Time to reevaluate H1B Visas

Not only do we need to scale back, but we must address the fundamental flaw in the H-1b program:
it is perfectly legal for employers to bypass local talent using the H-1b program.

DOL's Strategic Plan, states: "...H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker."

Passing the Durbin-Grassley reform bill will do just that. It will require employers to seek local talent for their US job openings before recruiting abroad.

The USCIS report provides hard data for the complaints that H-1bs have: they are forced to pay for visa fees, are offered lower salaries than US professionals, and are unemployed. No wonder they want the program reformed.

But without forcing employers to seek local talent for US job openings, we will always have an oversupply of US technical talent.

This is a problem shared also across our education systems. The fact is that state and federal dollars are being spent to maintain systems that forward corporate interests - not national and state interests. The idea of a free market is good for prosperity in general - but not always good for countries or localities; Gaming the system should have jail time as punishment - the crime is federal in my view. At the end of the day, government's responsibility is to the governed. I think that solid compliance needs to be established... that state universities cater first to state citizens - out-of-state and foreign tuition can rocket and still be a good deal. And jobs can be given only after solid proof of no available citizen workers is publicly established and validated - and, even then, at a still higher premium. There should be a direct cost to employers - without loopholes - that says employment of foreign workers demands a 30% additional ongoing cost distributed to the local and university systems to subsidize citizen education in those wanting areas. The current fees are not enough - and gaming the system needs to encounter large, real teeth. I think it should be built in to the system that (effectively) sending money overseas has a cost. We need it here to grow our economy, not to bolster theirs. This is supposed to be government with the consent of the governed... I submit the government needs to fix itself here bigtime. The tax base is dwindling because of their abdication. The number of jobs and quality of education should grow here and be provided here - to citizens - with prejudice.

"Re-evalutate H1b"?? Are you nuts?

We need to abolish this program.
It is hopelessly corrupt, and
cannot be reformed.

Over 600,000 science and engineering degrees are granted annually from American universities.(1) The US produces only 120,000 science and engineering jobs per year.(2) That leaves 480,000 graduates per year without jobs in their chosen careers. Add to this over 240,000 H-1B visas and an equal number of L-1 visas each year. Half a million Americans are losing their jobs to cheap foreign technical workers every year. Another half million Americans waste their S&E degrees on non-S&E jobs.
SOURCES:
(1) Tabulated by National Science Foundation/Division of Science Resources Statistics (NSF/SRS); data from Department of Education/National Center for Education Statistics: Integrated Postsecondary Education Data System Completions Survey and NSF/SRS: Survey of Earned Doctorates.
nces.ed.gov/programs/digest/d07/tables/dt07_267.asp
(2) www.bls.gov/opub/mlr/2004/02/art5full.pdf page 83

H-1B and L-1 visas are the Trojan Horse to offshoring of American Jobs.
www.cnn.com/CNN/Programs/lou.dobbs.tonight/popups/exporting.america/content.html

I disagree with Judi Hasson's contention that there is something "shocking" about the amount of fraud in the H-1B program. The recent study is nothing new -- for instance in 2004 the the Department of Labor wrote a report titled "Foreign Labor Certification Programs: The System is Broken and Needs to be Fixed". In the 1990's there were numerous other studies that discussed the fraud that takes place. There were even Congressional testimonies.

So, just who is shocked or surprised? Certainly not anyone in our government, or anyone who has basic knowledge of the H-1B program!

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I would like to see hard numbers on this. They say there is fraud, well there is fraud pretty much anywhere, but at what percent rate are we talking about here? 10%? 50%? Are we talking about just about a couple of companies? Or the great majority? 65,000 per year? Are we saying every single one is a fraud?

So, if they found some 20% of applications in the sample were in some way fraudulent, involved fraudulent academic credentials, etc., and since the DoL Inspector General has been writing reports on such abuses since at least the mid-1990s, and people (H-1B holders, displaced US citizens) have testified to such abuses to congressional committees, why is it the congress-critters haven't managed to get 'round to making repairs? Because even more abuse was intentionally built into the system by congress-critters and lobbyists for the Indian government and executives in business and academia. Pelosi, Sessions, Lofgren, Reid, et al. do not want to reform it because that would put a crimp in their campaign contributions, so they vote against US citizens and visa holders every time.

H1b and EB-greencard proponents are always quick to admit some error and fraud occurs and vow to wipe it out---and then move on to emphasize how resident workers lack talent and earnestness, etc., etc., and how we need more guestworkers and skilled immigrants in order to `compete'. . . .

One part of a fix, change the degree requirement to a Masters.

The H1-B program is supposed to cover multiple fields, doctors, actresses, etc, not just high-tech. The H1-B should change it's educational requirement to a Masters degree, that would cut down on a lot of claims that these visa holders are highly educated. A three year degree from an Indian university is the equivalent of a 2 year fast degree program from an outfit equivalent to a tech college in the US, not a Bachelors, and certainly not a Masters.

These visa applicants are supposed to be "exceptional", so make the requirements exceptional.

Of statistical interest from the USCIS publication...

Size of survey = 246 (of possible 96,827)
Fraud rate = 13.4%
Technical violation = 7.3% (benching, underpayment, bodyshop w-o valid LCA etc)

Total Violation rate = 20.7%

(Sample taken from pending petitions between Oct. 1, 2005 and Mar. 31, 2006 mostly continuing employment petitions)

Education Level violation rate:
Bachelors Degrees = 31% (sample 106)
Graduate Degrees = 13% (sample 140)

Highest Violation rates by occupation:

Accounting, Human Resources,
Business Analysts, Sales, Advertising = 42% (sample 26)

Managerial = 33% (sample 9)

Art = 29% (sample 7)

Computer professionals = 27% (sample 104)

Medicine Health = 10% (sample 10)

No single country had a participation rate high enough to create a statistically valid violation rate except India (46% of sample). This 25% violation rate was not much higher than the avg violation rate of 20.7%.

Born in India
Violation rate = 25% (sample 114)

H-1B Benefit Fraud & Compliance Assessment
//grassley.senate.gov/private/upload/100820081-3.pdf

The DOL list of H-1B willful violators.
www.dol.gov/esa/whd/immigration/H1BWillfulViolator.htm

H-1B anti-fraud fee is $500.00 each.

H1-B is a great example of big government interference. If there was a shortage of skilled workers then scarcity would set in and that would force competition for the last worker available. That would increase wages and that would attract either more people to enter Math and CS courses (which would increase the available course as well) AND/OR it would encourage better management of existing resources and tools. But government interference, H1-B, has disrupted the natural market forces. So wages have not kept up, kids do not enter CS or Math, and colleges are not expanding access because there is no demand! The markets work if corporations/lobbiest/federal government would let them work.

There are lot of flaws in H1B visa program. It is evident that employers are using this tool for their own in a wrong way. So called staffing companies normally take money from the candidates to process H1B and they also guide candidates to commit fraud. Since employers have total control over H1B, abusing is involved in almost every case. Once candidates has arrived in US, these companies make them sign harsh agreements. The candidates dont have any choice to stay with the employer as they have already given a lot of money and left their jobs in their country.
Nowadays talented people avoid to come to US as they dont want go through this nightmare.
So this program has lost its purpose.
1)It is not bringing real talent to America.
2)American workers jobs are in trouble.
3)People coming to America under this program are also not happy

There is no control on companies. I did my degree from one of top ranking college and worked in best companies in India. I caught up in last slow down. I had more then 15 years of experience in previous companies still my green card was filed in EB-3 category (require 2 years of experience) instead of EB-2 category. I had to stay in US as going back to India had affected my children's education. When I raised objection, my meager pay was stopped and I was threatened that green card application will not be filed. Getting new job was not possible as I was completing 5 years on H1 visa. I NOW NEVER SUGGEST ANY IN MY FAMILY TO COME AND EXPERIENCE AMERICAN NIGHTMARE. It is Oct 18, 2008 today; I have completed 9 years in USA still it will take 3-4 years to get green card. I am better then illegal immigrant. If you do fraud (pay for processing pay roll) you get green card in minimum possible time. My employer did it. The people who did not use computer in previous life became green card holder in 3 to 5 years. Courtesy Immigration laws and tech lobby.

Reform is not the answer- abolition and accelerated expiration is! The preponderence of fraud and the resulting economic impact to Americans justify such action. The decrease in the labor pool will speed the eventual recovery. And it will add to our security by decreasing the numbers of immigrants from areas that are just now being seen to be just as dangerous from the standpoint of terrorism.

One rotten apple in a bagful of apples does not make the whole bag bad. True there have been one odd cases of fraud occassionally, but on balance or more, and to a ~ 98% level (in my view), america has benfited more with the H1 B and other non immigrant and immigrant visa programs. One should try nderstand why Bill gates/ Microsoft/ Googles etc plead so much for the case. The irony of immigation considering that it is such an emotional subject in USA, issues of illegal migrants and hi tech workers, seems to get fully overlapped and fiction merges with fact... Wake up guys and dont keep saying cheap labor - america is known to promote enterprsie and market rates always prevail, else value migrates again (and again....) - these things are best left to free market enterprise, and ofcourse with in the confines of legal accuracy...