Backlash In U.S. Against Foreign Worker Visas Growing

Talking Points Memo ^ | July 6 2014 | LAURA WIDES-MUNOZ and PAUL WISEMAN

[Woodman]

No I am referring to the onshore jobs in an onshore/offshore model of business. There are less jobs than there used to be, but there is still plenty of onshore work. I deal with this every day and know the model well. There is really not that much that is fully managed by the outsourcer in the high end engagements.

[Yossarian]

The H1B visa seems to only allow a few thousand employees in the entire nation per year, that cannot possibly cause a major problem,

It must be nice to live in such a comfortable, dense oblivion!

[iacovatx]

“The problem is NOT the educated, legal foreign workers, the real problem is the hordes of uneducated, diseased, illegals coming across the border, whom our tax dollars are supporting.”

I agree that the hordes you describe are a serious threat and a deliberate attack on America and her citizens. I would suggest that not all the educated, legal foreign workers are a welcome boost to America. It is quite true that some are great additions to the nation (members of my family include some recent immigrants who are or were H1B’s), however, there are employers in the US who are hiring them only to save a buck and diminish job opportunities for US citizens who are good and better performers. One of my closest friends is an H1B who now leads the science and medicine field in which she is outstanding and there is no one on this planet who can readily challenge her performance. She is also a conservative who makes the US a stronger nation. However, there are other H1B’s who are not good performers, who are tribal, and who care not one whit for the US Constitution or culture. It is, as in all matters, a mix of complexity.

Thanks for your considered and interesting contribution.

[KC_Conspirator]

Right now, there are huge departments of the US government, such as the GSA and FDIC, that has outsourced government contract jobs to H1-B Indian workers. Pathetic.

[KC_Conspirator]

You have that exactly right.

[Nowhere Man]

If I had my way, H1-B would be illegal.

[a fool in paradise]

And stateside HP pays LOW contractor rates.

[kearnyirish2]

“Regardless of what is happening on the bottom end of labor, the H1B problem has virtually eliminated middle class IT jobs.”

Absolutely; happening in finance as well. Rather than bring in the American workers and tell them they must accept a 25% salary reduction to keep their jobs, they are simply laid off and replaced with Asian coolies.

The oddest thing is that companies that had prided themselves on striving for perfection are now quite willing to accept 50% of the worker talent for 50% of the wages (in every job I see). If customers don;t like it, they can go to Hell.

[ConservingFreedom]

The estimated total number of H1-B workers in the USA is 650,000 (http://cis.org/estimating-h1b-population-2-11) - much smaller than the illegal alien population, but a significant problem for citizens working in the technology field.

[coon2000]

I think what you are really referring to is the IT workforce that is off-shore — i.e. they never come to the US, your phone call for IT support goes to India or wherever. I think that is the result of the expensive regulations US companies face in the US, which also virtually eliminated manufacturing jobs in the US. If the government would cut back on all the useless regulations that increases the cost to the companies, they would be more able and willing to hire workers in the US. The H1B visa seems to only allow a few thousand employees in the entire nation per year, that cannot possibly cause a major problem, but as I said, it’s easier to blame that program, to take attention away from the mass invasion of unqualified illegal immigrant who will be costing all taxpayers significant amount of money.

Unfortunately, most people in the US have no idea that this is such a huge problem. The number of IT H1-B's are staggering.

[Cronos]

many below the C level did