This story came out in Computerworld 1/4. "Immigration reform" bills will be bantered again in Congress. Tech industry and immigration attorney lobbyists have been campaigning steadily for an uninterrupted flood of cheap foreign labor to replace high-salaried Americans. Meanwhile, science and engineering enrollments, foreign and domestic, continue to decline because there are no jobs for graduates providing a reaonable wage.
http://www.computerworld.com/...
Senate Bill S.2611, the "amnesty bill", will grant unlimited guest worker and student visas to a saturated job market through its "SEC. 523. MARKET-BASED VISA LIMITS.". The Cornyn "SKIL Bill" S.2691 and the House equivalent HR.5744 are waiting in the wings in case S.2611 is defeated in the House (already passed in the Senate 6/6/6).
In April, the annual bargain basement battle for 2008 H-1B visas will occur resulting in the inevitable rapid exhaustion of visas by consulting companies (body shops) requesting thousands of visas in their attempts to corner the market away from their competitive adversaries.
US DOL:
Table 5: Companies Electronically Filing Applications for the Most H-1B Workers from January 2002 to September 2005
Company; Number of workers requested
1... 187,337
2.... 39,569
3.... 29,353
4.... 20,062
5.... 20,039
6.... 19,791
7.... 18,523
8.... 18,446
9.... 17,200
10... 16,717
============
.....387,037
Wouldn't you like to know which companies requested tens of thousands of H-1B workers?
Media outlets will be deluged with press releases crying for foreign talent for which Americans are too stupid and lazy to apply. University lobbyists will plead for the "best and brightest" foreign talent, while most of the visas will go to Java programmers, teachers and health care workers, not scientists or PHDs as they propose. Science and engineering salaries will continue to stagnate.
Some of the meritorious statements in the Computerworld story include:
But taking office today are some outspoken opponents of the H-1B visa program, including U.S. Sen. Jim Webb (D-Va.). In a statement for Policy Soup, the blog of the Fairfax County, Va., Chamber of Commerce, Webb wrote: "I do not support guest worker programs. This applies to H-1B visas, except in the most extraordinary circumstances. I do not believe the myth of the tech worker shortage."
"The system is worthless," said Ron Hira, vice president for career activities at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers-USA. "The only thing protecting the workforce right now is the cap, and there is almost nothing protecting the foreign workers from being exploited."
In a report released in June, the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) said the Labor Department's LCA electronic review process also made mistakes. It found 3,229 applications from companies using H-1B that reported they were paying wages below the prevailing wage.
The GAO study was not exhaustive.
H-1B [Visa] Pay Drags Down All Salaries
What can I do?
Call your representatives and beg them to support the Pascrell bill H.R.4378 - Defend the American Dream Act of 2005
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to require employers of H-1B (specialty occupations) nonimmigrants to use one of three specified methods (whichever results in the highest wages) to determine wages for purposes of required wage attestations. Requires such employers who previously employed one or more H-1B nonimmigrants to submit with their labor condition application (LCA) a copy of the W-2 Wage and Tax Statement filed with respect to those nonimmigrants.
Extends to 180 days the period during which certain H-1B employers must show nondisplacement of U.S. workers. Requires such employers to actively engage in recruitment efforts. Prohibits such employers from outsourcing or otherwise contracting for the placement of an H-1B nonimmigrant with another employer, regardless of whether the other employer is H-1B dependent employer.
Sets forth prior notice requirements.
Reduces the period of H-1B authorized admission to three years.
Eliminates the exemption from H-1B numerical admission limitations for certain aliens with a U.S. master's or higher degree.
Revises the H-1B definition of "specialty occupation."
Triples the H-1B petitioner fee.
Requires the Secretary of Labor to be responsible for investigations of wage complaints and allegations of fraud in the filing of LCAs.
Creates a private right of action for persons harmed by an employer's violation of labor condition requirements.
Applies the nondisplacement requirement to all H-1B employers.
While you are on the phone, beg your reps to support the DeLauro bill H.R.3381 - L-1 Nonimmigrant Reform Act
Amends the Immigration and Nationality Act to revise L-1 (intracompany transfers) nonimmigrant visa provisions.
Prohibits entry of an L-1 worker unless the employer has filed a labor condition application with the Secretary of Labor which shall attest that: (1) wage and working condition comparability exists; (2) no strike or lockout exists in the occupational classification at the employment site; (3) the employer has notified the bargaining representative or the employees about the prospective L-1 hiring; (4) the L-1 application contains occupational classification and wage and working condition information; and (5) there has not been nor will there be any lay-off of U.S. workers 180 days before or after the L-1 hiring.
Directs the Secretary and the Secretary of Homeland Security to: (1) establish processes for receipt, investigation, and disposition of violation claims; (2) establish a process to permit an L-1 alien who files a complaint to work for another employer; and (3) report annually on the use of L-1 workers.
Sets forth employer violation provisions. Makes an employer liable for the return transportation costs of an L-1 worker dismissed from employment prior to the end of the authorized admission. Imposes a fee on an L-1 employer.
Establishes in the Treasury the L-1 Nonimmigrant Petitioner Account, which shall be used for data processing, labor enforcement, and training and education of U.S. workers.
Establishes an annual 35,000 L-1 visa limit.
Eliminates L-1 blanket visa authority.
Requires: (1) an L-1 worker to have a bachelor's degree or higher in his or her area of special knowledge; and (2) verification by the Secretary of State.
Increases the prior foreign employment requirement.
Help save the country and The American Dream.