AT&T Tech Support 360
June 2, 2006 7:59 AM PDT
H-1B limit reached for next year
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The U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services said Thursday that it determined on May 26--scarcely two months after this year's application window began on April 1--that the number of petitions streaming in will exceed the congressional limit of 65,000 visas. The people approved in that round of applications are eligible to start work on Oct. 1, 2006--which is when the federal government's 2007 fiscal year begins.
Another 5,830 petitions had arrived as of May 26 for the separate 20,000 visas reserved for the 2007 fiscal year for foreigners with advanced degrees from U.S. institutions.
Regardless, employers seeking skilled foreign workers without such degrees cannot file petitions until the next application window opens on April 1, 2007.
Proponents of the H-1B program, which permits foreigners with at least a bachelor's degree in their area of specialty to be employed in the United States for up to six years, viewed the announcement as additional evidence that Congress urgently needs to raise the limit.
"This is bad news, as America keeps losing the race to other countries to attract the world's best and the brightest high-skilled workers," said Ralph Hellman, president of the Information Technology Industry Council, whose member companies include Apple Computer, Dell, Cisco Systems, IBM, Intel and Microsoft. "This further underscores the need by Congress to provide additional incentives to attract these workers."
Those large technology companies have claimed for years that such changes are essential for filling key gaps created by a shortage of qualified Americans. Some, such as Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates, have gone so far as to suggest scrapping the restrictions altogether.
The industry edged closer to getting its way last week, when the U.S. Senate voted to raise the cap to 115,000 as part of a sweeping immigration bill. The measure also contains a provision stipulating that if that cap is reached in a certain year, then it can be raised by 20 percent for the next year. The government's baseline H-1B quota has remained at 65,000 since 2004 after peaking at 195,000 between 2001 and 2003.
That bill, however, is expected to face obstacles in the House of Representatives because of broader conflicts over the Senate's approach to immigration policy and border security.
Meanwhile, the H-1B system also has its fair share of critics. The U.S. division of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, which represents high-tech professionals, has argued that the current system lets powerful corporations nab foreign workers at lower salaries than they would pay their American counterparts--or, in the most unsavory cases, to keep American workers out of jobs entirely.
"We don't understand why the Senate wants to expand a program that numerous government reports have found leaves U.S and foreign workers open to exploitation," IEEE-USA President Ralph Wyndrum Jr. said in a statement. "Fraud, abuse and misuse of the visas is rampant. The program should be fixed before it is expanded."
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Rent is typically over $1200 a month (for a 1 bedroom flop, and I hope you like rats).
You have to make at least 60k, just to stay above water in the Bay Area (own a car, eat, rent your own shelter, and pay taxes).
Further Hi tech companies are not having problem finding workers (at a living wage). I have seen many applicants rejected this year (who were more qualified than I was when I came on board, 6+ years ago).
At some point you have to realize that we cannot compete with billions of other people for a job.
Remember, it's better to stand to the left (or right) of the stampeding herd, than to be a bull fighter in the center of its path.
I think managers like to play musical chairs, I think there is some perverse joy derived from it.
And that importing workers will cause bad things to occur:
- Money is going to leave the country, and so devalue our dollar
- Wages will be depressed, thereby decreasing the side benefit of high-tech jobs to the rest of the workforce.
- Eventually, a significant percentage of these guests will return to their home country, and use their skills (mostly learned on the job), to win business back to their home country. Further devaluing the dollar.
- Inflation is now being driven by the high-cost of resources (such as oil), not wages, so inflation is here to stay for a while.
Does anyone ever think about why oil is 70+ dollars a barrel? It's because so many dollars leave the U.S. and other countries need oil to develop their nation (and to put into their new Mercedes, civic, or yamaha).
When the dollar crashes, there will be a world-wide recession. And temporarily at least, the U.S. importing power will be no better than that of Mexico.
Are we really supposed to believe that tech companies can't find good talent in the bay area and the rest of the country?
With a great deal on H-1 candidates, why should they bother to pay a living wage and health coverage for employees?
And I am only 25. So, I guess Comp. Science degree is paying off very well.
I worked hard, got the right skills (wireless) at the right time.
All Americans that b!tch that can't find a good job, are just some big whiners. Work hard, and don't be lazy, but smart on what you do.
What I usually see is a lot of you just getting the first or second job and get complacent, and not working enough.
I got a full academic scholarship from an american university, so no loans for me. I got an internship at this huge financial company, and I worked so hard and beyond the call of duty, that they hired me, and sponsored me for a H-1B back in 2003-2004 when it is was the worst of the times.
I had to get by with a non that great salary, but eventually, now that the market picked up, I have offers left and right, and just have to do my pick.
The company got some american interns too, but unfortunately they didn't work as hard, plus they took more time and resources away from the senior developers, then contributed to the projects.
Bottom line, companies are always going to try to get the best skill set for the MONEY. It is purely business.
Unfortunately, unlike lawyers and doctors, Tech work is very easily exportable abroad, hence severely limiting the supply of smart people in this country, will just hurt the Tech industry more, and make businesses set shop for good in the cheaper countries.
Limiting the entry of smart people in this country, just benefits the lazy, the unskilled and the unfit people (dinosaurs) for the 21st century economy.
I am tired of EEE and their xenophobic arguments. Bunch of hicks.
Fighting for the Rules of H-1b and not letting companies to use and abuse of it, is a good thing. If you make it more expensive (enforcing the already laws) for companies to hire foreigners, then they will always get americans first.
But fighting to limit the entry of smart people in this country is not right, and counter productive in the long term.
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One of the main problems with H1B's is that it takes away from the entry level jobs that would be available to new grads. And when those jobs are taken by H1B's Americans are left in the cold and get caught in the loop of employers needing experience but new grads can't get that experience because H1B's get the jobs are first line for these lower end jobs
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As a new computer science grad from an American college, my experience was exactly the contrary. It took 3 months for me to land an OK offer, while most of my American classmates, most of whom had lower GPA's than me, got offers earlier than me. Many companies came to the on-campus job fair with a 'No sponsorship for H1B's', and when they did sponsor, they would prefer Americans because of the saved cost and hassles from the immigration procedures.
For the people who think H1B's steal your jobs, you would not know how much harder to get a job when H1B is needed unless you experienced yourself. As far as I know, none of my classmates got lower than normal offer just because they need H1B's (mostly in the 60k-80k range for developers). It is clear that many companies will not sponsor H1B if they can hire an American (qualified, of course).
- Thinking of moving your talent to US? Here is the bottom line.
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by pixelator_
July 7, 2007 2:16 AM PDT
- If you are a foreigner and think of coming to US for grad school in the sciences and then work in US, here is my advice after 6 years of doing just that. Bottom line is that 1) it won't be too difficult to find a job if you are willing to work for less than an American, 2) if you expect to be paid the same amount as an American, you will have to be unique in some way, or there must be a shortage of Americans for the job, or else an American will likely be hired, 3) even if you are unique, top of your American class, best and brightest, from a top US university, worked hard in US grad school for several years, etc., the H1B quota system will force you to start your job by Oct 1, AND, prior to that, secure it by Apr 1, which is often impossible given all the other constraints (your graduation date (often in May, which is too late), etc.), resulting in you having to go home for several months before starting your American job... (and many US employers simply won't wait that long and will hire an American instead), 4) when you work for the American company, you will have to be obedient/work overtime/constantly prove yourself because if you get fired (common occurrence in US, jobs here are not as steady as in some other countries), you will have to leave the country immediately (imagine trying to start a life like that... it's constant living under the gun... can you go on a date, make friends, etc., and be sure you won't have to leave it all behind next week?... will the American society even expect you to do those things, or are you here primarily to make $$$ for your employer?), 5) your kids might have it the "normal" way, but you will stay an immigrant... one day you will watch your kids and realize they are very different from you, 6) it will be difficult for you to get promoted, because: a) you lack American cultural skills, and unless you came to US as a teenager (at the latest) this will be hard (but not impossible) to ever replace; lack of cultural skills tends to make other people uncomfortable and is as such bad for business, b) immigration rules will make it difficult for you to change into a managerial job, c) it will be perceived by the society that as a foreigner your current job of programming 55+ hours a week already is what you deserve given your background, that you should be happy as is, and that asking for more is asking too much; again there are exceptions, but not that common, d) your foreign name will be a constant deterrent/source of confusion; you might consider adopting an American name, but then, there will be people who will think that you are fake and don't respect your own heritage, 7) there will be Americans who will not like you, simply because you are a foreign worker - many posts on this website attest to that. So, it's a good idea to come to US if you are from a very poor country, civil war, no jobs, or if you like American policies (you will like it here if you support Bush - remember, more than 50% of Americans supported Bush in 2004; you have to be at least comfortable with this (saying as many educated foreigners tend not to be), as these people could be your bosses, landlords, the lady at the dry cleaner's, your co-workers, your father-in-law, the schoolteacher of your kids, the nice American girl/guy that you met last week in the park, etc.). I suggest seriously considering opportunities at home, even if you are the best and brightest of your country. Smart foreigners often think that their country is backwards, whereas US is "a great land of opportunities". While there are many great things about Americans, American way of life, etc., there are also many hidden pitfalls. Go watch Sicko the movie. If you do come here, you should expect to work long hours and be paid a reasonable amount for it (you will not be rich... Paris Hilton will always be richer, more admired, receive more attention than you, legal system will like her better, no matter what you achieve in your life).
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