Posted on 03/04/2020 4:46:39 PM PST by spintreebob
In the 2016 presidential race, Donald Trump campaigned against the H-1B work visa program. He invited former IT workers at Disney Parks, Experiences and Products, Inc., to speak at his rallies, some of whom had trained visa-holding replacements as a condition of their severance.
In a debate in Miami, Trump called the H-1B visa program: unfair for our workers and said we should end it. As president, Trump didn't end the H-1B visa program, and he's made many unhappy over his efforts to reform it. Businesses are complaining about visa denials and delays in approvals. There is more enforcement, paperwork and uncertainty for business managers. Some of the former Disney workers aren't happy either. Leo Perrero, an application developer, was one of about 250 IT workers laid off from Disney in 2015. As a condition for his severance, he was asked to train his foreign worker replacements from IT services firms.
In 2016, Perrero appeared at Trump rallies three times, echoing points he made that year in testimony before the Senate immigration subcommittee. The committee was chaired by Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala.) who would go on to endorse Trump. This abuse of the H-1B visa is not about a lack of talent here in the U.S., Perrero told lawmakers. Former IT Disney worker Leo Perrero (center) spoke at several 2016 campaign rallies for Donald Trump (right) about the H-1B work visa program. Former Sen. Jeff Sessions (R-Ala, left) would become Trump's attorney general. At the rallies, We were paraded around on stages as examples of how a government program had gone awry and was stealing American jobs, Perrero said. That really hasn't changed whatsoever. Perrero said Trump is simply doing more to enforce existing laws. H-1B visa applications are being scrutinized more and questions are finally being asked, he said. But he doesn't see much impact on the offshore outsourcing business model that continues to go on. The largest users of H-1B visa workers are offshore outsourcing firms that move work to low-wage countries. Perrero continues to work in private sector IT.
The problem hasn't changed Another former Disney IT worker agreed with Perrero. I don't see any improvement to this problem, Keith Barrett said. He was among the Disney employees replaced by offshore IT outsourcing contractors. I don't believe [Trump] has addressed it, he said. The majority of contractors are still H-1B holders having routine skills found throughout the country," Barrett said. "Citizen professionals and college graduates cannot compete with a workforce that puts down no roots, has no mortgage or kids in school or student loan obligations, and is willing to relocate across the country every six to 12 months for low wages just to hold onto their visas and stay here."
The Trump administration has also angered the IT services industry. H-1B visas are typically approved for three years. But in 2018, the Trump administration toughened its policies by limiting visas for H-1B workers at third-party sites to the length of a client's contract, which could be a few months and as little one day, according to court records. This has created uncertainty for businesses, as well as some uncomfortable moments. The Trump administration has increased site visits by federal anti-fraud agents targeting IT services firms that use H-1B visa workers. It's unnerving to the end client to have a federal officer show up, said Bradley Banias, an attorney at Wasden Banias LLC in Charleston, S.C., which is representing some of the IT consulting firms in litigation against the Trump administration over H-1B rule changes. It hurts the business relationships between the end client and my client, he said.
The Trump administration strategy The Trump administration's position is that IT services firms that place workers at third-party sites are the companies that are most likely going to be the ones to displace U.S. workers. As a result, [they] have concentrated their enforcement and rule-making authority most on them, said Dick Burke, CEO of Envoy Global Inc., in Chicago, an immigration services firm that also provides immigration management software. Disney, for instance, used IT services firms HCL and Cognizant, both major users of H-1B visa workers that also run large offshore operations in India. Under the offshore model, domestic workers train contractors to take over certain operations, which are then done overseas once the knowledge transfer is completed.
The administration is also increasing denial rates for people with a bare minimum of skills, according to Burke. The Trump administration says its actions have improved the visa program. It is increasing the percentage of master's degree holders and salaries paid to H-1B work visa holders. A U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) spokesperson pointed to government data: The median salary for H-1B workers approved in 2018 was $10,000 over the previous fiscal year.
But it's hard to know if salaries paid to visa workers can be attributed to a policy change, said Ron Hira, associate professor in the department of political science at Howard University. Hira has testified before Congress on multiple occasions about the impact of the H-1B visa on the labor force. Other data suggests that the salaries paid to visa workers aren't changing significantly, he said. The U.S issues 85,000 H-1B visas annually for workers with a bachelor's degree or above. Approximately 66% of the visas go to workers in computer occupations, according to government data. Visa holders are sponsored by employers, and the initial approval for a visa is three years.
Visa wages rising, but still short H-1B visa workers can be paid less than U.S. workers under the prevailing wage system. The prevailing wages, which vary from region to region in the U.S., are categorized into four levels, from Level 1 for inexperienced workers to Level 4 for the most skilled. Level 3 wages are the median for U.S. workers. A Level 2 wage is, on average, 17% below the median wage for computer occupations in all locations, Hira said, based on his analysis. There's no doubt that the offshore outsourcers are reducing their Level 1 applications, and it can be soundly attributed to USCIS scrutiny of Level 1, Hira said. But 60% of employers are approved at Levels 1 or 2 -- and hardly any at Level 4, he said. Wages are still lower for the outsourcing firms, Hira said. He has been analyzing wage levels by employers for an upcoming paper. Trump has not even come close to fulfilling his promises. Ron HiraAssociate professor of political science, Howard University: The major offshore outsourcing firms might experience a little nuisance, but it's business as usual, Hira said. The Disney workers ought to be disappointed, Hira said. Trump has not even come close to fulfilling his promises.
IT contractors are litigating The IT services industry, however, argues that it is under siege. Members of ITServe Alliance Inc., a Dallas-based group that represents about 1,250 IT consulting firms in the U.S., have filed multiple lawsuits against the government. This includes one in January alleging that U.S. firms have been unlawfully charged $350 million in H-1B visa fees. The law firm Wasden Banias is representing them. The lawsuit is challenging USCIS over fees applied to so-called 50/50 companies -- firms with at least 50 employees that have 50% of their workers on a work visa. A $4,000 fee is applied to a change of status, such as a new worksite for a visa worker.
The ITServe Alliance said that most of its members are smaller firms that work as consultants and are not offshoring jobs, said Deepali Khadakban, director of the group's Policy Advisory Committee. But if the consulting firms face difficulty using visa workers, they may see it as a reason to shift some work overseas, Khadakban said. Now I'm thinking that if I have to continue to deliver to my customers, I may have no other choice but to have an office where the talent is," Khadakban said. "It could be Mexico; it could be India; it could be China. Some of the ITServe's member firms have more than 50% of their workforce comprised of foreign nationals on visas, according to its lawsuit.
H-1B work visa denial rates The Trump H-1B visa denial rate for the largest IT services firms is high relative to other firms. These firms have large workforces in India that serve U.S. clients. The denial rate for Cognizant Technology Solution is 31%; for Tata Consultancy Services, it's 22%; and for Infosys, it's 37%, according to a preliminary analysis by Hira. In contrast, the H-1B denial rate is much smaller for firms that are likely to use visa holders in their own workforces and not use them to move the work overseas. For instance, the denial rate for Microsoft is 3%, Facebook, 2%, Apple, 1%, and Intel, 3%, according to Hira.
But the denials have not changed demand for the H-1B visa. More denials could make those approved more likely to be qualified," said Hal Salzman, a professor of planning and public policy at Rutgers University. Salzman has testified before Congress on the workforce impacts of the visa. The evidence suggests that the main effect [of denials to outsourcing firms] is shifting the advantage to U.S.-based firms such as Microsoft and Google who have very few denials, Salzman said. Overall, in the short term, it's unlikely to slow the extensive use of offshoring and outsourcing firms that hire workers at below market wages.
After becoming president, Trump signaled major changes ahead for the H-1B work visa. His administration considered ending the visa lottery and prioritizing visas around salaries so that firms that paid high wages would have a better chance of getting their visa candidate approved. A visa lottery is held if the the number of H-1B visas exceed the visa cap. Instead, the Trump administration is making it easier to enter the visa lottery. On March 1, a new visa electronic registration system takes effect. Employers pay $10 and fill out an online registration for the lottery; if they are selected, they have 90 days to submit a full petition with required fees. The lottery change will encourage more employers to apply for visas, said Yova Borovska, an immigration attorney at Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC in Washington. It's so much easier to participate in a lottery.
The Democrat stands on the H-1B visa The H-1B work visa has not become an issue in the election so far. Trump hasn't raised it, and the Democrats are more likely to discuss immigration generally. But some of the Democrats have strong positions on the H-1B visa. Former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomblerg is a vigorous proponent of expanding the H-1B visa program. He was a founder of the Partnership for a New American Economy, which lobbies Congress for more H-1B visas. U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) has co-sponsored legislation to significantly raise the visa cap. Pete Buttigieg, former mayor of South Bend, Ind., once worked for McKinsey & Co., a management consulting firm that has argued in support of business offshoring. U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) remains vague about her plans for the work visa. Former Vice President Joe Biden calls for a "wage-based allocation process" on temporary visas and appears to support increasing visa caps.
The only Democratic candidate critical of the H-1B visa program is U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (D-Vt.). Sarah Blackwell, a Florida attorney who represented laid-off Disney workers, said Trump "no longer acknowledges" the problems with the H-1B visa. "Some of the Disney workers are among the disappointed in his lack of support and action since the election," Blackwell said. "But there are American workers who have been, and are being, fired and training foreigners to take their jobs who still hold onto the hope that President Trump will be the hero he promised to be."
Join the conversation spushor - 24 Feb 2020 10:33 PM I and many have been asking how a Senator from a small state with a tiny population of Indians, be in such favor of non-citizen group so much as to sponsor a bill that that does not especially benefit his state’s population and economy?
Alas, this story has more depth as to the ways of Washington are revealed and how big Tech lobbyist influence peddling and downright legislative bribery can evolve over time dictated strategies and executed with economic ploys that over time leads to where were are today. Now we are preparing to turn over the family jewels to a caste based poorly educated third world country. It all makes perfect sense right?
I dug this out of a Google Transparency blog: “The Curious Transformation of Mike Lee”
https://googletransparencyproject.org/articles/the-curious-transformation-of-sen-mike-lee
The Curious Transformation of Mike Lee is to study and read the details which are shocking. Through out time, in years, Senator Lee was groomed by Google and Facebook thru the Heritage Foundation to provide Lee’s campaign with money and not only that build huge data centers in UTAH to influence Lee to side with Google and Facebook policies.
The end result was the Lee’s sponsorship of“S.386: Fairness for High-Skilled Immigrants Act of 2019”, the green card give away bill as you will see in the last sentence. That was the ultimate goal, get the Indians green cards, no wonder Mike Lee works so hard on this, he owes Google and Facebook. Big Time.
Here in Atlanta we have whole subdivisions of Indians. All tech workers. There are thousands of them.
Here is Jax, FL the stream of tech H-1B’s has risen to a steadily growing river.
I drove up to Savananah last weekend and was not surprised to see Indians running fast food and gas stations in rural Georgia. The stream of legal immigration has become a river in our neck of woods. Don’t think that won’t eventually cost us elections. Soon, IMO.
I can attest to that. I live in Alpharetta and when I moved here in 2000 there weren’t all that many Indians here. Now we are completely overrun by them.
Same is happening in Jax, FL. Large swaths of west side of Jax are being Hispanized and H-1B fueled tech companies are sprouting too. These Demographic changes happen FAST. Turbo fast in a good economy like right now.
Yes, I almost took a job in Jax a few years ago and it doesn’t suprise me. Maybe that’s why we are always being told its such a great economy- just not for Americans.
Lee is referred to as #MumbaiMike on Twitter.
Tucker just did a segment on AT&T in Dallas doing the same thing. One employee said it involved thousands of AT&T workers who are training their replacements.
Try being a mid-50s female looking for a job.
All work visas (H1B and others) should be severely limited.
There is nothing temporary about H-1B’s and there are too many of them here.
***********************************************
You’re right and THIS is a major weakness of Trump’s. He simply has a blind spot on the subject. Sad!
We need to charge fees for obtaining an H1b Visa that ensure it will COST MORE to employ an H1b visa holder than it will to employ an American for that same job.
Yep, I figure a full years salary fee would do the trick.
Trump knew they hurt Americans and campaigned to end them. Shows the power of $$ that nothing has been done to curtail them. If Trump won’t stop them, who will? No real advocates out there for American workers.
But widespread COVID-19 might be sending a lot of jobs back to the U.S. very soon.
I absolutely hope the coronavirus decimates the H1B population in King County. Both these groups don’t follow the same hygiene and living standards as we do in the West (except perhaps matching California homeless areas). This lying cheating scum are worse than union scabs and have turned the better parts of Eastern King County into Communist Chinese and Indian shitholes. While the only jobs left for Americans are fast food and low-paying retail.
H-1B work visa denial rates The Trump H-1B visa denial rate for the largest IT services firms is high relative to other firms. These firms have large workforces in India that serve U.S. clients. The denial rate for Cognizant Technology Solution is 31%; for Tata Consultancy Services, it’s 22%; and for Infosys, it’s 37%, according to a preliminary analysis by Hira. In contrast, the H-1B denial rate is much smaller for firms that are likely to use visa holders in their own workforces and not use them to move the work overseas. For instance, the denial rate for Microsoft is 3%, Facebook, 2%, Apple, 1%, and Intel, 3%, according to Hira.
These percentages mean nothing without totals included with them. A firm could have 6.757 total applicants and get denied 37%. While on the hand a smaller firm could only have 32 applicants and get a 37% denial rate. Clearly, the larger firm has more applicants (6,757 applicants with 2,500 denials) and will get more applicants approved compared to only 32 total applicants getting 12 denials. By stating the above, the author is stating that the larger the company the less applicants should be denied. This would be grossly unfair to smaller companies as the larger companies would grossly overshadow the smaller company. When dealing with people from India, 1) they are not always smarter as I have personally experienced and 2) they do not have more experience than US Citizens as I have encountered on numerous ocassions. I firmly believe American companies do not vet foreign workers as stringently as they do their American workers. This might be due to the fact that Indian H1-B companies, yes there is a market in India applying for for their citizens to get an H1-B visa, have learned how to game the system. In turn American companies believe the H1-B worker has been vetted already so no additional vetting needs to be done. Secondly, the American company sees the foreign vetting process as too expensive. Third, it doesn’t matter because the company counts on the outgoing American worker to be replaced by the H1-B visa worker will train the “new guy”. Lastly, the H1-B worker counts on the “generosity” of the outgoing American worker that remains to pick up the slack thhus making the H1-B worker look good to which they undoubtedly take the credit for the work they did not do.
Lastly, I am under firm belief that there is no shortage of American skilled workers who can do the job, however, companies cry they cannot find qualified skilled workers so they must rely on the H1-B visa program. As an example, a major insurance company for the help desk position now requires at least 2 supervisory references and 2 co-worker references. Nothing to do with the skill of the worker applying for the position. If the worker does not have one of the supervisory or co-worker references, the insurance company stops the interview and does not pursue the candidate further. Then the company cries it cannot find skilled workers and then must rely on the H1-B visa program to fill the position. Doesn’t matter if the American worker had a verifiable resume with the needed skills.
One other thing, I have seen recruiters have no clue on their industry needs. Let’s say a worker has an advanced tech skill. However, that skill was named something else. A lesser skill needed for the advanced skill was left off the resume. The recruiter files the resume in the round filing cabinet because it wasn’t listed. This is also a problem with computer resume checkers. I know a person who put every skill he had on his resume because this kept happening to him. He got the comment from an interviewer his resume contained an alphabet soup of skills. He replied that if the recruiter’s knew their industry he wouldn’t have to do that because this was the third version of his resume he submitted for the job.
Where are these skilled Americans? I refer again to the $100 million contract my shop gave to a big IT firm. They set up shop in Smyrna GA, Cobb County west suburb of Atlanta.
From May 2018 to Aug 2019 they brought in about 100 people, most employees but many contractors also (mostly TEK for them). Most were in the $100k- 120k per year range. Tops was about $350k. A few were in the 60K range.
I would rate about 5 of the 100 competent in IT. Unfortunately the competent few were not in management, which has a lot of turnover because they could not find competent management.
About 13 of the top 15 management they went thru were natural born citizens.
The 100 were a mix of Natural Born citizens (about 50-60%), 10% Naturalized citizens, 10%, Green care 10%, H1b 10%, illegals 10% (round percentages obviously).
Why could we not find competent IT workers?
Please give your technical background or is this just your opinion as to how many were competent. You don’t name the big IT shop. It can either be most employees or most contractors but it cannot be most employees and most contractors. As the word “most” implies over half of the makeup of the total group is over 50%. You do not give your background in the company. So I don’t know your skill set to be an objective judge as to whether these people were “competent”. Of course if the project(s) were not up to satisfaction it could be deemed as incompetent. However this does not speak of the product delivered. Too much subjectivity in a vague post.
My theory from what I have observed is at least 95% of the IT jobs are advertised for 5+ years experience in all areas as they want someone who knows scripting, system administration, backup and recovery, storage management etc. and be on call . There aren’t many Americans who can fulfill all these requirements so they get discouraged from applying or they apply , and get the job , and get abused trying to meet the requirements and called incompetent. IT is ever changing and companies don’t invest in the employees anymore. So then they bring in an H1B who often lie about their qualifications and also fail in the job or ticket their way through their job by opening calls with vendors for everything but then they are already here and have started the playbook on how to game our system and they don’t go home. Incompetence in IT management is pretty standard in my experience.
Now their parking lots are filled with satellite dishes "pointed towards India", and once-thriving businesses have shuttered.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.