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How did H-1B get such a bad reputation?

H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa originally designed to help U.S. firms find talent, now divides companies seeking IT talent from the skilled U.S workforce.
By Denise Dubie , Network World , 03/12/2008

As the April 1 deadline to file H-1B visa applications nears, the debate is heating up among IT industry watchers and skilled workers over whether the often maligned program adequately serves U.S. companies or American workers as it was originally intended. (Read Bill Gates' testimony in front of Congress on the immigration issue.)

For IT industry watchers, the H-1B Specialty Occupation Visa originated as a means for U.S. companies to hire non-citizens with skills that seemed in short supply in America, fostering innovation within the country and keeping jobs from being sent overseas. The program applies to industries other than IT, such as education, science and medicine, but seems to have earned the worst reputation for displacing U.S. tech workers. Now industry watchers say the bad reputation the program engenders hinders the system from working to its full potential as American firms and foreign applicants scramble to receive one of 65,000 slots available for 2009.

"H-1B dominates in the tech industry by far, for engineering, architects and other technical skills, and there are many false theories out there that people from India are qualifying under fraudulent pretenses. It has hurt the public perception of the program," says Sonia Munoz, president of Immigration Legal Counsel, a law firm specializing in immigration law. "U.S. companies need to be competitive in a global economy, and it is most definitely detrimental to the U.S. economy to limit the number of H-1Bs and have fewer specialists hired by this program."

Yet for IT workers, many of whom say there are currently many challenges they face in getting hired by a U.S. company, the program can only been seen as having a negative impact on the American economy as firms look to hire less expensive, foreign workers for jobs that could be filled by U.S. citizens.

"Executives are being told by their hiring managers that there are not skilled workers in the U.S. and they must seek H-1Bs to fill positions," says Terri Morgan, a principal at Wudang Research Association who says she has encountered issues when seeking IT employment from U.S. companies, such as IBM. "There are a whole host of us out here that have really good skills and know the culture, but maybe we don't have one item on the check list HR is seeking. H-1B applicants know how to manipulate the system and companies know how to make it appear as though they exhausted their options here."

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Comments (28)
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NRISoft: The "Unsweatshop" For Indians, By IndiansBy NRISoft.com on May 25, 2008, 6:30 amAnd American Salaries, They Claim. I saw this article on Vdare. http://www.nrisoft.com check the FAQ

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Experience as Entry level IT with fellow employees from TCSBy Anonymous on April 11, 2008, 10:56 amI work for a non-profit insurance company and, of course, we use contractors from india for our development and QA. They are payed considerably less, and are easy...

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"H-1B dominates in the tech industry by far, for engineering, arBy Anonymous on April 10, 2008, 11:37 am"H-1B dominates in the tech industry by far, for engineering, architects and other technical skills, and there are many false theories out there that people from...

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You are right. The sameBy Anonymous on March 31, 2008, 8:23 pmYou are right. The same thing happened to me. Salary was offered less compared to what was advertised!

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Why do you judge?By Anonymous on March 24, 2008, 3:57 pmSometimes job loss is not due to laziness, but the unfortunate circumstances of poor management and business practices. Have you ever thought that being in a...

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