Posted on 12/04/2009 9:35:58 AM PST by TSgt
After months of lackluster response, US authorities have witnessed a sudden increase in demand for H-1B work visa, which is popular among Indian professionals, though the applications received so far are still over 6,000 short of the Congress-mandated cap of 65,000.
Latest figures released by the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) show an increase in the number of people applying for H-1B visas in the last two months.
As a result of which, till November 27, the USCIS had received about 58,900 H-1B petitions. This is still over 6,000 short of the Congressionally-mandated cap of 65,000 H-1B visas in the general category.
The USCIS has approved sufficient H-1B petitions for aliens with advanced degrees to meet the exemption of 20,000 from the fiscal year 2010 cap.
According to the periodic figures released by USCIS, in the past two months more than 12,000 H-1B visas have been filed.
In the beginning of October, more than 18,000 H-1B visas were vacant.
I simply can't see how any H1B application could be approved with the current unemployment rate or why this program is not canceled until unemployment falls.
The raping of the middleclass continues...
There might be specialized disciplines to need external talent, but not 65000 of them. This is just more government intrusion that negatively impacts supply and demand.
Interesting since my company just outsourced the entire IT support and maintenance group. Only dev was retained.
No, I’m not kidding. I used to work for a mapping company that brought in H1B workers for software development. You can count on both hands the schools in the world that teach that level of stuff. I think the rule is that H1Bs are used to undercut U.S. workers, but there are exceptions.
The raping of the middleclass continues...
Bingo!!!!
I work PT for an AV company and MOST of our customers dont want to be transferred to the Indian techs so we have no choice but to use our L.A. techs who are overwhelmed. The problem? Language/miscommunication/rude. You may be the best technician on the planet but if your social skills are similar to a caveman’s, it just wont work.
I'm about ready to do a lap dance for a job. ;)
ping
The H1B numbers are false positives and do not mean that new jobs are being created. Due to the bureaucracy in the immigration department, an application for a visa takes several months. Many Indian companies now require all new recruits to apply for the H1B visa as soon as they join even when the employer has no firm plans to send them here.
What org.whodat said.
The most odious aspect of the H1B program is that the aliens are paid by their foreign employers, at the rate dictated in those foreign countries, which is always well below prevailing US wage rates. It’s no wonder US employers love to claim that there just aren’t any Americans who can do the work, necessitating the outsourcing through H1B visas.
What they really mean is that there aren’t any Americans who can do the work AT THE PAY LEVELS THE EMPLOYERS WANT TO PAY.
Don’t look for obama to grasp this. A bribe is a bribe is a bribe.
Offshoring sucks but I understand it is a part of global competition. Importing people into the U.S. to take jobs from Americans is un-American.
If you don’t have a middle-class to buy your product it doesn’t matter how cheap you can make it.
Related:
U.S. citizens compete at day-labor centers.
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2009-11-29-citizen-day-laborers_N.htm?POE=click-refer
[snip]Growing ranks of U.S. citizens are heading to street corners and home improvement store parking lots to find day-labor work usually done by illegal immigrants.
I agree..until our economy recovers, I think immigration should be lowered across the board. Especially in sectors that pay middle class wages.
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