correctly, that
our economy "depends on the ability of innovative companies to attract and
retain the very best talent, regardless of nationality or citizenship."
The Wall Street Journal, long a champion of raising the cap on H-1B visas,
said the Labor Department expects more than 2 million high-tech openings
(math, science, engineering, etc.) in the United States by 2014. Our
universities aren't producing anywhere near enough graduates in these
areas.
The Journal cited two studies by the National Foundation for American
Policy. One found that major technology companies in this country average
more than 470 job openings for skilled positions. The other study showed
that H-1B filings among S&P 500 companies had a positive effect on overall
work force numbers -- not the opposite, as cap advocates like to contend.
Gates said his company was proof of that: At Microsoft, every H-1B hire has
on average translated to four additional employees. "If we increase the
number of H-1B visas that are available to U.S. companies, employment of
U.S. nationals would likely grow as well," he said.
Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Tulsa, joined a number of Republican Senators this month
in introducing immigration legislation. Inhofe is seeking to make English
the national language. Other bills introduced at that time called for,
among other things, completing a fence along our southern border,
streamlining deportation laws and establishing mandatory minimum sentences
for illegal immigrants.
The federal government does need to come up with a workable policy in this
arena. In the meantime, though, we'd love to see someone in D.C. give a
little consideration to the H-1B visa problem. Raising the cap
substantially would be a good start, and would be hailed by companies that
now see too many talented and eager workers wind up overseas.
6. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.bizjournals.com/orlando/stories/2008/03/24/story5.html?t=printa
ble
March 21, 2008
Firms set to scramble for limited foreign worker visas
Orlando Business Journal - by Chris Kauffmann Staff Writer
E.J. Elliott, chairman of Gencor Industries Inc., will cross his fingers
come April 1 -- but not because he's worried about some prank.
That's the day when the federal government begins accepting applications
for next year's limited allotment of H-1B visas, which are granted to
highly skilled foreign workers or those foreigners who have earned a
master's degree or higher from U.S. universities.
Orlando-based Gencor, a $75 million-a-year company that makes heavy
machinery for the road-building industry, will apply for 100 such visas to
fill welding and fitting jobs it says can't be filled by Americans because
there are none qualified available.
"We need these workers because if we didn't have them, we would not have
shipped as much as we did last year," Elliott says.
7. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/editorialsopinion/2004280785_microsoft
ed14.html
March 14, 2008
Gates searches for best, brightest
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates made a strong business case for immigration
reform before members of Congress, who should be laser-focused on steering
the U.S. economy through a downturn.
Arguments for protectionism, so fashionable on the presidential campaign
trail, break down when it comes to solving the per-ennial shortage of
highly skilled workers. Gates argues the United States' global technology
leadership is endangered by limits on how many highly trained foreign
workers, especially scientists and computer engineers, can be hired by
American companies. He also wants improvements to the education system.
The United States has an annual quota of 65,000 temporary H-1B visas for
skilled workers and 20,000 for foreign students. Last year, all of the
available visas were snapped up within eight weeks, leaving with unfilled
jobs employers who can't find the workers domestically. About 7 percent of
Microsoft's new workers hired in the past five years obtained H-1B visas.
In July, Microsoft announced plans to open a software-development center in
Vancouver, B.C., in part to help the company "recruit and retain highly
skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S."
The U.S. Senate passed a comprehensive immigration-reform bill that would
have increased H-1B visas to 115,000 last year. But the concept was a
casualty of bitter House disagreement over what to do about low-skilled
workers.
On Wednesday, one California congressman, obviously clueless about
Microsoft's generous salaries and benefits, suggested its problems would be
solved if the company paid more. Other critics raise the specter of
American-trained foreign workers going home only to compete with American
companies.
Those shortsighted arguments ignore the cost of lost commercial opportunity
when a computer-engineering job goes unfilled, plus the four to five jobs
needed to support it.
Gates admits he wants to hire the best and the brightest here -- but there
aren't enough of them to hire.
8. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.washingtontechnology.com/blogs/editorsnotebook/32365.html
03/04/08
By Nick Wakeman
Time to reform H-1B
Like many office phones, mine has a red light that blinks when I have
voicemail. At times I hate that blinking red light.
Tuesday morning it was blinking when I got to work. The voice on the
message was calm and steady, but a little off-kilter, at least that was my
first reaction.
The man didn’t leave his name, but he was objecting to our coverage of
lobbying efforts to raise the limit on the number of H-1B visas.
He said that the shortage of American tech workers is a lie and that the
H-1B program is nothing more than a tool to drive down wages and import
cheap overseas workers, who become nothing more than slaves to the
companies they work for. While the program is called the Non-Immigrant
Worker Visa program, that too is a lie, according to this caller. He
claimed that the only H-1B visa holder to leave the United States, out of
the hundreds of thousands, is a guy who killed his girl and was deported.
There are plenty of reasons to oppose the raising of the limit. What
bothers me about the immigration debate is the tone of hysteria that rings
through the comments of many of those who want to greatly restrict the flow
of immigrants to the United States. Lou Dobbs, you know who you are.
I was going to make this blog entry my own rant about those who oppose
immigration. I’m the son of an immigrant and I believe that a liberal
immigration policy is important to our country’s future.
But before I went on my rant, Alice Lipowicz (our reporter who wrote the
story and who received numerous e-mails about it) reminded me that there
are reasonable voices opposing H-1B and she pointed me toward IEEE, an
organization that represents electrical and electronics engineers.
They are on record as opposing H-1B, but they are not opposed to immigrants
and immigration.
In part, IEEE opposition to H-1B is that it is a temporary visa program,
which is hard to enforce and exposes workers to exploitation by their
employers.
My caller may have been a little over the top in describing H-1B workers as
slave labor, but the fact remains that these workers have very little
flexibility to move to another employer if they become dissatisfied with
their current situation.
But IEEE’s approach is very reasonable and has broader application, I
believe.
According to a statement on its Web site:
"IEEE-USA does not want to just reform the H-1B program: we want to replace
it. We believe that temporary visas are a bad deal for the U.S. economy and
for workers no matter how the visa programs are structured.
"We prefer immigration visas, which give workers the right to live in the
United States as long as they like. Workers using these visas are harder to
exploit than temporary workers, even without complicated oversight."
Congress instead should focus on expanding the green card program, IEEE
says. Green cards "allow foreigners with advanced skills and education to
become Americans quickly -- but there aren’t enough of them. Each year
about twice as many H-1B visas are issued to workers as EB visas,
reflecting Congress' fondness for the temporary visa."
What I like about this solution is that it includes a path to citizenship.
That’s the key to any immigration reform.
Guest worker programs are bad news, in my view, because they not only
create conditions where people can be exploited but there also is the very
real risk of creating a large population of people who live and work here
but have no stake in what it means to be an American because they aren’t
citizens. And can’t become citizens.
Without a clear and reasonable path to citizenship for legal and illegal
immigrants, we run the risk of serious problems, even violence. We should
all remember the riots in France, sparked by problems because their guest
worker program created a large population of disenfranchised people who had
no real stake in the success of the country.
Do the large numbers of immigrants that come to the United States change
our culture? Sure.
But that is the great thing about America -- we change, we grow, we adapt.
And because of that we become stronger.
9. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://blogs.usatoday.com/oped/2008/03/our-view-on-imm.html
Our view on immigration: Giving visas to skilled workers bolsters economy
Unfilled high-tech jobs work to the nation’s detriment.
Next Monday marks the first day employers can apply for some of the 65,000
temporary visas for highly skilled foreigners available for 2009. It may
also be the last day.
The available number of so-called H-1B visas, which last six years, has
always run short of demand. But last April, when applications for this year
came in, they exceeded the limit on the first day they were accepted.
Pause for a moment to consider the implications of this. A program many
high-tech companies consider crucial in filling their need for programmers,
engineers and such, is so oversubscribed that it is turning into a
once-a-year lottery. As Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates noted in recent
congressional testimony, that can mean rescinding job offers to top
recruits who can't get in.
The H-1B problem is one part of the highly skilled labor shortage the USA
faces. So, too, is the lack of permanent visas for the best and brightest
workers here on temporary visas, such as the H-1B and student visas, that
are about to expire.
The problem is that too few Americans are going into scientific and
technical fields. Meanwhile, general unease about immigration and
globalization is holding up much-needed efforts to help U.S. companies that
can't hire highly skilled workers for want of a visa.
This makes it harder for U.S. high-tech companies to compete. It also shows
the effect the nation's anger and frustration over immigration and
globalization can have in areas critical to the nation's future.
According to a study by the National Foundation for American Policy, a
think tank on trade, immigration and education policy, the average
high-tech company has 470 openings it can't fill. Microsoft tops the list
with more than 4,000. Collectively the members of the Standard & Poor's 500
have 140,000 unfilled openings for highly skilled workers.
It's impossible to look at these numbers and not see a problem. President
Bush and all three major presidential contenders see one and have expressed
a desire to increase the number of H-1Bs awarded. And yet the efforts to
raise the H-1B cap, as well as to provide more permanent visas to highly
skilled workers, is being thwarted in Washington by labor and
anti-immigration groups.
What's needed is obvious. The H-1B program should be both expanded and
overhauled. Its critics rightly point out that it does not differentiate
well between truly high-skilled workers and those who are merely in high
demand. Valuable H-1B slots have gone to nurses' assistants, even chefs and
models.
Beyond the H-1B program, more permanent visas need to be steered to highly
skilled people. The obvious place to start is the 30,000 on temporary visas
who get masters degrees, and 16,000 who get Ph.D.s, in science and
engineering each year from American universities. These are some of the
most desirable hires on the planet, and many have been financially
supported by government and private foundations. And yet once they get
their degrees, they are told to go home.
Some of the most ardent opposition comes from labor groups. Building on a
hostility to immigration and globalization, they argue that
employment-based immigration displaces U.S. workers and depresses wages.
Perhaps this is true for some jobs, but the case is much harder to make in
high tech, where companies have vacancies they struggle for years to fill.
It's also hard to make the case that we should be driving away some of the
best tech talent in the world, effectively forcing those people to work for
overseas competitors.
March 25, 2008 - Editorial, USA TODAY
10. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB120588373419146905.html?mod=googlenews_wsj
March 19, 2008
More Visas, More Jobs
March 19, 2008
Bill Gates appeared before Congress again last week to make a simple point
to simpler pols: The ridiculously low annual cap on H-1B visas for foreign
professionals is undermining the ability of U.S. companies to compete in a
global marketplace.
"Congress's failure to pass high-skill immigration reform has exacerbated
an already grave situation," said the Microsoft chairman. "The current base
cap of 65,000 H-1B visas is arbitrarily set and bears no relation to the
U.S. economy's demand for skilled workers."
The Labor Department projects that by 2014 there will be more than two
million job openings in science, technology, engineering and math fields.
But the number of Americans graduating with degrees in those disciplines is
falling. Meanwhile, visa quotas make it increasingly difficult for U.S.
companies to hire foreign-born graduates of our own universities. Last
year, as in prior years, the supply of H-1B visas was exhausted on the
first day petitions could be filed.
"Today, knowledge and expertise are the essential raw materials that
companies and countries need in order to be competitive," said Mr. Gates.
"We live in an economy that depends on the ability of innovative companies
to attract and retain the very best talent, regardless of nationality or
citizenship."
Lest you think Microsoft and other companies are making this stuff up, we
direct you to two recent studies published by the National Foundation for
American Policy. The first, entitled "Talent Search," found that major U.S.
technology companies average more than 470 job openings for skilled
positions, while defense companies average more than 1,200 such openings.
In all, more than 140,000 skilled job openings are available today in the
S&P 500 companies.
The second study, "H-1B Visas and Job Creation," reports the results of a
regression analysis of H-1B filings and employment at U.S. tech companies.
The objective was to determine if hiring foreign nationals harms the job
prospects of Americans -- a common claim of protectionists. In fact, the
study found a positive association between H-1B visa requests and the
percentage change in total employment.
Among S&P 500 firms, "the data show that for every H-1B position requested,
U.S. technology companies increased employment by 5 workers," according to
the study. And "for technology firms with fewer than 5,000 employees, each
H-1B position requested in labor condition applications was associated with
an increase of employment of 7.5 workers." Far from stealing jobs from
Americans, skilled immigrants expand the economic pie.
Mr. Gates said his software company exemplifies this phenomenon. "Microsoft
has found that for every H-1B hire we make, we add on average four
additional employees to support them in various capacities," he told
lawmakers. "If we increase the number of H-1B visas that are available to
U.S. companies, employment of U.S. nationals would likely grow as well."
The preponderance of evidence continues to show that businesses are having
difficulty filling skilled positions in the U.S. By blocking their access
to foreign talent, Congress isn't protecting U.S. jobs but is providing
incentives to outsource. If lawmakers can't bring themselves to eliminate
the H-1B visa cap, they might at least raise it to a level that doesn't
handicap U.S. companies.
11. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/business/articles/0319biz-visas0319
.html
Immigrant-worker visas could double if new bill passes
Ken Alltucker
The Arizona Republic
Mar. 19, 2008
A bill introduced last week by U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords would double
the number of H-1B visas that allow immigrants to legally work in the
United States.
The Tucson Democrat's bill, known as the Innovation Employment Act, calls
for increasing the limit of H-1B visas from 65,000 a year to 130,000 a
year. The bill also would eliminate a 20,000-a-year cap on visas for
foreign graduate or doctoral-program graduates who study science,
technology, engineering or math.
Another bill submitted by U.S. Rep. Lamar Smith, R-Texas, would expand the
annual visa limit even further to 195,000 for fiscal years 2008 and 2009.
advertisement
A Giffords representative said expanding the number of visas for high-tech
companies is critical to ensure Arizona and other states are competitive in
a global economy that rewards science and math skills.
"In order to stay competitive and keep the momentum going in Arizona, we
need to make sure that the talent is here. It is just the type of people we
want here to drive and grow our economy," said C.J. Karamargin, a Giffords
spokesman.
Karamargin said Giffords introduced the bill after hearing from Arizona
tech leaders about the need for a more robust immigrant-worker visa program
that brings talented employees to the United States.
The program is used by high-tech companies and universities alike, with the
University of Arizona counting more than 300 H-1B visa holders.
Science Foundation Arizona President Bill Harris said a shortage of
engineers and technical workers is one of the most challenging hurdles
Arizona faces as it seeks to build a knowledge-based economy.
Harris said he would strongly support Giffords' bill because it seeks to
expand the nation's pool of technical workers, but, he added, the long-term
solution rests with the nation's education system.
"It points to the need to more effectively prepare our own students,"
Harris said.
H-1B visas have drawn fire from some domestic tech workers who say some
employers abuse the program and use it to access cheap labor.
Reach the reporter at 602-444-8285.
12. +++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
http://www.computerworld.com.au/index.php/id;1748793799
Bill would double cap on H-1B visas
A new bill in the US Congress would double the number of H-1B visas
available in the US each year.
17/03/2008
A bill introduced in the U.S. Congress would double the number of immigrant
worker visas available each year under the H-1B program, earning the
legislation praise from Microsoft.
The Innovation Employment Act, introduced by Representative Gabrielle
Giffords, an Arizona Democrat, late Thursday, would increase the cap in
H-1B visas from 65,000 a year to 130,000 a year. In addition, there would
be no cap on H-1B applications for foreign graduate students attending U.S.
colleges and studying science, technology and related fields. Currently,
there's a 20,000-a-year cap on visas for graduate students in all fields.
The legislation would increase the H-1B cap to 180,000 in 2010 to 2015 if
the 130,000 cap is reached the year before. The H-1B visa allows US firms
to employ foreign workers in specialty occupations. Many IT companies use
the visa to fill positions when local skills are lacking.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates called for an increase in the H-1B visa cap
while testifying before the House of Representatives Science and Technology
Committee Wednesday. In recent years, the H-1B cap has been filled days --
or even the same day -- after the government opened the application period.
"We provide the world's best universities ... and the students are not
allowed to stay and work in the country," Gates said Wednesday. "The fact
is, [other countries'] smartest people want to come here and that's a huge
advantage to us, and in a sense, we're turning them away."
Microsoft praised Giffords' bill. The legislation "would boost America's
competitiveness by giving U.S. employers the flexibility they need to hire
the best talent available to fill a severe shortage of qualified U.S.
high-skilled workers," Jack Krumholtz, management director of federal
government affairs for Microsoft, said in a statement. The bill would also
increase U.S. jobs; Microsoft hires an additional four people to support
each H-1B worker, Krumholtz said.
The U.S. government will begin accepting visa applications for next year in
April, and Microsoft predicted the cap would be filled the same day, as it
was in 2007. "The current system effectively prevents American companies
from hiring this year's foreign-born university graduates," Krumholtz
added.
The Giffords' bill would also increase penalties for H-1B fraud and allows
the U.S. Department of Labor to reject H-1B applications for "clear
indicators of fraud," in addition the current rule of rejecting only
applications that are inaccurate or incomplete. The bill puts important
safeguards on the H-1B program in place, said C.J. Karamargin, a spokesman
for Giffords.
The bill would prohibit companies from hiring H-1B workers, then
outsourcing them to other companies, he said. H-1B opponents have
complained that outsourcing companies are among the top users of H-1B
visas.
The legislation would also prohibit companies with more than 50 employees
that have more than half of their staff as H-1B workers from hiring more
H-1Bs, and it would prohibit employers from advertising jobs as available
only to H-1B workers, Karamargin said. "The bill would put some teeth in
the Department of Labor's oversight role" of the program, he said.
Giffords sees the importance of H-1Bs because Southern Arizona has been
growing as a hub for tech companies, Karamargin added. "There's a need to
stay competitive and keep the momentum growing," he added. "That means
making sure the talent is available to drive the local and national tech
economy."
But despite some attempts at addressing H-1B fraud, Giffords' bill would do
little to address worker concerns about the program, said Ron Hira, a
public policy professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and former
chairman of the Career and Workforce Policy Committee at the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA.
"This bill takes none of the concerns raised by American technology workers
seriously," Hira said. He called the bill a "massive" increase in the H-1B
cap.
"This bill will basically do nothing to stem employers from using the H-1B
program as a source of cheap labor and to substitute for American workers,"
Hira said. "It doesn't require any kind of labor market test --
demonstrating that a shortage actually exists before hiring an H-1B."
The bill doesn't fix "serious problems" in setting wage floors for H-1B
workers, Hira added. "No matter how one dresses up this bill, it would do
nothing to curb the practice of companies bringing in computer programmers
for $12 per hour to displace U.S. workers," he said. "If this bill were to
be passed as written, it would do serious damage to the American
information technology labor market, displacing many American workers,
discouraging the next generation of students from entering the career, and
speed up the offshoring of high-wage high-technology jobs."
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