U.S. to Sharply Cut Number of High-Tech Work Visas

Reuters ^ | September 22, 2003 | Alan Elsner

[AntiGuv]

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is about to cut the number of employment visas it offers to highly qualified foreign workers from 195,000 to 65,000, immigration experts said on Monday.

Unless Congress acts by the end of this month -- and there is little sign it will do so -- the change will automatically take effect on Oct. 1. Employers, especially technology companies, argue the move will hurt them and the economy.

The change will affect the number of H1-B visas that can be issued each fiscal year. The visas are mostly used to bring high-tech experts from Asia, especially from the Indian sub-continent, to work in the United States for up to three years.

"The fact that Congress doesn't seem anxious to act reflects the political climate, with a lack of jobs for Americans," said New York immigration lawyer Cyrus Mehta.

"The pressure to change the limit will build up again when the economy picks up."

The Senate Judiciary Committee held a hearing on the issue last week. Republican chairman Orrin Hatch of Utah noted that many U.S. high-tech workers are unemployed and the committee needed to find ways of helping them without hurting the country's ability to compete globally.

Vermont Democratic Sen. Patrick Leahy said: "Given the weakness of our current economy, and the rising unemployment we have experienced under President Bush's stewardship, many who supported the increase in 2000 now believe that 65,000 visas are sufficient."

But Patrick Duffy, Human Resources Attorney for Intel Corporation, said finding the best-educated engineering talent from around the world was critical to his company's future.

"We expect that we will continue to sponsor H-1B employees in the future for the simple reason that we cannot find enough U.S. workers with the advanced education, skills, and expertise we need," he said.

Elizabeth Dickson, director of immigration services for the Ingersoll-Rand Company, speaking on behalf of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, said: "In the near-term, we simply must have access to foreign nationals. Many of them have been educated in the United States. By sending them home, we are at best sending them to our own foreign plant sites, and at worst to our competitors."

Immigration attorneys expect the new rules to set off a scramble by companies to fill their slots early before the ceiling is reached. How quickly that happens depends on the state of the economy, they said.

[Richard-SIA]

Upgrading the quality of American Tech education seems to be out of the question for some reason.

The companies crying for these visa's could invest in our own colleges, they could provide guest lectures to ensure the graduates are up to date, but I guess they do not believe in that sort of investment.

I do not believe that the visa holders are any smarter than our own citizens if given the full opportunity to learn.
It was not that long ago that American companies were willing to invest in a little employee training AFTER they hired someone.

I have no polite terms to describe these companies, they disgust me.

[JohnSmithee]

"Lets see.....three years into an economic downturn, and congress acts to limit the number of foreign workers? How brilliant!"

Ironically they got this one right just through serendipitous timing.

[FR_addict]

Here's a reasearch paper on:

Reform of the H-1B Work Visa: Major Points

http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/H1BSummary.pdf

[Southack]

"i think there is one thing you are missing: you are assuming that these companies would want to convert their currency back into US dollars."

No, it doesn't matter what companies want. U.S. companies operate in U.S. Dollars, yet the employees of foreign offshore outsourced projects must be paid in local currencies. Thus, what matters in the foreign exchange rate between the U.S. and the country doing the outsourcing. The lower the value of the Dollar, the more such outsourcing must cost, regardless of what a company might "want."

[Nataku X]

Outsourcing programming and most other white collar jobs is not the danger (although outsourcing manufacturing is another story). Why? Two reasons:

1. Outsourcing programs have been a disaster thus far... they have too many bugs to be feasible in the long run. No communication, either. Crappy quality, poor English skills. It's a fad, little more.

2. Some tech people will always be required in-house. You can't replace a secretary's trashed RAM from the Internet, for example. You can have a radiologist look at X-rays from India, but you can't have a neurosurgeon operate on an US patient from India. Same thing applies to the tech field.

Besides, offshoring is so easy now that I believe that if any H1-Bs could be replaced by outsourced employees, companies would have done so already at this point. Just do a Google search on outsourcing, many many Indian companies are out there willing to take anything for pennies.

There are about 1 million H1-Bs in the United States currently and more than 3 million unemployed. For any politican to keep them inside the borders is not only a threat to national security, but one job less within the economy.

When you consider an unemployed person's EIC, Medicare, unemployment tax, food stamps, et cetera, and not to mention the lost tax revenues from the H1-B not being required to pay SS, each H1-B may well be a much greater burden on the economy than the few 10K a business saves. Not to mention that the tech sector is predominantly Republican, and they may just sit 2004 out. I believe that if Bush is to lose, the only reason he will lose is over his refusal to do anything for the unemployment rate.

[softengine]

this is but a short term hold on immense downward pressure on labor wages.

But lower wages must be balanced by a lower cost of living. When I first got out of school and into my first IT job, a loaf of bread was 1.19, now its 2.69. A decent apartment about 450.....now, you can expect to shell out 900-1100 for anything thats not in crack central.

[TexasGunLover]

Uh, you might feel more comfortable over at DU... paying taxes doesn't mean anything, We need fewer taxes so them paying them doesn't help anything but the liberal socialist's plan for our country. These people come here, breed so they can stay and take jobs from U.S. citizens. They are NOT all hard working and their body odor is horrible. They're eroding our way of life are are hurting the morals of our country. They are a huge security risk. We need to secure all of our borders and, at least for a while, stop this invasion. This is a small start but yet it is a start.

[Jamten]

Judging from my own practical experience this is indeed true. A lot of good American engineers do not get hired because of the hugh amount of H1Bs. What's even more disturbing is now that former H1Bs are now in Management and only hires engineers with their particular ethnic background or similar.

[null and void]

They are NOT all hard working and their body odor is horrible.

Nearly all of the ones I've known work like dogs. They are damm greatful to be out of their 3rd world hades holes. At least here they quickly pick up on American concepts of cleanliness. Well, maybe not in Texas - but I bet even there they smell better than Lubbock. ;^P

They're eroding our way of life are are hurting the morals of our country.

With their better sense of decency, morals, family values, and faith? Compared to Madonna, Eminem, Will and Grace? You're sanity chip needs replacing!

They are a huge security risk.

Some aliens are, H1-B's are at least filtered a little better, and here legally, and tracked.

[luckystarmom]

This is good news! My husband layoff takes affect on November 3. He's a software engineer, so this could positively affect him.

[Amerigomag]

Trini I'm in agreement with your arguments and your suppositions and I apologize for not making my point more clearly.

Within the UC system the "foreign student" slot is reserved without competition. Those slots are removed from all domestic competative considerations. Domestic students can't compete for those slots.

While tuition may be a motivation I suspect that raw politcal considerations are the driving force. Not California domestic politics nor the liberal mantra of international diversity but rather are dictated by our national foreign policy goals and are implemented by request originating within the US legislature and especially the US executive.

As you know the UC system derives much of it's revenue from lucrative, federal government contracts. The administartion of Los Alamos is but one example. UC has much to gain and little to lose by reciprocating with a small percentage of it's student enrollment.

[CPT Clay]

'bout time, my letter to my congress critter must have worked!!

[SandRat]

At least they are taking one small step.

[JohnSmithee]

"At least here they quickly pick up on American concepts of cleanliness."

Except for the occasional ones who drink urine. I'm not sure of the religous signficance of it, but it is practiced in India and I have know at least one H1-B who practiced it. I have no problems with H1-Bs except the culture they bring here. It is generally rude and deceptive, including a strange combination of ignorance and arrogance.

YMMV...

[JohnSmithee]

"There are about 1 million H1-Bs in the United States currently and more than 3 million unemployed."

Those are big numbers if true. Doesn't the tech industry only support around 5 million workers?

[oceanview]

they will just raise the US prices for those items. those industries won't be coming back to the US under any circumstances, once they go offshore.

[Madcelt]

BTTT

[oceanview]

that is exactly it, the industries that go just aren't going to magically re-appear. Once China gets the chip industry, if these devaluation occurs, our technology products will simply cost more.

[TexasGunLover]

Nearly all of the ones I've known work like dogs. They are damm greatful(sic) to be out of their 3rd world hades holes. At least here they quickly pick up on American concepts of cleanliness. Well, maybe not in Texas - but I bet even there they smell better than Lubbock. ;^P

Strange, the IT firm I work at has about one-third of our workers are from various Asian countries as well as India and some from the Middle East. About two-thirds of them produce very little because their are unable to communicate in a coherent manner. They're no doubt intelligent, but can't communicate verbally.



With their better sense of decency, morals, family values, and faith? Compared to Madonna, Eminem, Will and Grace? You're sanity chip needs replacing!

It's a shame you model your life on these folks. There are far better role models that are more representative of the true Christian morals that our country was founded on.



Some aliens are, H1-B's are at least filtered a little better, and here legally, and tracked.

Hardly... Almost all of the foreigners that have gone to work at my company in the past 8 years have children within the 1st year they are in the United States. Additionally, I have heard time and time again how they and their relatives try to avoid the system. The fact is, non-citizens that don't have radio/GPS tags on them are a security risk. Once they become U.S. citizens they are certainly entitled to all of the rights, privileges, and responsibilities. Until they are citizens, they are here at the pleasure of our government.

[m18436572]

bfl