H-1B scandal: New study unmasks that Cisco and Microsoft NOT using H-1B visas to recruit the best

[OhioChick]

H-1B scandal: New study unmasks that Cisco and Microsoft NOT using H-1B visas to recruit the best and brightest

The worst fears of H-1B critics has been confirmed:

A new study published today by Dr. Norman Matloff - professor of computer science at the University of California - Davis, unmasks that Cisco and Microsoft are NOT using the H-1B visa program to hire the best and brightest.

Cisco and Microsoft say that continued U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hinges on their ability to import the world’s best engineers and scientists.

Dr. Norman Matloff presents new data analysis showing that the vast majority of the foreign workers at Cisco and Microsoft are people of just ordinary talent, doing ordinary work.

They are not the innovators that Cisco and Microsoft portray them to be.


Cisco and Microsoft claim that the U.S. lead in tech depends on hiring innovators from abroad.

The analysis demonstrates that the foreign workers are in fact generally not outstanding talents, thus casting serious doubt on the claim that innovators are being hired.

Most foreign tech workers are in fact not the best and the brightest.

This is true both overall and in the key tech occupations, and most importantly, in Cisco and Microsoft who are the firms most stridently demanding that Congress admit more foreign workers.

Expansion of the guest worker programs — both H-1B visas and green cards — is unwarranted.

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/27421


H-1Bs: Still Not the Best and the Brightest
May 2008

By Norman Matloff


In pressuring Congress to expand the H-1B work visa and employment-based green card programs, industry lobbyists have recently adopted a new tack. Seeing that their past cries of a tech labor shortage are contradicted by stagnant or declining wages, their new buzzword is innovation. Building on their perennial assertion that the foreign workers are “the best and the brightest,” they now say that continued U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) hinges on our ability to import the world’s best engineers and scientists. Yet, this Backgrounder will present new data analysis showing that the vast majority of the foreign workers — including those at most major tech firms — are people of just ordinary talent, doing ordinary work. They are not the innovators the industry lobbyists portray them to be.

I presented some initial analyses along these lines in an earlier Backgrounder,1 showing for instance that STEM foreign students at U.S. universities tend to be at the less-selective universities. Here I present a much more direct analysis, making use of a simple but powerful idea: If the foreign workers are indeed outstanding talents, they would be paid accordingly. We can thus easily determine whether a foreign worker is among “the best and the brightest” by computing the ratio of his salary to the prevailing wage figure stated by the employer. Let’s call this the Talent Measure (TM). Keep in mind that a TM value of 1.0 means that the worker is merely average, not of outstanding talent.

More: http://www.cis.org/articles/2008/back508.html

[TechBear_Seattle]

1. Recommended

I've seen too many people forced out of careers as programmers, web designers and network specialists by lower paid foreign workers here on H-1Bs. This report merely verifies what has been known in the industry for years.

[Lost4words]

2. they just want higher profits, pure greed and unpatriotic, F them all.

[hedgehog]

3. I heard Bill Gates talking about recruiting people and it was my

impression (and only my impression) that Microsoft recruits only from what it considers the top US universities. There is a hell of a lot of talent at the state universities. Add to that that a lot of kids pulling 3.5 and above are talented at cheating. The real engineering talent sometime lies with the kid pulling an honest 2.5, but try to tell the typical personnel department that!


In the end, the people Bill Gates is not hiring are out in their garages building their own companies, so this will all work itself out, IMO.

[The Traveler]

4. Having worked in a garage shop startup

twice now, I assure you that a very common outcome is that the big sharks swallow the little fish, often screwing the original "plank owners" of the garage shop opeation in the process. Microsoft is notoriously good at that. So, from Bill's perspective, yeah, yer right. It will work out, most times.

[Phred42]

5. Let's not Forget that LOU DOBBS was reporting on this - a couple of weeks ago

Lou got this one early and correct

[OnionPatch]

6. I know a company which won't be named

who hires tons of people from India. I've worked with a bunch of them and many of them are not that experienced at all. In fact, many of them are no more experienced than American college grads that are just entering the field. And I know there are tons of Americans college grads in this field who would love to work at this company. Too bad.

In a way, I know that part of this is that the company just trying to stay competetive. Everyone else is doing it, if they don't they won't be able to compete as effectively. We need the legislation changed and pronto, or soon there won't be any jobs left they won't import cheap labor to do.

[Phred42]

9. You could be talking about any of the Fortune 500

I'll name a few: Abbott, Baxter, Kraft, Microsoft, etc etc etc

[antigop]

7. God bless Norman Matloff.. Thanks, OhioChick.. K&R n/t

[OhioChick]

8. I Was Hoping That

You'd Catch This One! ;)

[hootinholler]

10. LOL! Innovation and Micro$oft in the same sentence

:rofl:

Oh the innovative startups? If ya can't beat 'em, buy 'em. Many startups are started with the idea of building the company for 5 years and selling it to a big fish.

-Hoot

[ihavenobias]

11. K & R

[ChromeFoundry]

12. Great find! :)

I've known this for a long time. I've seen it first hand. I am not saying that all H-1B workers leave much to be desired; I have worked with some very talented individuals over the years, here on H-1B, but this has not been the norm. For these companies to make the bold statement that there is a lack of talent right here in our own backyard, is asinine.

Thanks for posting this article!