H1-B Visa Program Creates Caste System for Silicon Valley

[Newsjock]

Source: SF Weekly

After years in the economic wilderness following the 2001 dot-com crash, designers, artists, webmasters, and all sorts of multimedia, networking, and software experts are finding jobs in San Francisco again. Thank the boom in social media, mobile apps, and digital advertising.

But thousands of those jobs will be unavailable to San Franciscans.

The posts are slated for foreigners participating in the H1-B nonimmigrant visa program, meant for companies needing highly skilled workers who can't be found here.

... The program distorts the labor market in other pernicious ways. It's cumbersome for H1-B workers to change employers without being deported. So we have a Silicon Valley caste system where H1-Bs have a reputation for working hard and keeping their mouths shut. Some support families back home. Many go into debt to pay immigration brokers in hopes of one day getting green cards and reuniting their families here. Some employers know they won't sacrifice all that by declining to work unpaid weekends. Even elite H1-Bs are at a disadvantage: The most talented ones can't easily move to better jobs, because their visas are linked to particular employers. That is a boon for companies not wanting to reward performance.

Read more: http://www.sfweekly.com/2011-06-22/news/h1b-visa-silicon-valley-immigration-matt-smith/

[OhioChick]

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