H-1B at 20: How the 'tech worker visa' is remaking IT in America

[durkermaker]

H-1B at 20: How the 'tech worker visa' is remaking IT in America
The H-1B visa program turns 20 years old this month. Not everyone in IT is saying 'Best Wishes.'
By Patrick Thibodeau
November 17, 2010 Computerworld - This news analysis is part of our special report on the 20th anniversary of the H-1B visa, which also includes first-person accounts from five IT workers who have been directly affected by the H-1B program and visual and interactive tools to help you analyze H-1B visa data.

When Congress created the H-1B visa program 20 years ago this month, it sent the American IT industry into uncharted territory from which it has yet to emerge.

The U.S. had an H-1 visa for foreign nationals with "distinguished merit and ability" prior to 1990, but that year, in response to warnings of an emerging "skills gap" or "skills mismatch" among U.S. engineering and technology professionals, Congress broadened the scope of the visa.

The H-1B incorporated specialty occupations -- including such IT roles as programming, systems analysis, and network and systems support -- with a minimum requirement of a bachelor's degree. The H-1B visa also allowed workers to pursue permanent residency.



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http://www.computerworld.com/s/article/9196738/H_1B_at_20_How_the_tech_worker_visa_is_remaking_IT_in_America?taxonomyId=70

[durkermaker]

1. 8 years into the program, it really became a sledgehammer on American workers

at 10 years, it was an obscene 195,000 visas per year - you can blow away any group of workers with numbers like that

H-1b is a texbook care of 'slippery slope'

this would have been a very bad program if all it did was take away an opportunity for future american programmers, and left those who had already gotten their education or started their careers alone - at least it wouldnt have destroyed 'sunk costs' that these people had already paid

but it went far further than that, forcing proven programmers to train their foreign replacements before they were fired

when i was in school we were worried sick about getting jobs (as a 'tail end' baby boomer, it seemed like the older boomers had taken all the jobs), but none of us ever suggested that an existing worker be fired to make room for us, but now foreign nationals expect exactly that

[durkermaker]

2. i see the 'unrec' squad has arrived

just curious, but why would anyone unrec this post?

it's been unreced at least twice

[OHdem10]

3. These Visa Holders are now being brought in at 3/4 to 1/2 the

salary of the American Worker. In the last groups these
were not the highly qualified. Simply way to reduce labor
costs in many fields. There has been much written on this.

Some effort should be made to employ American Hi Tech Workers.
Companies notify other areas of the country when openings
develop. Offer to help financially with re-l;ocation costs.

Otherwise it is as it seems. Importing cheaper Labor.

[Matariki]

5. Problem could be solved by requiring them to be paid at EXACTLY the same rate.

That should have been part of the deal for those visas.

[durkermaker]

6. but glutted supply still lowers 'prevailing wage' nt

[Greyhound]

7. Supposedly this was always the case. Of course what happened is, since the companies

are the only (practical) arbiters of this, they simply "eliminated the position" of say, a database architect (salary of $175K), and hire a H-1(b) for the brand new data systems analyst position (salary $65K) to fill the same function.

Now said company has a "very compliant" worker that literally dare not complain at less than half the cost. They can completely eliminate any budget for continuing education, and need not worry about workplace conditions, overtime, leave, etc.

There are literally millions of examples of this scam going back to the 90's.

It is also the source for the continuing degradation of software in general.

[Matariki]

4. This has always been nothing more than an effort to cut IT pay

One of the few decent paying professions left. God forbid American companies should have to pay their labor force a decent wage.

[durkermaker]

8. it's an effort to cut ALL pay, because it removes IT as a place to go

when you're fed up with the conditions of your non-IT job

up until the mid 1990s, some people did just that - bite the bullet, retraining for IT

this exerted a force on non-IT employers, that life in their jobs couldnt be worse than the pain of spending one's savings on IT retraining, living without pay for a while, and starting over

ut now, in most cases, it's not worth the risk - so the non-IT person is stuck, and powerless

[Greyhound]

9. Good article. I found the interviews with the 5 IT workers especially revealing. K&R.

I hope this gets a lot of exposure, but I know that generally DU is uninterested in these topics and will be drowned out by some brain-dead relative of a halfwit that is on a teevee show.
:kick: & R

[durkermaker]

10. this is a lead weight on the entire job market

because it's legalized discrimination against citizens

[durkermaker]

11. H-1b has exposed millions of Americans to a treatment formerly reserved for those who had actually

done something wrong

[SergeyDovlatov]

12. Do you want to close the country down? Close borders? No immigrants?

H-1B is one of the very very few legal ways to immigrate to this country.
How else a person who wants to immigrate to US can get here?

Let's list the options

1. H-1B (a lot of hurdle to jump thru to get one), gives you a path to citizenship
2. Enter on tourist visa, ask for asylum due to whatever you think might work or stay illegal until next amnesty
3. Reunite with a relative who is already an american
4. Marry a US citizen
5. Green Card Lottery

If you remove H-1B, you pretty much removed the only legal way for a person to become an american citizen.
Is this what you want?