H1B visa window opens (80,000 Visas Available for 2008 Fiscal Year)

Siliconvalley.com ^ | 03/30/2007 | Nicole C. Wong

[nickcarraway]

Tech companies have been scrambling for months to finish government forms and beat what may be their most intense postmark pressure of the year. It's not the April 17 tax deadline, but the April 2 start of the window to apply for coveted - and contentious - H-1B worker visas.

The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services agency will process petitions for specially-skilled foreign workers on a first-come, first-served basis starting Monday. There are 85,000 visas available for the 2008 fiscal year, of which 20,000 are set aside for workers who hold a U.S. master's or doctorate degree. There are additional visas available for workers in higher education, nonprofits and government research. Last year the cap was reached in June.

Hewlett-Packard mailed its applications Friday.

"Having worked for several months to identify workers for whom we'll need to secure H-1B status, we are as prepared as we can be," said Leslie Nicolett, HP's immigration policy manager, in a statement.

Silicon Valley companies have lobbied Congress to increase the number of H-1B visas doled out each year, arguing their innovative edge is at risk when they're unable to fill job openings.

However, unemployed tech workers and grassroots organizations assert there are enough talented American workers ready to fill those slots - but they're not willing to accept the lower wages that companies can pay immigrants.

"The PR people are preying on Americans'

fear," said Norman Matloff, a professor of computer science at the University of California at Davis who's critical of H-1B visas, speaking of the tech industry's purported concern about the loss of innovation. "Just like we lost the electronics and manufacturing industries, the fear is we'll lose the tech industry as well." The Immigration Act of 1990 set the H-1B visa cap at 65,000 to help U.S. employers hire skilled foreign workers while protecting employment prospects for Americans. Applications first bumped against that limit in 1997 due to "the buregoning technology sector," according to agency spokeswoman Sharon Rummery. The cap was raised during the tech boom and bust years, but fell back to 65,000 in 2004.

The government does not release data on how many H-1B visas individual companies receive, and Silicon Valley's major tech companies declined to disclose how many they want or obtained. But several Web sites have posted lists showing Intel, Oracle and Cisco Systems among the top 20 sponsors of H-1B visas in recent years.

Intel and Oracle couldn't find spokespeople to comment Friday. Cisco spokeswoman Robyn Jenkins-Blum said in an email that the company's position "is to recruit and hire the best and most qualified individual for the position."

But Gene Nelson, an unemployed 55-year-old veteran of the information technology industry, said because of H-1B visas, "We're just not getting a crack at the these jobs."

Nelson holds a doctorate degree in biophysics. His most recent stint of employment, which ended in December, was as a seasonal worker at a winery, where he earned $12 an hour.

"The bottom line is these are good American jobs that aren't going to Americans," he said.

But tech companies say some of their specialized positions can't be filled by any American worker with the right degree and technical skills.

And the "insufficient number of visas" creates problems when a company can't hire even a handful of workers, said Lowell Sachs, Sun Microsystems' senior manager for federal government affairs. "You're going to start losing your edge compared to competition."

As a result, Sun pushes managers to anticipate more than a year in advance who they'll want to hire.

"That's not great for a company to do," Sachs said. "There are always new developments coming up that you need to be able to jump on top of quickly."

[grey_whiskers]

If I posted what I really felt about the H1-B's and the shills and whores pushing for them, I'd be lucky if I *merely* got banned.

Suffice it to put things like this. Before the special dividend, Micro$oft was sitting on $56 billion in cash.

If they had invested that in US Treasuries -- the "risk-free" rate of return according to financial types -- at the low point in the interest rate cycle, they would have had approximately $1 billion per year "risk free" with which to hire American techies.

All this without jeapordizing either the principal or the cash flow from continuing operations.

And remember that the cash hoard was built up before the current offshoring craze, meaning they built up the money paying prevailing wages.

So this is just unforgivable greed on the part of the executives.

NO cheers, unfortunately.

See also this vanity on "the education of the US student"...

[Herakles]

""The bottom line is these are good American jobs that aren't going to Americans," he said. "

Both democrats and republicans are falling over themselves to help their whores in big business with all the cheap labor they can find. At the same time they are destroying our country from within.

There is no difference between parties; their only concern is their own greed. It's time to start using the word "treason".

Maybe sometime in the future we will be able to try them for their crimes against America even though they thing they have immunity from such prosecution.

[driftdiver]

Many employers (mostly big ones) tailor positions so Americans can't qualify. Tricks like changing the job description to include something the Americans dont have after the interviews are common.

Saw one company do this. They hired 5 H1b's. Only one guy could actually do any of the coding. The other 4 just pretended to work while he did everything. But they were cheap.

[VU4G10]

Yay!

[SauronOfMordor]

Bend over, engineers, here it comes again

Yes, HP, Sun, and the rest, over the short term hiring H1B's gives you an edge

Over the long term, as the H1B's go back home with your trade secrets and join startups in their native lands, you will be driven from the field. But the current CEO's don't care, they figure to have pulled the ripcords on their golden parachutes by then

[1rudeboy]

Has anyone ever seen some data on what percentage of H1-B visa-holders become U.S. citizens? Solid data, I mean, not some hysterics from a anti-immigration website. Thanks in advance.

[SauronOfMordor]

Many employers (mostly big ones) tailor positions so Americans can't qualify. Tricks like changing the job description to include something the Americans dont have after the interviews are common.

The way they actually work is to first select the guy they want to hire, tailor the job description to his resume, paying particular attention to obscure skills, and so have the description be something only he can fill

There's also the trick of allowing the favored job seeker to lie about his skills, making him seem to be at a higher level than he is, and lowball the salary offered so that people who really are at that level won't be interested

Also, about that 80K applicants: the visa is renewable for up to 6 years, so if the limit stays, we're talking about 80K * 6 = 480K foreign engineers

[Hardastarboard]

But tech companies say some of their specialized positions can't be filled by any American worker with the right degree and technical skills.

I read and read this sentence. Talk about a nonsensical statement.

[A. Pole]

But Gene Nelson, an unemployed 55-year-old veteran of the information technology industry, said because of H-1B visas, "We're just not getting a crack at the these jobs."

Nelson holds a doctorate degree in biophysics. His most recent stint of employment, which ended in December, was as a seasonal worker at a winery, where he earned $12 an hour.

Maybe if tells potential employers that he will work for $12 an hour, they will hire him?

Read my tagline.

[ex-Texan]

No big deal. 80,000 just walk over the border every month. H1B visas are not priority. Bush's secret amnesty negotiations with Mexico and his amnesty deals with Congress deserve more comment.

[brownsfan]

"So this is just unforgivable greed on the part of the executives."

Come on. You've been on FR long enough. You haven't been educated by the free traders?!

No greed is unforgivable. All actions are justified by saying a "corporation" exists to make profit. This allows justification of immoral and unethical acts by blaming it on the corporation. (Never, ever acknowledge that a corporation is comprised of human beings). Corporations are not nationalistic, until they need help guarding their interests. Then the corporations become AMERICAN, and support the troops.

Those are lessons I've learned here at FR.

[AuntB]

Lou Dobbs Tonight/Broken Borders aired 3/22/07

These are the LEGAL foreign workers, etc. we allow in now.

There's a lot of distortion here. I think it's important to get these facts out.

Two million people legally admitted to the United States each year. In addition - 14 percent of those, by the way, those people given permanent residency are from Mexico. Two million people legally admitted to the United States. Four hundred thousand skilled foreign workers and their families receive H-1 visas each year.

Nearly 900,000 other legal foreign workers are admitted on some type of employment visa.

Six-hundred sixty thousand student visas are issued every year.

And 455,000 people given temporary employment transfers.

Help me out. What are we trying to do here? I mean, we have a lawful immigration system that brings in 2 million people a year, plus all of these other workers that overwhelms any other immigration system in the world. All of Russia, all of the European Union combined can't even come close to matching our immigration levels. And that's a population 40 percent higher than our own. Help me out.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/0703/22/ldt.01.html

[Teacher317]

Don't worry, most people see the distinction between legal (H1B) immigration, and illegal immigration. However, it is inevitable that disgruntled engineers and techies will complain about their plight, because someone will undercut their wages, and they want the government to "protect" their jobs here. (Of course, such protectionism would not work, since employers will respond by simply hiring foreigners over there rather than here.)

I'm all for increasing the H1B limits rather radically (especially in ag and medical sectors, but not so much for techs and engineering, to help salve the injuries to our friends here), as long as the government would start enforcing the immigration laws on the books and deporting violators.

(Another thought: how about outsourcing the responsibility for holding imprisoned illegals, thus saving jail space here, saving taxpayer money, and helping the economy of some poorer neighbor that we can trust to keep the inmates incarcerated.)

[wku man]

Of course it makes sense. Training and skills are secondary concerns...being willing to work for a third of what an American would earn is the most important. Someone slipped up and finally admitted it.

Scouts Out! Cavalry Ho!

[Kevmo]

If I posted what I really felt about the H1-B's and the shills and whores pushing for them, I'd be lucky if I *merely* got banned.
***Same here. I think I dislike pure "free trade" for the same reason I dislike the welfare state: neither of them work even though they sound like great ideas at first. Another reason why I like Duncan Hunter.

The fair trade thing has been with us for a long time and will probably show itself in many forms, from Smoot-Hawley to H1B Visas. Here's a good thread on Visa abuse.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/705954/posts

Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage

Testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Immigration

Dr. Norman Matloff

Department of Computer Science
University of California at Davis
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 752-1953
matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu
©1998, 1999, 2000, 2001

Presented April 21, 1998; updated February 4, 2002

[Drango]

Let's make it very clear. ...increasing supply (H1-B's)reduces the wage. This gut's the students who were considering high tech as a career. We are eating our own seed corn.

[grey_whiskers]

(Of course, such protectionism would not work, since employers will respond by simply hiring foreigners over there rather than here.)

That's what they *say*. But there are issues such as management overhead, time zone differences (in my experience with Japan, Germany, and India, it wastes time, instead of the promised 24x7 cycle, since if there is a miscommunication, or someone doesn't *have* the answer, or is in a meeting, or..., then you have to wait until the *next* shift to find out.), dishonesty, turnover, bribery, lack of infrastructure, intellectual property theft.

Oh yes, and in third world countries, lying and cronyism are seen as advantages by workers.

Most Americans don't see them as advantages below the rank of executive.

H'mmm, that may be why the offshore resources get along so well with the top brass.

You might be interested in a vanity or two of mine on offshoring.

Freepmail me if you want more.

Cheers!

[AuntB]

I'm all for increasing the H1B limits rather radically (especially in ag and medical sectors, but not so much for techs and engineering, to help salve the injuries to our friends here), as long as the government would start enforcing the immigration laws on the books and deporting violators.

There's just one of the problems, besides the government not knowing how many visas they actually issue. We have 4 MILLION visa overstays that homeland security can't find.

[Glenn]

I'm all for increasing the H1B limits rather radically

Of course you are. It doesn't affect you.