Obama Administration Lets More Foreign Students Stay in U.S. for Jobs, Raising Competition Concerns

Fox News ^ | May 18, 2011

[La Lydia]

On the heels of President Obama's immigration speech last week, the Department of Homeland Security is expanding the pool of foreign students eligible for a 17-month visa extension -- giving presumably brainy grads more time to train and, in some cases, secure a long-term job. The administration claims the move is a step toward "fixing our broken immigration system," by ensuring high-tech students can put their skills to use in the U.S., not overseas. But it's also raised concern that the change could hurt U.S. job-seekers by making them compete against more foreign graduates, at a time when unemployment is already high.

David North, a fellow with the Center for Immigration Studies, said foreign students might even gain an edge, considering those who take advantage of this particular extension will not have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes, and neither will their employers.

North estimated that, because of the tax factor, companies would get a 7.65 percent discount by hiring a foreign student under this program, something he said creates an "unequal playing field" for other college grads. The students and employers would only have to pay those taxes if and when they secured a regular work visa. "I'm not sure how many employers know this, but boy when it gets around, it'll make some people very attractive," North told FoxNews.com. "It gives the employer a bonus for hiring the foreign worker." ...

The Immigration and Customs Enforcement statement announcing the expansion said the change is meant to "address shortages in certain high tech sectors of talented scientists."

[La Lydia]

Once again, screwed by the Obama administration, who favors foreigners at the expense of Americans. "Foreign students who take advantage of this extension WON'T have to pay Social Security or Medicare taxes, and neither will their employers! Because of the tax break, companies would get a 7.65 percent discount by hiring a foreign student. "It gives the employer a BONUS for hiring the foreign worker."

Foreign students do account for a sizeable chunk of those studying science, technology, engineering and math at American schools. According to the National Science Foundation, more temporary visa holders enrolled in graduate engineering programs in 2008 than U.S. citizens and permanent residents. In 2009, 53 percent of physical science doctorate recipients were citizens or permanent residents, compared with 42 percent studying on temporary visas. THIS IS BECAUSE OUR LOUSY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT TEACHING OUR CHILDREN MATH AND HARD SCIENCE.

[Diogenesis]

"Gottman uses several factors to determine which marriages
will succeed or fail. But the main one is this: contempt.
If a spouse mocks the other, talks down to him,
rolls eyes, or sneers, that marriage is a goner."

[Daisyjane69]

I know people with PhDs in the math and sciences who are desperate in their search for jobs. It’s not that we don’t graduate these kinds of students; it’s that companies view them as radioactive to hire, as they actually have the nerve to expect a fair wage. Go to Bellevue, WA and see what Bill Gates did. He only hires foreign PhDs, who are willing to work for a green card & minimum wage. If you want more info on this tomorrow, I’ll get it to you.

That said.....people are conveniently forgetting the reason why US colleges have been so generous with student visas. It is not to make them citizens or anything like that. The original reason for granting general foreign student visas was simple: to expose students to free market capitalism, a constitutional republic, carried out in democratic ways. It was SUPPOSED to be something they learned and took back to their home countries, in order to enact peaceful change to totalitarian and feudal governments.

[BikerJoe]

In 2009, 53 percent of physical science doctorate recipients were citizens or permanent residents, compared with 42 percent studying on temporary visas. THIS IS BECAUSE OUR LOUSY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT TEACHING OUR CHILDREN MATH AND HARD SCIENCE.

Partially. It's also because science and engineering are no longer viewed as viable careers in this country, in part due to outsourcing. It's a cycle that needs to be broken, but part of it will require students seeing a long-term ROI, not working for 10 years only to have your job moved overseas and ending up selling shoes.

Also, keep in mind that our technical universities ARE considered to be excellent, and foreign students are here on their government's dime. Kinda stacks the deck against the local kids.

[oh8eleven]

Any public official who puts the wants and needs of a foreigner ahead of an American, should be ousted immediately.

[BobL]

“THIS IS BECAUSE OUR LOUSY PUBLIC SCHOOLS ARE NOT TEACHING OUR CHILDREN MATH AND HARD SCIENCE. “

...and that is the bottom line. So, should we wallow in our crappy home-grown Americans, or let the best and brightest foreigners stay here to contribute and help out? Not an open and shut question, since we’ve ruled out educating our own people.

[Daisyjane69]

And I honestly don’t know how many times I have to say this around here. But Obama’s “motto” for running this country is:

“I’m gonna get ‘even’ with you bastards”

That’s it.

He is going to do as much damage, as fast as he can, putting in place as many statutory IEDs as he is able to, while he still has the power to do so.

This is why I continue to warn my fellow FReepers to not dig their heels in. We all have our own candidates in 2012 that we like. But those who promise to stay home and not vote if their candidate is not “the one” are committing treason, IMO.

Every single candidate who is in, and even among those who have dropped out are better than the current occupant of the White Hut.

[Sooth2222]

More foreign students taking US jobs ultimately leaves more unemployed Obama constituents to become unpaid "community organizers". I'm sort of guessing that's Zero's plan!

[BobP]

To know Jackwagon Barry the community organizer all you need to do is look at the first no-class First Lady; angry, bitter and anti-American with a black liberation theology/Socialist belief system.

This Marxist putz belongs in jail.

[pnh102]

This is crazy... we should not be granting any foreign work visas while US unemployment is so high!

[PATRIOT1876]

You know, I was hoping that maybe he’d be right once, at least accidentally.

I think there is no doubt now that 0bama is deliberately trying to destroy the country. No one could be that dumb.

[Buckeye McFrog]

The original intent of this program was to get the foreign grad student a little bit of hands-on experience in a technologically advanced environment so that they could then return to their home countries and apply that knowledge to elevate the standard of living. In reality though very few ever go home.

[HiJinx]

Ping!

[Vigilanteman]

One of our local universities, Carnegie-Mellon, has one of the best regarded IT programs in the country. A couple of years ago, a You-Tube hidden camera recording of a seminar at a local hotel went viral. The seminar was for IT companies and the topic was on "How NOT to hire Americans."

My daughter was classmates to a nice young man and his girlfriend who got married soon after he graduated from CMU, as well qualified as any graduate from India, but he had a very tough time getting a job whereas his Indian classmates all got multiple offers. Go figure.

[Regulator]

They are not going to change this, as long as the majority of "immigrants" are non-Whites.

The Obama administration is rabidly racist, and their only motivation is to push the white majority into irrelevancy. They won't get as far as South Africa, but that's the model.

If the "immigrants" were Germans from the Goettingen school of Fluid Mechanics, Mr. Hussein and his friends would put a stop to it overnight.

They are not interested in "competitiveness" no matter what they say. They are interested in pushing white males and to a lesser extent white females out of work.

Period. End of story. They figure that the Caucasian time has passed and now they deserve the pie.

This of course shows how stupid they really are - thinking that somehow, magically, the wealth of the U.S. just "happens" and is there to be picked like a fruit, but then...that's why their countries look the way they do.

And I do included Soetoro and his buddies in that comment, because to a man, there ain't an American in the bunch.

[Cobra64]

Thanks for those pics. I put a few together for future posting.