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Do We Still Need As Many H-1B Visas?: No
Front Page Magazine ^ | June 17, 2002 | Rep. Tom Tancredo

Posted on 06/18/2002 2:41:55 PM PDT by M 91 u2 K

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I personally think this congressman should be president. Stop h1 visas now!!! I know some of you free-trade guys are gonna say yea but h1 visas encourage competition among workers and provide cheaper goods. No they dont all they dont is take good paying jobs away from the hard american worker and give it to some cheap immigrant who does not give a dam about america.
1 posted on 06/18/2002 2:41:55 PM PDT by M 91 u2 K
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To: M 91 u2 K
I'm finishing my Ph.D. (Chemical Engineering) in the next couple of months. None of the 7 people in my class have jobs unless except for the two that hold H-1B visas.
2 posted on 06/18/2002 2:47:57 PM PDT by fuente
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To: M 91 u2 K
While I usually agree with Tom, this is one time where I do not. There is a huge misunderstanding on how H1-B Visas work. Its not simply getting cheap labor. In fact, the gov't makes the company pay the "going rate", which I have found to be typically higher than a company's salary ranges. Foreigners on an H1-B provide a skill set hard to find in the US, esp. in technology fields.
3 posted on 06/18/2002 2:51:45 PM PDT by kemathen7
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To: M 91 u2 K
I worked as a contract engineer for a major midwestern manufacturer of big yellow tractors, construction equipment, and engines. At least 80% of the engineers at the location I was at were foriegn nationals on H-1 visas. The majority were Chinese or Indian. Besides making it so American born engineers couldn't get a permanent job with a decent wage, these engineers were working on classified military projects. (We did design work on engines, drivetrains, etc for tracked, wheeled, and "other" vehicles)

These engineers worked here for a few years, then went home taking our technology with them.

The most prominent project we worked on was Crusader, but there were quite a few others, most of them I know I'm not supposed to talk about, and these foriegn nationals had pretty much full access.

4 posted on 06/18/2002 2:52:01 PM PDT by Ford Fairlane
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To: kemathen7
In fact, the gov't makes the company pay the "going rate",

In my experience, this is not true. Unless the going rate for a masters in mechanical engineering and 5 years experience is $20,000 to $25,000 per year.

5 posted on 06/18/2002 2:55:06 PM PDT by Ford Fairlane
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To: Ford Fairlane
Completely false. I work in compensation for an engineering firm ... the gov't rate for an engineer with a Masters is about $55,000. But, that also depends a great deal on the job and the skill set required.
6 posted on 06/18/2002 2:57:26 PM PDT by kemathen7
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To: Ford Fairlane
These engineers worked here for a few years, then went home taking our technology with them. but is'nt that what "FREE TRADE" is all about ...we give them all our "trade secrets" for FREE..
7 posted on 06/18/2002 2:57:38 PM PDT by THEUPMAN
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To: M 91 u2 K
Vanishing visas Uncertain future for unemployed H-1B holders

Documenting an American Dream San Francisco filmmakers tell story of foreign workers caught in the H-1B visa bind

H-1Bs Fear They'll Be Sent Home

H-1B visas are supposed to be for jobs looking for people, not people looking for jobs. Cries of unfairness because H-1B visa holders are forced to go home after losing their jobs ring on deaf ears.

-PJ

8 posted on 06/18/2002 3:00:30 PM PDT by Political Junkie Too
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To: fuente
Congrats are in order for you. That's quite an accomplishment.
9 posted on 06/18/2002 3:00:35 PM PDT by NYS_Eric
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To: kemathen7
I know that was what these guys were getting (as one of 2 token white guys working for the contract firm i had to translate time sheets, pay stubs, etc), but it wouldnt be the first time this particular company "bent" the law.
10 posted on 06/18/2002 3:01:37 PM PDT by Ford Fairlane
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To: M 91 u2 K
I'm writing him in 2004, I don't care who the globalist Republican Party runs.
11 posted on 06/18/2002 3:02:37 PM PDT by MissAmericanPie
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To: kemathen7
WRONG! The guy I shared an office with just finished his Ph.D. in Chemical Engineering. He took a job making 35-40K because they would sponsor him. The average Ph.D. Chem. Eng. starts mid 70's! I know two others in our group that took similar jobs, in a similar situation, last year. When I look at job postings that want advanced engineering degrees, yet pay in the 30s or 40s, I ususally find out that they're looking for these people.
12 posted on 06/18/2002 3:02:37 PM PDT by fuente
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To: M 91 u2 K
If your spelling is typical of your professional skills, H-1B visas are attractive.

Or are you deliberately using satire?

13 posted on 06/18/2002 3:02:45 PM PDT by KirklandJunction
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To: NYS_Eric
Thanks but we'll see. I have hardly had a nibble for jobs yet and I've been looking HARD for the past eight months.
14 posted on 06/18/2002 3:05:26 PM PDT by fuente
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To: kemathen7
the gov't makes the company pay the "going rate"

The company I work for hired a H-1B MBA for less than the market rate for a regular staff accountant fresh out of college. After a year & a half of training, he bailed & went back home. In order to renew his visa, we had to justify why he deserved to be hired over an American, but salary was not a factor.

15 posted on 06/18/2002 3:10:55 PM PDT by gubamyster
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To: M 91 u2 K
The congressman is completely correct.

Since the tech boom has ended, I have several friends on the street looking for work. Each one is drawing unemployment and scaling back their purchasing, retarding the economy’s recovery. The H-1B visa holders, do not spend their excess money in this country, but commonly send it back home. This becomes a new source of foreign aid. I have nothing against a hard working legal alien coming to this country for a few years to support their family, but it should not be at the expense of American citizens. In other words, the economy has changed, so should the policy.

16 posted on 06/18/2002 3:12:37 PM PDT by Klein-Bottle
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To: MissAmericanPie
So will I. I truly believe that is the last election that my vote will be relevant and I will not, WILL NOT, give it to the man who is largely responsible for the irrelevancy of my vote.

To others, who think these visas are so necessary - why does the government not use some of it's clout and help in the education of our own people to do these jobs. It cannot be that these people are just so uniquely qualified to do the jobs - it has to be money. If we don't have the workers needed, then what in the name of All That is Holy, aren't we educating our people to do those jobs. We pay enough in taxes for education, let's make it produce.

17 posted on 06/18/2002 3:14:19 PM PDT by nanny
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To: kemathen7
You are both right and wrong. The going rate of $55,000 is about right but here in Silicon Valley an average US citizen engineer with a computer science masters is paid about $80,000 - $90,000. Hiring a H1B engineer for $55,000 is a considerable savings for the employer.

As a hiring manager, I see a steady stream of older (40+) engineers with excellent qualifications and experience that can not find work.

There are three reasons - first, employers can hire H1B candidates for less; second, there is a belief that older engineers are not "up" on the latest technology and third, older engineers with families will not work the long hours (60-80 per week) favored by local employers.
18 posted on 06/18/2002 3:18:05 PM PDT by CHUCKfromCAL
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To: M 91 u2 K; dighton; aculeus
Congress in 1998 raised the cap on H-1B worker visas--issued mainly by technology companies seeking to import computer programmers.

This visa is extensively used in universities for the same reasons as outlined in the article. Scientists are notoriously cheap and prefer to hire foreign PhDs because they can pay them the lowest wages allowed.

19 posted on 06/18/2002 3:18:50 PM PDT by Orual
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To: Orual
btt
20 posted on 06/18/2002 3:21:37 PM PDT by GailA
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