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How Outsourcing Companies Are Gaming the H-1B Visa System (nytimes.com)
New submitter shakah writes: The NY Times has a straightforward summary of how the H-1B Visa system is being gamed by companies inside and outside of the United States. Particularly interesting for me was their clarification on the argument that "VISA holders have to make prevailing wages, so they won't depress wages." Quoting: "Under federal rules, employers like TCS, Infosys and Wipro that have large numbers of H-1B workers in the United States are required to declare that they will not displace American workers. But the companies are exempt from that requirement if the H-1B workers are paid at least $60,000 a year. H-1B workers at outsourcing firms often receive wages at or slightly above $60,000, below what skilled American technology professionals tend to earn, so those firms can offer services to American companies at a lower cost, undercutting American workers."
Now, show of hands ... who the hell is surprised to find out that this whole thing is being misused? Anyone?
The whole bloody point is to drive down wages and replace American workers.
Anybody who tells you otherwise is lying to you.
How anybody could possibly be shocked at this 'revelation' is mind boggling.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
I like that idea.
The corporations would try to game it by using job titles that don't fit the job. Like "junior apprentice programmer" requiring 20 years of experience.
So we need a way to correctly reflect either the job or the skills. We could base it upon the median salaries of the people with the same certifications living within 100 miles. But not everyone has certifications.
Any better ideas?
OK, go pass a law that says companies have to higher higher priced Americans instead of lower priced foreign programmers.
Now your company is competing for that huge $1 billion contract in Dubai. I'm the guy in Dubai awarding the contract. Why the hell do I pick your overpriced American company instead of the cheaper alternatives? Is it because you'll do a better job? Don't make me laugh.
Sorry, but in the end you WILL lose to lower priced labor. The funny thing is, Slashdot groupthink sees this clearly when it isn't your job on the line. When it's someone else's job? Well, if their business model isn't working out, they should just get a new one.
The world owes you nothing. You either compete, or lose out to those who do. You can't stop those market forces with national laws, any more than the Soviet Union is now competitive in the world automobile market due to THEIR protectionism. Protectionism doesn't work, and never has.
Companies don't want that, which is why the H1Bs work the way they do ... because that's what industry wanted.
If they're using an H1B to fill jobs they can't find people for, wages should be going up. Instead they're bringing in cheaper labor to drive down American salaries and displace Americans.
If those people had any ability to fight back or demand more, they just might. This way they're exactly what they're supposed to be .. cheap labor with fewer rights.
Seriously, this didn't happen by accident. It was bought and paid for by industry.
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
Have random audits to confirm people are following the rules. Enforce those rules.
Sure, but that requires *more* government -- to enforce those rules and punishments -- and, as we all know, that would be bad and a "job killer", unlike easy access to cheap, foreign H-1B workers ... oh, wait.
It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
As there is currently more visa applications than available visas, the solution can be very simple. Instead of lottery as it is done now, I would simply give visas to companies that plan to pay the highest salary. That would make companies to raise salaries if they really need applicants. That would also solve problems with definition of "prevailing wage" etc.
No sig today.
How about H1-B Visa holders get paid 110% of the prevailing wage
The corporations would try to game it by using job titles that don't fit the job. Like "junior apprentice programmer" requiring 20 years of experience.
Just enforce the rules. The IRS can take the time to determine if a company is abusing tax law during an audit, so a government agency should be able to determine in a company is gaming the H1-B program. I think most people would be willing to accept some small abuses would happen, as long as blatant abuses are prosecuted.
-- All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing. -- Edmund Burke
Flat fee issue:
Do you really want to incentivize the government to have offshore workers by making them profit centers for the government itself? How is that an incentive to avoid destroying domestic jobs?
I'd think more like saying "H1B hires cost 3x the prevail wage for a job as determined by industry". Anyone not willing to pay up triple the cost can hire back the same folks they are firing now to save a buck. Anyone claiming this is not about companies saving a buck is being disingenuous. If there is truly not a single domestic worker able to fill the role, then paying extra for it should not be a problem. Looking at employment rates, and layoff/offshoring announcements I think these problems would fix itself pretty quickly given the right financial incentive.
Warning: Teh poster of this messaeg is lysdexic
... to work in the U.S. that isn't dependent on staying with a single employer. If someone else hires away your H1-B employee, that's your company's problem.
This part is a misinformation. Currently, this is already included in H1-B visa deal. A person who is holding H1-B visa CAN change employer; however, the new employer must file for another H1-B petition (or transfer) as if it is a new petition except the remaining visa time may stay the same or get extended -- http://www.immihelp.com/visas/...
Do you really want to incentivize the government to have offshore workers by making them profit centers for the government itself? How is that an incentive to avoid destroying domestic jobs?
You earmark the flat fee to go towards funding the enforcement of the H1B program rules. Any surplus goes to fund worker re-training programs.
This way enforcing the rules of the program is self-funding, and congress can't defund enforcement "because business" and the larger and more popular it is, the more enforcement can be funded.
Plus, you're basically forcing employers who "need" to hire cheap offshore help to also (provided there is a surplus, and at $50k per, there should be) fund worker retraining so the people needed to do the job can be found at home.
And this is different from indentured servitude how?
Just what is the end game to gutting the middle class, anyway?
Is the whole goal here just to have like 3 people who control 99.99999% of the wealth?
Surely once the the middle class is denuded, they'll start going for the "HENRYs" (high earners, not rich yet) and find a way to strip them of their earning potential and wealth, too.
At least in ancient Rome the emperors would stage feasts, festivals and games.