H-1B: Immigrants make up nearly three-quarters of Silicon Valley tech workforce, report says

San Jose Mercury ^ | January 17, 2018 | Ethan Baron

[artichokegrower]

With the debate over immigration to the U.S. as fiery as ever, a new analysis suggests that Silicon Valley would be lost without foreign-born technology workers.

About 71 percent of tech employees in the Valley are foreign born, compared to around 50 percent in the San Francisco-Oakland-Hayward region, according to a new report based on 2016 census data.

[TexasGunLover]

Their mere presence lowers the value of every other tech person in the field. They expand the pool of workers lowering the value of labor. It is simple supply and demand & everyone with a functioning brain knows it.

We don't have any problem with outreach. Visiting top schools in STEM fields, from a simple observation perspective, will reveal what the talent pool's demographics look like.

[Jim from C-Town]

It doesn’t have anything to do with outreach. It is all about how government and industry have conspired to change the demographics of a particular field to lower the costs of labor. This is a Micro example of a larger problem in this country.

The exact same thing is happening on a Macro scale in the country as a whole. Large industry and government are conspiring to alter the demographics in order to maintain low cost employees and Democrat votes. Our own elected officials and home grown multinational corporations are Hell bent on replacing the high cost labor and independent American with a low cost dependent serf class that will work non stop either in the farm field or the STEM fields.

[tennmountainman]

So the visas belong to the company?
Sounds like foreign slave labor
at the expense of legal Americans.

[tumblindice]

`Immigrants make up nearly three-quarters of Silicon Valley tech workforce’
Visa holders>>>>Immigrants.
Like illegal aliens—these “immigrants” are also docile, compliant & hard working, because the State dept was their employment agency and ICE the personnel dept.
Not just cheap, but you don’t have to worry about them easing you out of your upper management jobs: the perfect `lots of free overtime’ wage slaves.

[luckystarmom]

I was thinking that if I was the one working that I wouldn’t be having the discrimination issues like my husband.

[RicocheT]

Post 2 is correct that most H-1B foreign IT workers are brought in as cheap labor for the Big U.S. tech companies.

My son-in-law, born and bred in our U.S., works doing IT for a company that does tech and has a proprietary product that financial institutions all over the world use. His co. has offices here and several places abroad. He is very talented and gets sent all over to troubleshoot problems.

He has seen and fixed applications that were coded and run by foreign-trained workers. Yes, they are adequate for run of the mill work but are not up to speed for top level or complex or getting the application lean and mean to run fast and long-term. Ya get what you pay for in IT, just as in all wages or purchases.

[StolarStorm]

I gotcha. You would be in a better position. Middle aged white men are HATED in tech now. We are the minority. We are the nexus of all evil in the millennial HR gatekeeper’s world. I’m so tired of being phone screened by 22 year olds that clearly have disdain for my age, race and gender. They don’t even try to hide it.

[TexasGunLover]

Large industry and government are conspiring to alter the demographics in order to maintain low cost employees and Democrat votes.

Government might be, but in general, industry isn't doing that. It's responding to mandates by an over reaching, socialist government. Consumers dictate price, and they demand lower price. Lower prices can't be maintained while providing billions of dollars in health care for employees, mandatory leave, etc etc...

Do you know why Wal-Mart is successful? It is because they squeeze every bit of savings out of every piece of the supply chain and people pack their stores to buy the cheaper goods.

[SauronOfMordor]

Companies used to recruit kids, give them IQ and other tests, and place them accordingly. Then the supreme Court ruled that such tests were racially discriminatory. A company can be sued for using a test that results in “disparate impact”.

[central_va]

There are plenty of US tech workers. As wages increase more major in STEM. We need to end H-1B visas NOW!

[central_va]

It's dynamic and you know it. We flooded the STEM labor market and fewer US born citizens major in STEM. It makes common sense. Just kill H-1B and you will get STEM grads again in great numbers. Plus there are not enough jobs for US STEM grads now anyway.

Coming to Free Republic and the constant ball busting of the US work force is depressing.

[central_va]

I cannot attest for those particular companies, but at my Fortune 100 company we go through audits to ensure pay equity of H1B recipients. In most cases they're paid at or above other workers.

Yes you are paying more but the entire pay scale is depressed.

[central_va]

You are not offering enough money and requiring to much in qualifications. You do that to exclude Americans. I know the racket.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

Tech companies can't find enough citizen graduates?

Sure they can.

But they have rigged the game. They don't WANT to hire Americans partly because they might go out and start their own rival companies.

If you can keep them from getting their foot in the door then you can keep your place at the top of the heap more easily.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

They apply.

You just never see their application.

They never make it past the gatekeeper who is looking for diversity.

Out of one hundred people who apply only about 20% get their application passed on.

Usually the person who does the sorting is the lowest ranking member of the HR department.

Some don't even do that. The CV's are sorted by a computer algorithm that is only as good as the person who set the parameters.

[StolarStorm]

BINGO BINGO BINGO!

[TexasGunLover]

You just never see their application.

Where I work, this is patently false. I know people who apply and see their applications.

[TexasGunLover]

You are not offering enough money and requiring to much in qualifications. You do that to exclude Americans. I know the racket.

Absolutely false. Both pay and qualifications are identical and at market rates.

[TexasGunLover]

Coming to Free Republic and the constant ball busting of the US work force is depressing.

Coming to Free Republic and the constant whining about how bad corporations are by under qualified union lovers is depressing.

[Harmless Teddy Bear]

You work in HR?