Posted on 06/18/2007 6:38:12 AM PDT by BornInASmallTown
Despite the Senate's failure to act on sweeping immigration legislation, the technology industry still sees comprehensive reform as the best way to get more H-1B visas for foreign engineers and computer programmers, and to reduce the backlog for green cards.
Demand for H-1B visas, which allow highly skilled foreigners to work in the United States for six years, dramatically exceeds supply. The federal government received 150,000 petitions for fiscal 2008's allotment of 65,000 H-1B visas on the first day it accepted applications.
This visa shortage hurts companies like Google Inc., where H-1B visa holders account for 8 percent of its U.S. work force, and helped lead the development of Google News and orkut, Google's social networking site. "Each and every day we find ourselves unable to pursue highly qualified candidates because there are not enough H-1B visas," said Laszlo Bock, vice president of people operations for Mountain View, Calif.-based Google.
The original version of the Senate immigration bill would have raised the annual cap on H-1B visas to 115,000, gradually increasing up to 180,000 a year if needed. But the bill failed to include exemptions, passed by the Senate last year, for foreigners with advanced degrees. An amendment restoring these exemptions, and addressing other alleged flaws in the bill's H-1B visa provisions, was pending when the Senate stopped work on the legislation. The amendment also calls for an employer-sponsored pool of green cards. The original bill would have ended employer sponsorship of individuals for green cards, which enable foreigners to live permanently in the United States.
(Excerpt) Read more at triad.bizjournals.com ...
H1B bump for later......
H1B visa represent jobs Americans can’t do. Our public schools have done a terrible job teaching applied math and science.
Tell that to the older programmers and engineers that companies are unwilling to hire. We have plenty of technical workers. But there is a shortage of cheap technical workers.
“H1B visa represent jobs Americans can’t do. Our public schools have done a terrible job teaching applied math and science.”
I agree our public schools stink but disagree with the rest. I run a tech company and have no problem finding qualified people. The only reason companies use H1Bs is they can pay them less and work them to death. Most companies don’t even care about the quality of the worker, just the cost.
Many companies will tailor the job description for the sole purpose of disqualifying Americans.
There are a lot more technical jobs than in the computer/tech industry. U.S. schools do not produce anywere near the number of scientists and engineers in non-computer fields than are needed.
At first read I thought it said "Immigration bill best chance to boost Hep B virus".
Programmers here on H1B visas work for a lot less than experienced US workers. Consulting firms I’ve dealt with make out like bandits by hiring H1B workers.
Bingo. For the companies it’s a no-brainer. They can word the job description to skirt along the “must pay comparable wage” part of the H-1B and get themselves a foreign contract worker for $20k or more less than an American worker. Plus, the H-1B will generally work harder and for longer hours, because he’s working scared. As I understand it, switching jobs is extremely difficult for H-1Bs, and if they lose the job, they have to go home quickly. It’s cheap skilled labor for tech companies, without tying themselves down to paying an employee benefits or paying higher contract rates for an American worker.
This is why the best bet for American IT folks (especially ones like me pushing middle age) is to get into specialties that play to our strengths. In my case, I’m getting out of development and into quality assurance, and using my communication skills to keep myself somewhat valuable. Prakash or Deepti might be able to work 65 hours a week for months at a time where I can’t, and sling code just as well as I can at half the rate, but I can write and communicate better, and that counts for a lot.
}:-)4
I am not talking about technicians. I am talking about folks who work in the labs — R&D. Go to any university lab in the country — half if not more of the grad students are from abroad.
Trust me. I bet I was the only American kid in my math class to get an A in calculus my freshman year in college. I went to a private high school and had calclulus there—most of the other American kids hadn’t even had trig in high school. By the time I hit multi-D...in a class of 30 kids, 10 were from the states. That was 15 years ago, I doubt much has changed.
“U.S. schools do not produce anywere near the number of scientists and engineers in non-computer fields than are needed.”
The left leaning Universities is one reason. Another reason is the schools frequently give preference to rich foreigners.
“I went to a private high school and had calclulus there—most of the other American kids hadn’t even had trig in high school. By the time I hit multi-D...in a class of 30 kids, 10 were from the states.”
Public schools have failed for sure.
Universities will many times allow a foreigner in before an America. Wasn’t it Yale that allowed a known terrorist in and declined citizens.
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