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Will Trump Protect America's IT Workers From H-1B Visa Abuses? (cio.com.au)
Monday president-elect Donald Trump sent "the strongest signal yet that the H-1B visa program is going get real scrutiny once he takes office," according to CIO.
Slashdot reader OverTheGeicoE summarizes their report:
President-elect Donald Trump released a video message outlining his policy plans for his first 100 days in office. At 1 minute, 56 seconds into the message, he states that he will direct the Department of Labor to investigate "all abuses of the visa programs that undercut the American worker." During his presidential campaign, Trump was critical of the H-1B visa program that has been widely criticized for displacing U.S. high-technology workers. "Companies are importing low-wage workers on H-1B visas to take jobs from young college-trained Americans," said Trump at an Ohio rally. At other rallies, Trump invited former IT workers from Disney who had been forced to train their H-1B replacements to speak.
"What he didn't say was that he was going to close the door to skilled immigrants," one tech entrepreneur told CNN Money -- although Trump's selection for attorney general has called the shortage of qualified American tech workers "a hoax".
"What he didn't say was that he was going to close the door to skilled immigrants," one tech entrepreneur told CNN Money -- although Trump's selection for attorney general has called the shortage of qualified American tech workers "a hoax".
As with all things Trump, you'll never know until he does it. The best "advice" I saw was to ignore the mouth in front of the man.
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Go to the transition website. Use the feature to submit an idea and tell them about H1B abuse. I did. Probably does nothing. Couldn't hurt. Tell them if your company is doing it. Name names and give numbers. I did. Probably does nothing. Couldn't hurt.
Look at who he is stocking his cabinet with... If you think he is going to do anything to protect workers, you drank too much of the koolaid.
The most common usage I see in Seattle is through contracting firms. Usually Indian 'mom and pop' ones that already have their green card running several H1B 'spots'. If you are an immigrant, you pay in to them for the opportunity to be hired for a job through their company. So you get to live in the US and go on interviews till someone hires you, then you pay that time off by getting shit pay while they charge 5 or 6 times more than they pay you. Consulting and contract companies should never be allocated H1B.
Remember folks, in many cases companies will simply offshore the work if they don't perceive American labor as the most cost-effective option.
Labor isn't the only cost. Why do you think that offshore companies want to relocate workers here to the United States on visas rather than basing them in say India or wherever they're from? Here in the US a worker benefits from strong military and police protection, rule of law, good infrastructure, reliable power supply, large concentrations of the best educated and most experienced tech workers in the world and the list goes on. Compare that with a country like India say, where the power is only on about half the time, you need a fortress campus with armed guards, you need to build your own infrastructure (water purification, power, sewage, etc) because the local shit for brains government provides nothing. American workers paying American taxes built America. It's our right to benefit from that first. If a company wants to relocate to an offshore shit hole and compete from there, more power to them, but we must end the H1-B visa fraud at the expense of our American workers. It's our country. We voted for Trump so that he would throw the bums out. Let them compete from their developing nations, but it's time to send the liars, cheaters and scammers a message that the party is over. From now on we're going to be looking out for America first and that includes the American worker.
As someone in a management position in an indian IT shop, we would rather keep workers here in india. Margins are much higher (~90%) for indian labour than an H1B(50%). Infrastructure is pretty good in india - the govt helps with a lot of the infrastructure, and infrastructure costs are even more cheaper in india. Plus the IT industry is exempt from labour laws so you can make 'em work long hours, weekends, whatever. Developers are seen as mostly disposable - colleges churn out tons of STEM grads, so most of the older ones who don't leave or don't work their asses off are kicked out in the name of performance anyway to make way for young blood.
Power gone for half the time and armed guards? Power is not an issue in the cities, and armed guards? even the cops here don't carry arms. only the ones in our movies do.
the only reason we do H1B's is when a client insists on someone there. and we try to discourage them as far as we can.
No it would not.
If it were only the popular vote, then approx 3 states or so would call the shots for ALL the states in the union, and that does not represent the vastly different interests of each state due to its peoples' outlooks, and its needs based on its geography.
We'd basically have CA and NY for the most part deciding the presidents for the US going forward.
The way things were set up, you are a citizen of your STATE first...and then a citizen of the United States. This is for a very good reason. One size in a nation this large does not fit. That's why most power is supposed to reside with each state and the federal govt is constitutionally supposed to be weak in regard to that balance of power.
But we are a nation of states....and the balance needs to be kept on that level, not on pure population levels in very isolated regions.
Light travels faster than sound. This is why some people appear bright until you hear them speak.........