Posted on 09/16/2003 4:01:46 AM PDT by TopQuark
'Bush totally against scrapping H1-B visas'
By Ela Dutt, Indo-Asian News Service
Tuesday September 16, 10:50 AM
New York, Sep 16 (IANS) U.S. President George W. Bush is reportedly against a critical bill now in Congress that would cut down H1-B visas dramatically, affecting skilled IT and other workers from India.
At a private reception attended by eight Indian Americans in Jackson, Mississippi, Bush vehemently expressed his opposition to House Resolution 2688, a bill introduced by Republican Congressman Tom Tancredo of Colorado, according to those attending the meeting.
Immigration attorney Paresh Shah, who was present at the meeting, said he specifically questioned the president regarding his stand on the bill in which Rep. Tancredo has called for terminating the H1-B visa programme altogether.
"Bush spread his hands as wide apart as possible and stated unequivocally that 'Tancredo and I are at opposite ends of the pole. I fully do not support Congressman Tancredo's bill against H1-Bs'," Shah told IANS.
The Tancredo bill has raised hackles both in India and among Indian Americans and other supporters of the community.
"In fact in India and the U.S. there is an understanding that President Bush supports Tancredo's efforts to close the H1-B programme as Tancredo is a fellow Republican and also because the unemployment figures are so high and many people feel that it is a result of H1-Bs occupying American jobs," Shah said.
But the president's statements prove the opposite, he said. Shah is a member of the American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) that presented its counter proposal on the H1-B visa reduction programme to the president at the gathering.
The private reception was in honour of the Mississippi Republican gubernatorial candidate Haley Barbour and netted $1.2 million for his campaign.
Besides Bush, other noted luminaries at the reception included former senate majority leader Trent Lott of Mississippi as well as Karl Rove, the president's chief campaign advisor. Sampath Shivangi of Mississippi organised the exclusive Indian American delegation.
The California delegation, besides Shah, included Indo-American Friendship Council chairman Krishna Reddy.
Currently, there are some estimated 900,000 H1-B employees in the U.S., 35-45 percent of whom are from India, according to AILA.
"Judging from the president's strong negative reaction to the Tancredo bill, it's apparent that the president understands that the current unemployment situation in the U.S. is not due to H1-B visa holders taking American jobs," Shah contended.
"As soon as I mentioned the visa, he knew what I was talking about, he knew about the Tancredo bill, he knew what it meant. From his immediate grasp of the H1-B issue, and his strong support for continuing the programme, he understands also that these foreign specialty workers are basically a much needed element of our economy," Shah said.
By implication, some observers contend the president is not going to be against business outsourcing as well.
Beginning October 1, the H1-B visas quota will revert back to the 65,000 per annum level it was before it was raised a few years ago to 195,000.
Shah also submitted AILA's proposal on the L-1 visa programme to counteract the various legislation currently pending in Congress to limit its usage.
"The L-1 Visa programme is heavily used by the Indian community. Last year, Indians comprised 24.4 percent of the worldwide L-1 visas issued, making them by far the number one group of users of this visa programme," Shah stated.
Well put - certainly seems that way.
U.S. workers real wages dropped 3/10's of 1% in August. I thought that all the cheap foreign crap was supposed to benefit us because our dollars would stretch further.
Instead, a typical american worker who could buy 1000 widgets with his paycheck in July, could only afford 997 widgets in August. That royally sucks.
No kidding. It's like, he's in denial or something.
And this is one of the reasons I will spread my hands and the voting place, ask to write in my choice for the office of President, and write in Tom Tancredo. Anyone who cares about the direction this nation is going might think about doing the same.
Probably jogging buddies. Here's another question - why isn't there any lobby group for the middle class? Shoot, I'd pay $50-$100 a year to pay-off the congressWhores to influence key legislation.
And if the Rat party continues these terrible policies maybe Americans will wake up to the fact that for the most part, the two parties are just two sides of the same coin!
I am really stumped as to who other than businesses who want to cut costs by laying off americans actually want this beast.
There is no great H1B constituency in this country. I would bet that a good 80% of americans of all political stripes would be opposed to what is going on with H1B in the IT fields. It really isn't a partisan issue.
Do you believe that in a time of shaky employment, especially in the IT field, with IT workers exhausting their unemployment benefits, that we should be importing more IT workers? Just poll that question as neutrally as possible.
What do you all think the results would be of the question: Should we continue to import foreign workers to fill high tech jobs in America?
Actually, they are more like different branches of the same crime family competing to see who's family and friends get to rape and loot the country.
Richard W.
If you can or wouldn't mind, please?
Is it a product being sold for use by other companies, or an inhouse application used only by your company?
Is it general purpose systems software (compiler, RDBMS, etc) or business-specific application (banking, inventory etc)?
Perhaps people are finally coming to their senses and realizing that Free Republic wasn't founded at a George Bush cheering squad, but a place to advance conservative ideas. Gutting our work force with cheap low quality knock off manufactured goods is one thing, but when ya start gutting our work force with cheap low quality knock off workers from overseas is quite another.
The President won't protect our borders, won't protect the second amendment, and won't protect our jobs. We can not just put ice on it all the time.
There is some bitterness here, on my part, and I am your average Bush supporter.
What did India do for us in Iraq? I don't remember much help. Maybe we should outsource some of our soldiering to India, or provide HB1 soldiers to Iraq.
Seems like Americans are good enough to go to war as soldiers, but we don't get first claim on the best jobs.
Pay attn, Bush. Remember where your loyalties should be, first. It won't do you much good to have all this money from corporations in your campaign if the laid-off employees of that corporation stay home in 2004.
Why can't we enforce our generous immigration laws?
The bots must all be over on the daily GW pictures thread fawning over and saluting their glorious infallible leader. Groupthink is still the order of the day here. The bots will be back.
Richard W.
That's why this time I'll be voting for someone who will, even if it's a write-in candidate. And if that results in a President Dean or Hillary, so be it. Perhaps the GOP will then wake up. ....But mostly likely they'll remain in their globalist slumber. The Stupid Party, indeed.
Perhaps they should be pinged en masse over to this thread.
Nice to know he's really on their side. Or rather, the side of the corporations that 'need' them.
H.L. Hunt used to say that people should get one vote for every dollar they had. Maybe Mr. Bush agrees with that.
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