[Dilbert San Diego]

Maybe I’m just ignorant of the basics. But never understood about this need for H1b visa tech workers.

If we have a shortage of tech workers or other workers for that matter, why aren’t we training our own citizens to fill such jobs?

I’m perhaps ignorant about lower level jobs too. Why are so many hotel.maids foreigners? We have millions of unemployed who could fill such jobs very soon, as being a hotel worker is a low skill sort of job. We are not taking about years of training and special skills to clean houses or hotel rooms.

[Bigtigermike]

We don’t have a shortage of STEM jobs, its a lie!! They just want cheap labor of STEM jobs. They hire them overseas on these visas for so many months or a year or two and then dump them after that. There’s plenty of Americans that can do those jobs

[stilloftyhenight]

Why? To misquote Niemoller:

First they came for the blue collar workers, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a blue collar worker.

Then they came for the burger flippers, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a burger flipper.

Then they came for the maids, and I did not speak out—

Because I was not a maid.

Then they came for me—

and there was no one left to speak for me.

[Nea Wood]

All I can figure is, foreigners work cheaper. They’ll crowd more people into one house or apartment, and it’s still better than how they lived in their home countries. Americans don’t want to live that way. Most of us don’t want to share a place with six roommates! We want to make a living wage and have benefits. There used to be the American Dream; now we are somehow made to feel guilty or selfish just for wanting these things.

[KarlInOhio]

I've had two proposed solutions to the H1B situation. The first is to have the employers bid for slots rather than having them apply on a first come first served basis which fills the number of allowed visas quickly. That means a company which wants a foreign semiconductor professor would pay a lot more and bump the visa expense of Indians getting barely over minimum wage for help desk jobs.

The second is to give the visa to the employee rather than the employer. The employee would then be free to get employment anywhere instead of being an indentured servant to the company and their pay would rise to the market rate... which would make them less desirable and more companies would then hire US citizens.

[conservativegranny]

Could it be that we just pay people too much not to work?

It won’t be long until the new immigrants figure this out too.

[sickoflibs]

RE:”Maybe I’m just ignorant of the basics. But never understood about this need for H1b visa tech workers.”

WASHINGTON, DC – U.S. Senator Ted Cruz (R-TX) today presented an amendment to the Gang of Eight immigration bill that would improve our nation’s legal immigration system by increasing high-skilled temporary worker visas, called H-1B visas, by 500 percent. The measure would effectively address the needs of our nation’s high-skilled workforce by helping meet the growing demand for workers in the science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields. It will also make block grants available to states to promote STEM education efforts and increase domestic STEM professionals. The committee voted against the amendment 4 to 14 with every Democrat voting against it on a party-line vote.
Sen. Cruz Presents Measure to Strengthen, Improve Legal Immigration SENATOR CRUZ OFFICE ^ | 14 MAY 2013 | SENATOR CRUZ PRESS RELEASE

[Eagles6]

Exactly. There is actually fairly high unemployment for American citizen tech workers. The big tech companies; Google, Microsoft, Facebook and Silicon Valley push for more visas so they can hire foreign workers at a fraction of the cost of an American.

[wiggen]

i majored in English lit a good many years ago. I loved to read so it was easy. That was my only reason. I went to an employment agency after college and ended up interning at a small Wall st. firm. That became my career. I learned on the job, a profession for which i had zero preparation.

[Does so]

If we have a shortage of tech workers or other workers for that matter, why aren’t we training our own citizens to fill such jobs?

Our taxpayer-funded "Government schooling" is inferior even to the schools in India. Those H1B engineers would raise the average level of production here—if they stay. Many are more versed in Western Civilization than our native students.

If they return, they'll have an enhanced command of English to succeed in their native country. I've seen it myself.

[central_va]

If we have a shortage of tech workers or other workers for that matter, why aren’t we training our own citizens to fill such jobs?

Believe me, if there was a shortage of STEM workers then salaries would be through the roof. They are not. Employers do not want to pay market wages. They are trying to undercut Americans and low ball them.

[Pelham]

“If we have a shortage of tech workers or other workers for that matter, why aren’t we training our own citizens to fill such jobs?”

C’mon. Shortage has nothing to do with it. Tech companies are just replacing American IT workers with cheaper H1Bs.

And they pay good money to politicians of both parties so that they can do it.