Unfilled Positions Reduce Productivity

Reform H-1B, but don't ignore legitimate needs of American employers

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Are you really going fall for the propaganda from Corporate American that there is a real need for foreign skilled labor?

It is all about cutting costs, making firms more profitable and that means cheap [foreign] labor!

Wake up American workers, you are being sold-out!

STOLEN JOBS video

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3213663920916963027#

"The goal is NOT to Find and American worker!"

http://www.youtube.com/programmersguild

EngiNERD of IL 10:15PM January 03, 2012

Yes - skills shortages stymie corporate expansion and creation of additional jobs. Bring the talent, train the talent within and let's get moving!

Michael Cardy of FL 12:02PM January 03, 2012

Many employers are abusing H-1B visas by using them to import cheap labor and not using them for special talent as intended. I see many jobs being filled by H-1Bs that can be easily filled by Americans even our graduates especially project management jobs at our large banks.

Now the headhunters, many foreign in the tech and finance field, are only presenting the resumes of the cheaper labor to the employer which in turn is causing the pay scale to go down and the loss of permanent jobs. Americans are being turned into short-term contractors and even pressured into working on a 1099 vs. W2 because these foreign consultancies do not want to get stuck paying unemployment when the contract terminates. On a 1099 there is no safety net because you cannot pay unemployment insurance at least in NJ when working on a 1099 and therefore cannot collect it.

Also Americans cannot compete with the H-1Bs in mobility since many H-1Bs do not have houses so they can be across the country in a couple of days and start a new job. On the other hand when American lose their homes because they have no jobs, they'll become mobile out of desperation. But then that will cause more deterioration in American home life.

Does it make sense that Americans are on unemployment paid by our states while the H-1Bs have jobs and the unemployed Americans are no longer paying income taxes? Even though H-1Bs are paying income taxes, they are paying lower income taxes due to lower wages. Many unemployed citizens are going through their assets to pay the mortgage especially older workers and some losing their homes. Older workers will be taking Social Security early since they are without jobs putting additional strains on our system. When is the government going to wake up or are the lobbies for the H-1Bs too strong? Who is the gatekeeper of this H-1B process to ensure that these visas are being used only to acquire special talent that cannot be filled by Americans and not used to displace the American worker to cut costs or to cover up corporate mismanagement? Let me guess - the gatekeeper is an H-1B too!

Sandy M of NJ 6:54AM January 03, 2012

There is absolutely NO SHORTAGE of technology workers. The unemployment rate for IT workers is among the highest for white collar, college educated workers. If anything, technology workers need a much deserved break from the attacks and barrage of cheap H-1bs that have flooded the labor market, outsourced jobs, and displaced millions of American IT workers. End the H-1b!

Len of AZ 4:56PM December 31, 2011

The H-1b is founded on lies and riddled with fraud! So much fraud that H-1bs should be considered illegal aliens. There are plenty of QUALIFIED American workers and most of the foreign candidates are unskilled.

The H-1b is too bad to be able to reform. And the "legitimate" need of American business a amounts to bringing in foreign scabs to drive down American wages!

Phillip Vierling of AZ 11:01AM December 29, 2011

By all means, let's repeal civil rights laws and while we're at it condone ageism, return the 70 hour work week and further reintroduce indentured servitude. The INTENT of the visa sounds good (fill gaps to work hand in hand with the workforce) but tech is a case study in "the road to hell is paved with good intentions." There are simply too many stories of bottom-heavy companies relying largely on H-1bs. One in NH had 150 as of last year and didn't pay one of them an average wage for a senior-level software engineer, not one.

If these are such critical skills, raise the paltry fees to something substantial and use that money to improve enforcement and domestic training. And before you tell me $5000ish is huge (there are expenses beyond the base fee, after all), we're supposedly talking mission-critical talent in jobs paying upwards of six figures EXCLUDING the oversaturated pockets so many tech companies have made their beds in. And it's a 3-year visa.

Are there pockets of shortage or specific gaps, probably. This has been a steady stream on this often permanent visa (after expiration, can be extended annually so long as a GC is applied for) since the day today's college students were born. It is time to make a more holistic, long-reaching change and stop propping up an intended stopgap fix.

john80224 of CO 1:43AM December 29, 2011

Technology workers have some the highest unemployment rates, salaries are actually dropping, and millions are unemployed. Doesn't sound like a 'Shortage' of qualified workers, but a shortage of jobs. End the H-1b entirely.

Joe of CA 7:35PM December 28, 2011

i believe that Jason Dzubow makes a good point by referring to the labor department to show where the shortages are. Unfortunately, one cannot depend on the labor department to be accurate or up to date. Today, the American workforce has all the qualifications for a corporation to employ people here in the States instead of foreign. I would add that no foreign employees should be employed here in the States until all Americans are employed in all capacities, unless, someone very, very special is needed then, yes, the visa should be provided without any problem. We really need to attend to our people who have suffered for the past 4 years, and continue to suffer without any hope in sight.

Denise Gilbert of MD 6:37PM December 28, 2011

I cannot believe that there are people that BELIEVE that the H1B visa programs brings in the "best and Brightest". Once upon a time, that may have been true; but today it's about CHEAP and Docile labor, to replace American workers (especially in the Information Technology field) and reduce salaries/rates. Don;t believe me --- Take a look at ANY financial institution's IT department (Citi, Wells Fargo, Chase, Capital One, etc). Still don't believe me ---- Look at any Telecom's IT department (Verizon, Dish, AT&T, etc).

Best and Brightest???? That's a STRETCH.

Jimmie Richardson of CO 3:48PM December 28, 2011

In your argument you claim a "severe shortage of technology workers", yet when you look at the salaries of tech workers over the last decade they have remained flat.

Everyone with a basic understanding of supply and demand knows that when shortages exist, salaries rise. In the case of tech workers salaries have done the opposite. There are fewer technology jobs today than in 2000.

It is troublesome that immigration attorneys like yourself spread the lie of "shortages" while ignoring the facts. The only people claiming shortages seem to be immigration attorneys and companies engaged in offshore outsourcing.

Mr. Dzubow isn't here because he wants to make American more competitive or for some altruistic reasons. He is an immigration attorney and he is writing to spread his propaganda to support his business model. To think that he cares about immigrants, American workers, or our economy is laughable.

Finally, why do we need corporate "middle-men" with their hands on the immigration levers? What makes corporations so special that they should be able to choose who our immigrants are?

I believe that corporate immigration has been a source of widespread fraud and as long as the motive of immigration remains corporate profits the program cannot be fixed.

The goal of immigration should be about welcoming people who share American values like democracy and human rights, not to enable immigration attorneys like yourself and your clients to make a profit while abusing immigrants and discriminating against American workers.

We shouldn't care if a person is a janitor or an engineer. I would take one janitor who shares our values over ten engineers who could care less about what America represents. We need to look more closely at the person, not their resume. If they can hold a job, obey the law, support the Constitution, and share our American values that's what really matters.

A greed-driven immigration system is not the answer. We need to build a nation, not a stock market.

R. Lawson of FL 3:45PM December 28, 2011

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