The H-1B does have a DOL requirement. It's called a Labor Condition Application. You get this approved before filing the H-1B application with [what used to be called] INS.
When an employer files a labor certification for the green card, they will take great care in how the position is described for max chance of success. Employers will often also make sure the H-1B documentation matches the labor certification in case the DOL decides to look at the underlying documenation (although I don't know that this has ever happened), or the employer does it just for the sake of consistency.
The current limit is 195,000 new H-1B visas per fiscal year. Employers lobbied for this temporary increase back when workers had the market advantage. The cap will revert back to 65,000 this October unless business does something about it.
Tell your rep in Congress what you think about the cap.
If your employer is breaking the law, call the DOL, call the media, and call your mom.
This is from the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc site:
EMPLOYERS ARE REQUIRED TO Protect wages: Employers are required by law to pay each H-1B employee a wage that is the higher of either the typical wage in the region for that type of work ("prevailing wage"), or what the employer actually pays existing employees with similar experience and duties. Protect working conditions: Employers cannot use H-1B professionals to break a strike and must notify their U.S. workforce when hiring an H-1B professional. Employers cannot make the H-1B nonimmimgrants work under conditions different from their U.S. counterparts, including hours, shifts and benefits. Recruit in the U.S. and not displace U.S. workers: Employers who use a lot of H-1Bs must first try to find U.S. workers before they can hire an H-1B. They also must attest that they are not hiring the H-1B if they have laid-off or displaced a similarly situated U.S. worker. Employers must attest to the above protections by affirmatively filing with the DOL and by maintaining a file available for public access. Subject to penalties: Employers who fail to comply with DOL regulations may be subject to investigation, civil and administrative penalties, payment of back wages, and even debarment from participating in key immigration programs.
The H-1B has nothing to do with the labor certification, k?
The labor certification is a process by which a foreign worker, who may or may not be present in the U.S. on an H-1B temporary visa, can get a green card (permanent residence). The employer files the labor certification and has to prove that no qualified U.S. workers are available for the job.
That said, yeah, it's pretty easy, at least for larger employers who can do a lot of recruiting, to get a labor cert approved.
"Employers who use a lot of H-1B workers must first try to find U.S. workers before they can hire an H-1B. They must also attest that they are not hiring the H-1B if they have laid off or displaced a similarly situated U.S. worker."
This requirement applies to employers who are "H-1B dependent"--meaning a certain percentage of their workers are H-1B. I don't know if Sun is in that category. And even H-1B dependent employers aren't necessarily required to "prove" anything--"trying" to find U.S. workers just means doing some recruiting.
Companies do have to pay the "prevailing" wage to H-1B workers, but only what is prevailing in the industry in an area, *not* what is prevailing for Sun. So that's why H-1B workers are cheaper for many employers.
The H-1B has nothing to do with whether qualified U.S. workers are available, and employers do not have to prove anything related to that. Many (maybe most) H-1B workers are in the process of getting a green card (permanent residence) by means of a "labor certification" and for that the employer must prove that they couldn't find enough qualified U.S. workers for a particular job. But the labor certification is a totally separate thing from the H-1B visa.
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The H-1B does have a DOL requirement. It's called a Labor Condition Application. You get this approved before filing the H-1B application with [what used to be called] INS.
When an employer files a labor certification for the green card, they will take great care in how the position is described for max chance of success. Employers will often also make sure the H-1B documentation matches the labor certification in case the DOL decides to look at the underlying documenation (although I don't know that this has ever happened), or the employer does it just for the sake of consistency.
The current limit is 195,000 new H-1B visas per fiscal year. Employers lobbied for this temporary increase back when workers had the market advantage. The cap will revert back to 65,000 this October unless business does something about it.
Tell your rep in Congress what you think about the cap.
If your employer is breaking the law, call the DOL, call the media, and call your mom.
This is from the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc site:
EMPLOYERS ARE REQUIRED TO
Protect wages: Employers are required by law to pay each H-1B employee a wage that is the higher of either the typical wage in the region for that type of work ("prevailing wage"), or what the employer actually pays existing employees with similar experience and duties.
Protect working conditions: Employers cannot use H-1B professionals to break a strike and must notify their U.S. workforce when hiring an H-1B professional. Employers cannot make the H-1B nonimmimgrants work under conditions different from their U.S. counterparts, including hours, shifts and benefits.
Recruit in the U.S. and not displace U.S. workers: Employers who use a lot of H-1Bs must first try to find U.S. workers before they can hire an H-1B. They also must attest that they are not hiring the H-1B if they have laid-off or displaced a similarly situated U.S. worker. Employers must attest to the above protections by affirmatively filing with the DOL and by maintaining a file available for public access.
Subject to penalties: Employers who fail to comply with DOL regulations may be subject to investigation, civil and administrative penalties, payment of back wages, and even debarment from participating in key immigration programs.
The H-1B has nothing to do with the labor certification, k?
The labor certification is a process by which a foreign worker, who may or may not be present in the U.S. on an H-1B temporary visa, can get a green card (permanent residence). The employer files the labor certification and has to prove that no qualified U.S. workers are available for the job.
That said, yeah, it's pretty easy, at least for larger employers who can do a lot of recruiting, to get a labor cert approved.
"...the employer has to prove that they cannot find a worker of equal skill in the US job market"
Not necessarily. This is from the American Immigration Lawyers Assoc:
"Employers who use a lot of H-1B workers must first try to find U.S. workers before they can hire an H-1B. They must also attest that they are not hiring the H-1B if they have laid off or displaced a similarly situated U.S. worker."
This requirement applies to employers who are "H-1B dependent"--meaning a certain percentage of their workers are H-1B. I don't know if Sun is in that category. And even H-1B dependent employers aren't necessarily required to "prove" anything--"trying" to find U.S. workers just means doing some recruiting.
Companies do have to pay the "prevailing" wage to H-1B workers, but only what is prevailing in the industry in an area, *not* what is prevailing for Sun. So that's why H-1B workers are cheaper for many employers.
The H-1B has nothing to do with whether qualified U.S. workers are available, and employers do not have to prove anything related to that. Many (maybe most) H-1B workers are in the process of getting a green card (permanent residence) by means of a "labor certification" and for that the employer must prove that they couldn't find enough qualified U.S. workers for a particular job. But the labor certification is a totally separate thing from the H-1B visa.