As I find them I am going to add links about the H-1B / outsourcing issue that is quickly eroding the life style of middle class worker in this country. All in the name of profit at any cost.
- Wikipedia article on H-1B visas
- Analysis: H-1B Pay Drags Down All Salaries
- Microsoft layoffs add more fuel to H-1B fire
- Government study finds H-1B visa fraud rate of 27%
- Site offering information on how H-1B hurts US Workers
- Interesting perspective on H-1B visas
- More IT Vendors Make Scam List
- This only partially tells the story as so many of corporations bring H-1B workers into their workplace thru 3rd party consulting firms; the company I was just at has beaucoups of H-1B workers, but does not show up on this list for that reason.
- VHP wants India to ban American products over H1B visa issue
- Four Indian Firms Hogged 10,000 H1B Visas
- I am not wild about the H-1B program, but if it was about individual Indians I could almost be a fan; however the program is about corporate greed here and in India.
- Programmers Guild Calls for a U.S. Job Preservation Fee of $60,000 per H-1B visa
- Microsoft refuses to favour US workers in any job cuts (article expired)
- H 1B visa racket busted in US, 11 Indians arrested
In all these discussions, I see people upset about H1B. I completely understand the emotion.
Given the current economy, I think it makes sense to have a temporary moratorium on new H1Bs for a couple of years till the crisis is resolved.
But the huge elephant in the room is off-shoring to cheaper countries. I do not understand why no one is talking about this. Due to some reason the ire seems to be directed against the H1Bs who work in this country, pay taxes here, buy groceries and stuff here, pay rent here which contributes (atl east in some ways) to the US economy while an offshore programmer does not contribute any of the above. So in some ways, between offshoring and H1Bs, one would think the H1Bs would be preferred over offshoring. I do not understand if this is because :-
(A) people are conflating offshoring with H1Bs and think both are same.
OR
(B) they see H1Bs at their work place while the offshore people are behind the giant curtain and so out of sight.
(c) offshore based companies have lobby groups in Washington while an H1B programmer is on his/her own.
There is also the HUGE problem of L1-Bs that no body mentions… as if it does not even exist.
A MUCH LARGER percentage of jobs are not even available for any one in the US to compete because it is shipped directly offshore via companies like TCS, WIPRO, INFOSYS, IBM, CTS, Accenture and other multi-national corporations.
Big companies like TCS make money based on their “offshore model”. Their primary goal once they get a contract from any American corporation is to move it offshore. So they will walk into a corporation like EDJ and say “Hey, we will take over Applications 1, 2, 3 4 and 5 and will do the job for 1/2 the cost that you currently have. The only condition is that we have to be given all of the 5 applications, not 1 or 2. “. The american corporation will keep a few business analysts. But all the tech job is outsourced to these companies. Initially these companies will operate from a nearby location, but once the process is stabilized, they will move 80 % of the jobs to cheaper countries.
I think that if a restriction is put on offshoring any position, say like paying $60 K mentioned in the article for offshoring any American jobs, we will have more jobs available here in the US. This will remove the unfair dis-advantage that someone living in the first world country like US has in terms of cost. And what is more, if they still do it, the govt still gets some revenue to make up for the lost taxes etc.
I especially found this quote interesting:
[quote] Level the playing field? Indeed, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) vice president Phiroz Vandrevala conceded the wage imbalance: “Our wage per [H-1b] employee is 20-25 per cent less than US wages for a similar employee,” Vandrevala said. “Typically, for a TCS employee with five years experience, the annual cost to the company is $60,000-70,000, while a local American employee might cost $80,000-100,000.” TCS is one of the largest users of H-1b visas, and their underpayment is fully compliant with current “prevailing wage” laws. [/quote]
Sure they can. Given that the H1B employee is at the mercy of TCS and is threatened to be sent back if they do not behave.
I think the best way to prevent abuse is as follows:
Nominate ONLY a few companies [say 4 – 9 (single digits)] to process H1Bs. So any company like IBM, TCS, WIPRO. CTS etc will have to go thru them to file H1Bs. Review the status of these folks in 5 years. If they have adapted and integrated into the US economy given them a green card at a certain cost. [This is how it works in UK. My friend who immigrated to UK at about the same time as I came to US has not only a permanent residency, but also the citizenship while I am still waiting for my green card, I do not even know how long the process is to get the citizenship.] If the consultant has taken no initiative to be a part of the the society here or integrate in anyway, ask them to leave. Perhaps tax them 10 % if they are taking all their earnings back home.
The above has the following advantages:
1) Prevent abuse / misuse of H1Bs approvals. And only 5 companies are allowed to process H1Bs they can be audited to ensure that current rules are being enforced correctly and any abuse/misuse is prevented.
2) The wage should be based on their location Category. So have Category A, B, C. A = Expensive cities, C is low cost cities, B = moderate cities. Arkansas wage will be much less then California.
4) Enable people who like the American system and have taken some effort to integrate and be a part of the system without being held hostage to these H1B sponsors. This will prevent the wages from being depressed as anyone who wants to live here will want to get the best pay they can get.
5) Will ensure that qualified immigrants who love it here and want to be here and contribute to the local economy and appreciate what American has to offer, gets a pathway to come in.
DISCLAIMER:
1. I am obviously biased. The above (5) points (I feel) makes me eligible. A lot of other immigrants and citizens may or many
like the points I listed and may want to add or remove some of the above.
2. The above is written with the assumption that America is open to Qualified Immigrants. H1Bs may be able to help if America decides to reverse offshoring and bring the jobs back here. Reverse-offshoring may be hard as these companies have no incentive to help (training) in anyway unlike the american corporations that were falling over each other to offshore the jobs by laying off the citizens with the great hope of cost-cutting in the short term
As usual, the human side looks much different depending on your perspective. Immigrants have been the lifeblood of the American experience (except from the point of view of the First Nation peoples); true capitalism should always have a human side to it. I work with small businesses; one of the recurring themes I have to contend with is the desire of small business (obviously, large corporations don’t worry about this with their pricing!!!) to under price their services and/or products. I tell them that they (and their employees) deserve to have benefits and retirement like their clients walking in the door. People working with people – not $ >, <, = $.