Crisis continues: US may abolish H1-B visa

Economic Times of India ^ | July 13, 2003 | CHIDANAND RAJGHATTA

[sarcasm]

WASHINGTON: The H1-B visa on the chopping block again. A prominent anti- immigration lawmaker has introduced in the US Congress, a Bill that seeks to abolish the visa category that facilitates a large number of skilled Indian professionals take up jobs in the United States.

The move is certain to be opposed by US high-tech companies and many other lawmakers considering that H1-B visa cap is slated to brought down from its peak of nearly 200,000 per year in the year 2000 to its original level of 65,000.

But even that is too much for Congressman Tom Tancredo. Often described as a onetrick pony and a single-issue Congressman, Tancredo has campaigned relentlessly against both illegal and legal

immigration. But as chairman of the Congressional Immigration Reform Caucus

now, his 15-line Bill aimed at eliminating all visas under H1-B category introduced

this week goes further than he has done before at time when job loss in the United States has roused sentiments against white collar immigration.

The move, if it comes to fruition, will particularly hurt Indian business interests, which used to snag about 50 per cent of all H1-B visas before the current economic downturn in the US and job migration to India brought down the number. The latest report from India’s National Association of Software and Service Companies Nasscom) says India accounted for 77,000 H1-B visas in 2001 but only 33,000 in 2002, and the total is expected drop to 30,000 this year.

More recently, the US has been unable to issue even the reduced quota of H1-B visas despite attempts at farming it out to other non-technical professionals like teachers and nurses.

But immigration of any sort is anathema Tancredo, who last month incurred the wrath of the White House by suggesting that if there was another terrorist attack on the United States, and it was done by someone who had entered the country illegally, ‘‘then the blood of the people that are killed will be on our hands and the president’s.’’

Tancredo’s bill has been spurred by a campaign by US tech workers, who are losing jobs in increasing numbers through a combination of immigration, outsourcing and advancement of technical skills outside US, wage differentials and other factors.

[SandRat]

I support that move.

Cancel the damned thing!!!!

Cancel all of the ones that have been issued!

Could it be that Peter Jennings got wind of this proposal and that all of these visas might be cancelled and that's the real reason that he finally became an American Citizen???

Hmmmm?

[BJungNan]

So sorry to hear about this as I just opened up at BofA - only game in this one horse town. Shocking, though, having someone train their replacement. This country really has no class any longer. I'd love to have a word with the manager that did this.

[MR. CAPITALIST]

Why I am a Capitalist (Taken from The Capitalist Conservative Republican Homepage.

When I speak of Capitalism I speak of the free market. Other interpretations define capitalism as a system based on business, money, and/or greed. It is none of which. Capitalism is a system based on individual freedom. It encompases an individuals right to make choices, an individuals right to pursue his or her interests, and an individuals right to opportunity. Capitalism does not promise one will be successful. It leaves this to the individual. Success depends on what one makes of it. A person must be willing to work for success. This opportunity can be found in few other economic systems.

Capitalism alllows a the market and price mechanism to allocate resources. Capitalism stands against centralized government control of this. It stands against communist and socialist systems. Capitalism stands for freedom. In my opinion we should pursue capitalism as a method of pursuing freedom.

Capitalism is an economic system based on individual rights. It is the only system which accounts for the individuals actions and automatically incorporates them into its economic functions.

"Every man, as long as he does not violate the laws of justice, is left perfectly free to pursue his own interest his own way, and to bring both his industry and capital into competition with those of any other man or order of men" - Adam Smith

Capitalist and Economic Concepts

Concept 1:

Human nature dictates that people pursue that in which they take interest in. It is impossible to act in a way that is not in a person's own self interest. The reasoning is that by acting, a person chooses him/herself to act in this certain manner. Therefore this manner of action is in pursuit of self interest. (note: this concept is NOT a matter of selfishness. i.e.. by donating money to charity the donator pursues his own interest, the interest of helping those in need.) This natural pursuit of self interest provides a natural driving force and system of checks on the free market when allowed to function away from government interference.

Concept 2:

There is a substitute for everything. A pen is a substitute for a pencil. A computer is a substitute for a writing pad (as are stone tablets and letters scratched in dirt). Some substitutes are closely related while others aren't. Where a substitute is situated affects the dealings of other goods in the free market. In the occurance of a shortage of a certain good, the consumer is naturally inclined to seek out a cheaper substitute for that good.

Concept 3:

Prices are set at equilibrium by natural forces in the economy. This simple concept of supply and demand is a result of actions taken by businesses, buyers, sellers, and competitors as well as product scarcity.

Due to these concepts, economies cannot be coordinated or enforced by a government or leader as socialist countries have tried. Capitalism, however, is set into action by human nature. Natural forces occur to manage an economy solely based on the actions of the individual. In other words, Capitalism does by itself what socialism and communism have to (or attempt to) enforce and regulate. While the leftist experiments with failed ideas such as socialism, the conservative tends to support the capitalist economy, a method which, though flawed, has withstood the tests of time.

[harpseal]

H1B visa staus is guest worker status not imigrant status. These people are here to perform jobs that Americans would normally fill in order to employ an H1B visa holder a corporation must provide a sworn statement that there is no American capable of filling the job at the prevailing wage and that they will be paying the H1B visa holder the prevailing wage. Thus corporations routinely cut their labor cost in half by bringing in H1B visa holders while technical and engineering people are unemployed in large numbers.

If we enforced our H1B visa laws we would have a lot of corporate executives in federal prison for perjury.

[harpseal]

Thanks for the flag on this.

[harpseal]

Time for a letter to your congress critters supporting this proposal.

[harpseal]

We must only allow Immigration by those who cannot support themselves and will therefore vote for the democRAT party.

Wrong this is about destroying America through guest workers who have no immigration status.

[Ed_in_NJ]

Definitely!

[A. Pole]

You gotta know that this class of immigrants is least likely to go on welfare, join a labor union, or vote democRAT, therefore they must be stopped.

Maybe. But what is the gain if the the workers replaced by them go on welfare or vote Democrat?

[MinuteGal]

"These folks (imported foreign nationals) are very smart, have a strong work ethic and good family values".

Give me a break. Who's disputing this? You're missing the point entirely.

American techie workers also are very smart, have strong work ethics and good family values. Yet, today, they have to go on unemployment to keep family food on the table while they see the good jobs go to foreigners by government design in cahoots with greedy major corporations.

Do you have any idea how many freepers, for instance, have been laid off in these past couple years in the fields under discussion? Do you care? Are you happy that they may have been replaced by foreigners, no matter how smart and capable our folks or the foreign nationals are?

While I'm not an advocate of government fiat mandating who corporations can hire or not, we ALREADY have government fiat allowing imports of foreign nationals to fill jobs that can be capably filled by our own people. Let these foreigners immigrate, become citizens under legal quotas, and work their way up to higher positions in their fields just like Americans have to do. Why should they be rounded up from overseas and walk straight into plum jobs?

To add insult to injury, these foreign nationals over the years faithfully send millions of dollars to their families back home, further draining our economy.

I imagine that some nit-picky holes can be poked in my general analysis. But I don't come from a globalist viewpoint with its warm and fuzzy sermons about the value of "nice" foreigners getting precedence over American workers in being offered the opportunities to make a decent living. Niceness has nothing to do with it. Logical reasoning is out the window.

Leni

[Lazamataz]

The Economic Times of India does not like this. Therefore, I am solidly for it.

[JustAnAmerican]

"You gotta know that this class of immigrants is least likely to go on welfare, join a labor union, or vote democRAT, therefore they must be stopped.

Personally I don't give a rats tail. This is America, Americans fought and died for this country and our freedoms. In my book that means Americans come first, Period!!!

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

"The move, if it comes to fruition, will particularly hurt Indian business interests"

S, How could this be? The H1-B visas are for "individuals". How could it "hurt Indian business interests"??? Corruption in government and/or business?? < /sarcasm > Peace and love, George.

[George Frm Br00klyn Park]

BUMP!!

[w1andsodidwe]

Personally I don't give a rats tail.

Neither do I, but I leave in a California town that is totally overrun by the invasion from the south. It happened during the Clinton 8 years. I cannot even walk into a store and hear english spoken anymore.

I got a phone call for a Nielson survey last week, where they were speaking Spanish. I said, "Are you speaking some foreign language?" The response was "I thought you answered the phone in spanish". He then proceeded to ask me a couple questions. Then wanted to know if my ancestory was mexican. When I answered no, he immediately said that he had no more questions for me. This is the second call I have gotten like this. Even the pollsters are not interested in any opinion from english speaking americans.

They don't care about my opinion, but if I only spoke Spanish, then they might consider ny opinion in their survey.

[FreedomPoster]

That works; I'm for keeping out anyone linked to the dangerous political ideology known as Islam.

[clamper1797]

Personally I don't give a rats tail. This is America, Americans fought and died for this country and our freedoms. In my book that means Americans come first, Period!!!

AMEN !!!!!!!!!!!

[JustAnAmerican]

"I leave in a California town that is totally overrun by the invasion from the south. It happened during the Clinton 8 years. I cannot even walk into a store and hear english spoken anymore.

On this I agree 100 percent. What most politicians do not understand (Republicans and Democrats), is that most people in both parties(I don't include the Libertarians because they espouse open borders), are sick and tired of this "Press 1 for English 2 for Spanish" Garbage. If it were up to me there would be an awful lot of employers rotting in jail, and an awfull lot of politicians out of work and begging for coins on the corner. The 2004 election cycle will be a big surprize for "But they just come here to work" crowd. Americans are this :: close to the boiling point.

What we need to do in the meantime though is make our employees enforce the same laws they so eagerly enforce on us.

[baseballmom]

There could be a happy medium compromise as far as immigration goes.

When the unemployment rate in the US falls below 3% then perhaps we could adjust our immigration numbers accordingly.

I don't have any idea what the current immigration allowance is based on. Other than political asylum.

[Travis McGee]

You betcha amigo. Anytime.