H-1B hearing: Companies say foreign workers needed

InfoWorld ^ | Sept. 17, 2003 | Grant Gross, IDG News Service

[banjo joe]

finally settling on a Canadian resident in both cases, said Elizabeth Dickson, advisor of immigration services for the industrial equipment

They found one guy for both jobs! Canadians are smart and capable!

[A. Pole]

But Steadman urged Congress to look for a longer-term solution to the lack of qualified engineers and IT workers than raising the H-1B cap again. He encouraged Congress to invest more money in programs that encourage U.S. students to study engineering and science.

H-1B visas and outsourcing are the MOST EFFICIENT method to DISCOURAGE U.S. students to study engineering and science. They would have to be UTTER FOOLS to invest time and money unless "free" trade policies are curtailed.

[Bloody Sam Roberts]

Representatives of Intel Corp. and Ingersoll-Rand Corp....argued that H-1B visas are needed to fill technical positions where they can't find qualified U.S. candidates...

What an out-and-out, bald faced lie.

The only way this could be true is if they weren't looking for qualified U.S. candidates.

[banjo joe]

Worse, these corporations are training their future competition

All that matters is this quarter's numbers.

[adx]

Brain-dead Human Resources managers don't get it.

You got that right. I'm an EE trying to get a start, and I run into this all the time. They must assume you're too stupid to pick up a new software package that's used in your profession. Even more frustrating is if you know one package, and they want somebody that knows another package that does the same thing (schematic capture programs come to mind), but the HR bubble-head chycks don't know that.

[1rudeboy]

The list of the 6 interviewers I'm to see today has one "American" name on it . . . .

What does an "American" name look like? Be sure to come back and let us know whether your prejudices were satisfied.

[A. Pole]

We'll help with the ebiz stuff. You play golf.

"We leverage onsite, offsite and/or offshore expertise to turn your business vision into practical reality." A "need" to play more golf is a good reason?

[adx]

H-1B visas and outsourcing are the MOST EFFICIENT method to DISCOURAGE U.S. students to study engineering and science.

Yup. So far in my job search, the only calls I've received from recruiters came about because I'm a US citizen, and the work required a security clearance or being able to get one. I wouldn't be surprised that by the end of the decade the only place you'll find US citizens in engineering is in the defense industry, although I don't doubt that somebody's working on a way to get rid of that security clearance requirement.

[1rudeboy]

H-1B visas and outsourcing are the MOST EFFICIENT method to DISCOURAGE U.S. students to study engineering and science. They would have to be UTTER FOOLS to invest time and money unless "free" trade policies are curtailed.

So, imposing tariffs on foreign-manufactured products will cause more U.S. students to study engineering and science?

[dfwgator]

It's even worse, if they are looking for someone with Doohickey version 6.0 experience, they won't bother with someone who has extensive experience with Doohickey 5.0.

[SauronOfMordor]

Worse, these corporations are training their future competition. The workers take their money and set up shop at home. Between that and the number of immigrants our tax-supported universities have turned into future professors, America has effectively produced and financed the infrastructure for effective foreign competition at the expense of its own citizens.

The average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is about 4-5 years, before moving on. The CEO does not care what happens after he's cashed in his stock options and either retired or moved on to another company.

Like Neville Chamberlain who promised "Peace in our time" in 1939, these CEOs are promising their Boards "profits in our time", and planning on bailing out before the crash

[A. Pole]

Commence an audit of H1-B hires. Select a representative sample of companies, and scour their HR records.

Are you suspecting them of commiting a criminal perjury?

[Mr. Bird]

It would be worse than that. But it seems it's the only way to find out.

[Carry_Okie]

The average tenure of a Fortune 500 CEO is about 4-5 years, before moving on. The CEO does not care what happens after he's cashed in his stock options and either retired or moved on to another company.

That was understood. Worse, they'll have the cash to invest in that foreign competition while shorting their former company!

[adx]

It's even worse, if they are looking for someone with Doohickey version 6.0 experience, they won't bother with someone who has extensive experience with Doohickey 5.0.

Heh, yeah. OrCAD is one example. I did schematic capture with 7.2 at school, and the current version is 9.2. Given how slow universities are at getting new software, how can you possibly hope to get experience with the current stuff? And don't even get me started about the glacial pace that universities have when it comes to updating their curriculum.

[LibertyAndJusticeForAll]

This is so true. HR only knows how to word match and with so many unemployed they can sift through the piles of resumes until they find this match. All along they had dozens of far more qualified applicants, but failed to understand that.

[A. Pole]

Thousands of American high-tech have been forced (with threats of losing their severance pay) to train their Indian replacements before being fired.

If American workers lack the needed skills this is only proper that they train their replacements. Makes perfect sense.

[dfwgator]

And hiring managers are too scared to hire people that they know can run rings around them technically, it will expose them for the frauds they really are.

[SauronOfMordor]

This situation is caused by the fact that these companies hiring want an exact match in qualifications, even though most engineers can come up to speed on just about any system or software package in a matter of weeks, if not days (I am an engineer with 16 years experience). Brain-dead Human Resources managers don't get it.

You are assuming stupidity, rather than a deliberate effort to disqualify all applicants other than the (H1B) applicant they really want to hire, and whose resume they used to write the qualifications for the fake "ad"

[A. Pole]

H-1B visas and outsourcing are the MOST EFFICIENT method to DISCOURAGE U.S. students to study engineering and science. They would have to be UTTER FOOLS to invest time and money unless "free" trade policies are curtailed.

So, imposing tariffs on foreign-manufactured products will cause more U.S. students to study engineering and science?

Bingo! You got it! Of cource it has to be comprehensive, not just the tarrifs on goods or services, but also prosecuting the H1-B fraud, tax breaks for hiring Americans, prosecuting outsourcing of sensitive technology and of personal data transfer. Etc, etc ...

I would also include the protection that in case of shortage of technical jobs the college debt can be cancelled. Wall-Mart employee will never be able to free himself from such debt. Lower the tremendous risk of technical study!