Attention

The opinions expressed by columnists are their own and do not represent our advertisers

Saturday, April 02, 2011

Temporary US Work Visas Go To Unskilled Foreigners

An immigration expert says a visa program designed to help American companies recruit highly skilled workers from abroad has instead become a favorite tool of Indian outsourcing companies, The New York Times reports.

Loopholes in the H-1b temporary worker visa program are allowing India-based outsourcers “to bring in cheaper foreign workers, with ordinary skills, who directly substitute for, rather than complement, workers in America,” Ronil Hara, a professor at Rochester Institute of Technology, told the House Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement on Thursday.

From 2007 to 2009, during the economic recession, the only U.S.-headquartered company among the top five users of H-1b visas was Microsoft. Four other companies, all Indian, sent 22,766 workers to the United States in that period.

Studies have found numerous cases of less-skilled American workers being replaced at U.S. job sites by workers sent here from India, often at lower wages.

More

4 comments:

lmclain said...

Bill Gates is down to his last 60 billion dollars and can't afford to hire Americans anymore. He's getting tips on saving labor costs from the Walton family, who even though they are worth well over 100 billion dollars, can't afford to hire full time workers or pay benefits. $8 an hour, with no health insurance, no vacation, and no sick leave. BUT, take comfort in the fact that, like John McCain, none of them are sure of exactly how many mansions they own.

Anonymous said...

It's real simple actually. Employers don't have to pay unemployment taxes on foreign workers. Why do you think there are so many of them in OC for the Summer?Do you really think it's because American kids don't want jobs? Even the Town Government hires them to dodge taxes.

Anonymous said...

For a more local example, visit the IT department of a DelMarVa chicken company. Outsourced to the hilt - cheaper in the short term than educating the local resources for a longer term benefit. Get rid of the H1B's and force companies to hire local and grow their own talent. Make the outsourced companies prove that all of their employees can work here legally - especially the off-shore ones...keep the jobs here in the states...keep our money here too!

Anonymous said...

If they want to tax something... and they always do. They should tax the money that people are sending to other countries. How much of our money goes to Mexico on Friday.