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U.S. Senate's Big Immigration Bill Seeks Centralized Database For H-1B Jobs
dcblogs writes "The U.S. Senate comprehensive immigration bill, due Tuesday, will allow the H-1B cap to rise from 65,000 to as high as 180,000. The bill, overall, contains some interesting provisions. It will require the U.S. Labor Dept. to create a website of H-1B job openings that employers must post to. The jobs must be posted least 30 calendar days before hiring an H-1B applicant to fill that position. The bill also raises wages for H-1B workers to make them more competitive, although the amount wasn't specified. One provision that will affect India, in particular, limits H-1B visa use to 50% of a firm's U.S. workforce. The provision may prompt India firms to buy U.S. companies to expand their U.S. presence."
So they can encourage foreign outsourcing? Doesn't anyone see this as having a negative impact on domestic unemployment? (as well as a trade deficit effect as they ship their US$ off to India)
Why is this necessary???
I work for the Department of Redundancy Department.
Instead of giving people H1B visas, why don't we just give them green cards, so they have the same employment bargaining rights that US citizens have so it becomes impossible to undercut local wages. Also, for student visa holders who finish school here with MS or PhD degrees we should just grant citizenship for an upfront fee of $8000 so we keep talented people in the US.
I've been in IT for 15 years and never have I seen a more anti-American approach to hiring than the H-1B visa debacle. I've seen firms literally taken over by foreigners and every American basically leave because it became uncomfortable to work there.
The law should be hire Americans first. If no one in the city or state can be found, create a jobs database like the one proposed and people in other states can apply. Once the company has shown they cannot find a qualified applicant in CONUS, Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Virgin Islands, and all American islands, then, and only then will they be allowed to look elsewhere. If a qualified applicant is found, they must be hired.
Disagree all you wish. We have gave the farm away. All of these people come over here, work for American companies, go home, start companies, and then compete with American companies. It happens all the time.
The US needs to regain complete control of the IT sector and maintain it. Coming to work here should be by lottery with, say, only, 10,000 a year allowed. Maximum stay 3 years with caveats.
Instead of whining in a slashdot post go email, call, tweet, or whatever to your senator! The link I provided is all 100 of them.
If your senator is a democrat tell them how much wages have not went up and how job ads actually state "H1B1 rates in salary and how employers are abusing the system as it was designed to only allow an employer to hire someone at a comparative rate. Never as a way to lower costs.
If your senator is a republican tell them it is an assault on the free market as employers get to choose where to hire, but you do not have the choice to do the same. Mention government interference and tax dollars wasted, then close with the same line I had above in your own words how it is not going as intended.
Also, mention one of the organizations was a fraudalent fake one by Microsoft looking for cheaper workers. Not an actualy organization of I.T. professionals who are lobbying for this as this is self centered and not in the will of your constitutions. Call them too as the staff checks the amount of calls everday and a spike is certainly noticed by the senator.
Remember the DMCA 2.0 law requiring DRM TCPA chips in every computer sold? It was thrown out after we at slashdot put down such links. Senators got so much of an earfull that was cancelled. Slashdot generates 10,000 if not 100,000 of views for stories. So spend 3 minutes and do your part.
http://saveie6.com/
Why not just mandate a H1B be paid at least $100,000 a year, no exceptions. If they're really so good, they deserve the money and $100k would be a bargain.
Can us Americans apply for those jobs?
Won't that be the irony. H1B visas because there are not enough qualified Americans to work those jobs. But I wager, they'll make it so that Americans can't use the site to apply for those very same jobs.
*fumes*
Where, exactly, are these alleged companies that supposedly save millions of dollars by hiring H1B workers? I've worked for 3 very, very large corporations in the telecommunications and banking industries that hire H1B workers, and as far as anybody could tell, our H1B coworkers got paid the same amount as everyone else, and actually cost *more* for the company to hire and employ due to greater paperwork requirements.
In most cases, the H1B employees were Indians who went to college (or grad school) in the US, found India's corporate culture to be soul-crushing and demoralizing (regardless of pay), and were denied permanent visas by our dysfunctional immigration system that's almost neurotically-obsessed with family reunification over "twenty/thirtysomething guy who'd view his family's distance and inability to come join him in the US as a perk and bonus".
We should phase out most of the H1B program, and replace it with a policy that makes it relatively easy for single young American-educated prospective immigrants who are unencumbered by wives, kids, and extended families to become permanent residents, then citizens.
It will require the U.S. Labor Dept. to create a website of H-1B job openings that employers must post to. The jobs must be posted least 30 calendar days before hiring an H-1B applicant to fill that position. The bill also raises wages for H-1B workers to make them more competitive, although the amount wasn't specified.
Pure window dressing. Is there anyone dumb enough to think this will make a difference? The H-1B has had various "comparable wages" and "no American worker available" provisions for years. It's meaningless because it's never enforced, and I don't expect any magic pixie dust in this bill to change that.
One provision that will affect India, in particular, limits H-1B visa use to 50% of a firm's U.S. workforce.
This may actually have some effect, but it's frightening to say that. A crackdown means limiting it to 50% of a company's U.S. workforce? U.S. does mean United States, right?
What should be added is to allow H-1B holders to be free agents in the market.
now we need to go OSS in diesel cars
Where, exactly, are these alleged companies that supposedly save millions of dollars by hiring H1B workers? I've worked for 3 very, very large corporations in the telecommunications and banking industries that hire H1B workers, and as far as anybody could tell, our H1B coworkers got paid the same amount as everyone else, and actually cost *more* for the company to hire and employ due to greater paperwork requirements.
That's because you're working for legitimate companies. There are also companies full of fresh-from-college hires that pay far under going rate and lie to their employees egregiously about the immigration process and how easy it is to change jobs with an H-1B. Taking advantage of people young enough not to know any better isn't an "immigrant" thing, however. My first full time programming job paid $18k - as a US citizen in a big city! I think there's a false belief that it's somehow only the H-1B consulting shops that abuse their employees to pay them nothing - that's just not visa-specific!
From TFS:
One provision that will affect India, in particular, limits H-1B visa use to 50% of a firm's U.S. workforce
That would be a huge change for the better - exactly because it would break the current model of the companies that exist just to abuse the system. Sure, in 5-10 years they'll have a new model, just as abusive, but that will be a good 5-10 years!
Socialism: a lie told by totalitarians and believed by fools.
I came in as F1, got a H1B, got green card and got citizenship just in time to vote against Rick Santorum. Hip hip hurrey! But not all H1Bs are good like me. Some of them, gasp, become Republicans.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
Last time we had this talk, I made this comment
http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=3620197&cid=43374569
One AC response to my comment was sort of scary...
Yeah, I see a white guy standing in a crowd of filth which probably means now you stink as bad they do. Congrats on being a traitor to your country. It was good of you to post that photo so we know exactly what you look like. After the day the people decide wipe the shit stains off our land, we'll turn their attention to those like you who betrayed their race, for special treatment.
What the fuck? I thought this was a site of thinkers, geeks, not of xenophobic extremists.
Rather than waste time on a lengthy post (I am at work) let me just make one simple point...
100% of H1-B workers that I know wish they could live, work, and pay taxes here. The only issue I take with H1-b is the treatment of said workers. This is a country that once prided itself on harboring the best and brightest from around the world, giving them shelter and refuge in exchange for their knowledge and experience. Now we give them nothing for that.
First the plutocrats #@&$'d farm workers by claiming "shortage" so they can pay sh$t wages and get slaves, and now they are #@&$ing tech workers using the same pattern.
Table-ized A.I.
We are trying to hire Java developers in Chicago for a salary range of 80k-120k and NOTHING. H1-B or not. The market is very tight.
What America needs is not what this bill is providing
I am saying this as an American, as one who have funded many startups in America, and as one who have providing jobs to many of my fellow Americans
What America needs are people who are entrepreneurial, who are risk takers, who provide jobs for others
What this bill intends to do is to import even more tech-grunts under the H1-B visas, and to open up the gate for MILLIONS of undocumented aliens, most of them unskilled/low-skilled, lacking in enthusiasm to compete, and they will end up burdening the already over-burdened social welfare system that we have in our country
Muchas Gracias, Señor Edward Snowden !
It's been said that most American workers' wages are not supposed to be significantly below our standard of living, too.
The Job Creators (tm) care to differ.
You are welcome on my lawn.
There's a "prevailing wage" crap - H1Bs can't be payed less than that. Except that there are tons of ways to game it and the "prevailing" wage is not that prevailing.
As a highly paid worker on H1B, I totally support this law. It fixes major problems with US immigration system (H1B lottery - seriously?) and institutes point-based system to sieve candidates based on real needs.
Not to mention that "prevailing wage" ain't what it used to be. I was offered a job in the US. I laughed when they mentioned what they're willing to pay. If that's the prevailing wage and you don't even get the social package included in that, you may keep your jobs!
We used to have a Bill of Rights. Now, with the rights gone, all we have left is the bill.
You mean there is a option to deport Mark Zuckerberg to his native land of New York and never let him leave?
Where do I sign?
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