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H1B Visas are for cheaper workers, not talented ones

Posted: Mon Apr 28, 2008 6:33 pm
by greggh
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/Top_News/2 ... joes/5253/
WASHINGTON, April 28 (UPI) -- The Center for Immigration Studies Monday said most H-1B visas are going to ordinary people doing ordinary work in the United States, not to specialists.

The report, "H-1Bs: Still Not the Best and the Brightest," reached its conclusion by analyzing the salaries earned by foreign workers, assuming the more outstanding an individual is, the higher his/her pay.

The H1B visa ostensibly grants both residency and work allowance for someone a U.S. employer couldn't find in the domestic work force. It's also a significant step toward citizenship for those who want it.

The analysis by Dr. Norman Matloff, a computer science professor at the University of California, Davis, found those holding H-1Bs earning just average wages and working at entry-level positions. He also found, despite popular belief, Western European workers are just as competent in math as their Asian counterparts.

"Those arguing for an increase in the number of H-1B visas … claim that continued U.S. leadership in science, technology, engineering and mathematics hinges on our ability to import the world's best engineers and scientists," the center said in a news release. "But this new data analysis shows that the vast majority of H-1B workers -- including those at most major tech firms -- are not the innovators industry portrays them to be."
When Bill Gates went before Congress and pleaded with them to allow him to hire more non US citizens, did anyone really doubt that it was really about suppressing wages and not about getting talent? How long will Corporate America continue to try to push this lie? How long will our sell-out government allow them to get their way?

Re: H1B Visas are for cheaper workers, not talented ones

Posted: Tue Apr 29, 2008 3:25 am
by allix
What i think is needed is a fair wage like we have fair trade. The biggest obstacle is that world economies are not the same by any means.
Of course in the united states is nonsense to say there are not suitable people to work in highly technical roles, 303,962,466 people in the US when i checked on http://www.census.gov/population/www/popclockus.html. They are people with intelligence. perhaps tax cuts for companies that employ form the US would be a good idea? Sure it would sound like its bringing down the amount of public money but with people earning higher wages , more tax would be created instantly. I hate the fact that globalisation is hi-jacked by neo-liberals to mean something completely different.
When it comes to immigration , I have no problem with. People must be able to work and live where they want as long as they are abiding laws which the average immigrant does in England anyway.