Posted on 03/31/2007 12:18:16 AM PDT by 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."
I was just curious: if you replace 3 H1B's. That is 3x60000=180000. Assume you work for 80000. Their would be 100k savings for the company by hiring you. So is it the age thing, or what? I'm working in a similar field and get older.
"LOL
More like you've been repeating your strawman arguments so often you've begun to believe them yourself."
Why not? YOU believe them.
No, I don't. Want to know more?
"No, I don't. Want to know more?"
Usually my curiousity would be piqued. You and I have crossed paths enough that I think further exchange would be fruitless at best.
I completely understand. Closed mind, and all that . . . no problem with it whatsoever.
"I don't need no stinkin' VISA" I got mine from Bank of America even though I used a fake SS#, fake name, and have no intention of ever paying these a-holes a penny! LOL from the Rio Grande!!!
"I completely understand. Closed mind, and all that . . . no problem with it whatsoever."
See, that's why we can't communicate! Your logic seems to be damaged. There's a very distinct and real difference between a closed mind, (your interpretation), and one that has been educated by empirical result, (reality).
I would much rather we get our new immigrants through H1B visas than through the current system of chain migration and self-selected illegals. We are taking in over a million legal immigrants a years and 500,000 to 1 million illegal aliens.
Companies can also use the H1B status to sponsor them for green cards and eventual citizenship.
I had beaten the job well enough into submission that less skilled people could handle it - I count that as a success.
We're still on good terms and the old boss wants me to do the voice over on web demos.
Since no one seems to want to hire a fat old grumpy greyhair, I'm starting my own damm company, with one of my old bosses (it's his fourth start-up).
Start working on your Plan B now...
Pretty much. I've trained my share of my own H1-B replacements.
My usual goal is to work myself out of a job and go on to something more challenging/interesting.
These days I'm a bit better at part A...
Tip: accept the situation as is. Loose some weight, put some Suspenders on and a Tie, use Miss Clairol to get rid of the gray. Fight your inner self to complete the move to the other side. And your future is bright.
My future is bright.
We have a product, a customer, and a facility. Cash flow is next, and soon.
We're still on good terms and the old boss wants me to do the voice over on web demos.
Since no one seems to want to hire a fat old grumpy greyhair, I'm starting my own damm company, with one of my old bosses (it's his fourth start-up).
Start working on your Plan B now...
Freepmail coming.
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