Senator Pushes For Tougher H-1B Enforcement 262
mk1004 writes "Computerworld says that the industry lobbying group TechNet is calling on Congress to eliminate the per-country cap on H-1B workers. Last year a bill was passed in the house, 389-to-15, to remove the cap. Grassley put a hold on the bill in the Senate, indicating that he would be willing to lift the cap if companies faced an annual audit. The US currently allows 140K H-1B workers, but allows only 7% of those to come from any one country."
gtfo (Score:0, Informative)
Like we need more out of Country workers. Remove heads from ass, pay attention to WHATS HERE ALREADY
Article is wrong (Score:5, Informative)
There is no per country cap on H1Bs. As usual, Computer world is trying to rile up anti immigrant/anti H1B sentiment.
There is a per country cap on Green Cards. This means that to get a green card, there are separate queues based on the country you were born in. Because of this cap, an engineer from India or China, if he applies in the advanced/special skills category that needs a Masters degree in engineering or science has to wait in the same job for more than 6 years to get a green card, while the guy from Iceland gets one in six months.
Re:I'm for it. (Score:5, Informative)
Not sure where you've worked, but I've yet to find any H1Bs in tech living anything like you're describing. Okay, so during his (and my) first year at my old job, my H1B co-worker and I rented a four bedroom apartment together. So that's kind of close, although he later married and bought a house. It only has a small lawn, so he mostly has to stick to around the deck or BBQ and sadly look over Puget Sound, thinking of how unfortunate he is.
The other H1Bs included the guy with the brand new 3-series living in a fancy glass and steel downtown condo, and the guy with the Range Rover who had restrained but expensive tastes. The other H1B in my group was rather stoic so perhaps he lived with 5 other H1Bs in an apartment, although it'd be weird since his salary was well into six figures and a decent studio in the most expensive parts of the city were ~$1000/month with parking.
Yes, H1Bs can be paid on the low end of the scale since they're at a major disadvantage if they're unhappy with their job. But it's not a huge difference, it's just that corporations would be happy to sell out their own country for a penny. In fact, because I went front-end and my ex-roommate went server-side, he was making more than me within 3-4 years on the job.
That said, there is very little need for H1Bs in terms of supply and demand as was pointed out in this recently posted transcript [ieee.org], and it'd be nice if lawmakers and other people involved in immigration policy recognized this fact.
Re:Article is wrong (Score:2, Informative)
India and China have no natural right to dominate the US immigration system simple because each country alone has a greater population than the entire US.
To have a true melting pot, you need a diverse population.
A few points:
Re:I'm for it. (Score:5, Informative)
The current median is 85K in that area. Keep in mind that figure will be distorted low due to cheap H1-B labor.
According to glassdoor [glassdoor.com], their current offerings are a bit on the low side compared to google, amazon, and similar in that area.
It looks like they would have a LOT less trouble hiring qualified people if they would go 5-10k higher. So, big surprise, lowball offer = a problem finding takers.
Re:I'm for it. - ABSOLUTE FALSEHOOD (Score:2, Informative)
Gates himself (check the audio archive for his speeches) said he'd rather hire
foreigners than U.S. citizens. And no, U.S. corporations are provided fininacial
incentives to hire Hr1B workers - in addition, assuming they stay in the U.S less
than (don't remember the # of days), they do NOT pay Federal income tax. So,
it does NOT cost MS 30% more to hire non-U.S. citizens; that's complete nonsense.
CAPTCHA = charcoal (why yes, I'm feeling a little burnt)