NFAP's Stuart Anderson's dishonest use of H-1b statistics

According to a December 16, 2007 article in The Hindu Business Line, NFAP Executive Director Stuart Anderson has released a "study" titled "The impact of high-skill immigration restrictions on America." A key finding of his "study" is that "The 10 most cited outsourcing firms of:

• Wipro,
• Infosys,
• TCS,
• Satyam Computer Services,
• Patni Computer Systems,
• Cognizant Tech Solutions US,
• HCL America,
• Deloitte and Touche LLP,
• Accenture, and
• MphasiS

used "only" 14% of the total H-1b visas in 2006.

Anderson then makes the absurd leap to conclude that "The “vast majority of H-1B visas go to US high-tech companies, financial institutions, and US Universities.”

Anderson reaches these conclusions because he is paid by Industry to lobby to increase the flood of H-1b workers. Although he shows a total disregard for his fellow American citizens, he frets over the welfare of Indian companies. "“Any new restriction on high-skill immigration will hurt the US industry, as much as Indian firms."

In May 2007BusinessWeek published a list of the Top 200 H-1b users.

This list reveals that there are many other outsourcing firms that are not in the top 10, pushing the use of H-1b by outsourcing firms well about the 14% represented by NFAP, for example:

• #11: Polaris Software Lab Ltd
• #12: Convansys
• #13: Syntel Consulting
• #14: HTC Global Services
• #15: (analysis in progress 12/19)

Rank	Employer	H1-B Visa Count
1	INFOSYS TECHNOLOGIES	4,908
2	WIPRO	4,002
3	MICROSOFT	3,117
4	TATA CONSULTANCY SERVICES	3,046
5	SATYAM COMPUTER SERVICES	2,880
6	COGNIZANT TECH SOLUTIONS U.S.	2,226
7	PATNI COMPUTER SYSTEMS	1,391
8	IBM	1,130
9	ORACLE	1,022
10	LARSEN & TOUBRO INFOTECH	947
11	HCL AMERICA	910
12	DELOITTE & TOUCHE	890
13	CISCO SYSTEMS	828
14	INTEL	828
15	I-FLEX SOLUTIONS	817
16	ERNST & YOUNG	774
17	TECH MAHINDRA AMERICAS	770
18	MOTOROLA	760
19	MPHASIS	751
20	DELOITTE CONSULTING	665
21	LANCESOFT	645
22	NEW YORK CITY PUBLIC SCHOOLS	642
23	ACCENTURE	637
24	JPMORGAN CHASE	632
25	POLARIS SOFTWARE LAB INDIA	611
26	COVANSYS	611
27	PRICEWATERHOUSECOOPERS	591
28	QUALCOMM	533
29	GOLDMAN SACHS	529
30	KPMG	476
31	MARLABS	475
32	UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN	437
33	UNIV. OF ILLINOIS AT CHICAGO	434
34	UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA	432
35	THE JOHNS HOPKINS UNIVERSITY	432
36	SYNTEL CONSULTING	416
37	CITIGROUP GLOBAL MARKETS	413
38	BEARINGPOINT	413
39	UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND	404
40	KEANE	386
41	HTC GLOBAL SERVICES	382
42	IGATE MASTECH	378
43	HEXAWARE TECHNOLOGIES	362
44	CAPITAL ONE SERVICES	362
45	COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY	355
46	LEHMAN BROTHERS	352
47	YAHOO!	347
48	U.S. TECHNOLOGY RESOURCES	339
49	INTELLIGROUP	336
50	HEWLETT-PACKARD	333
51	RAPIDIGM	330
52	MERRILL LYNCH	329
53	GOOGLE	328
54	CITIBANK	322
55	DIS NATIONAL INSTS OF HEALTH DHHS	322
56	YALE UNIVERSITY	316
57	NOKIA	314
58	TEXAS INSTRUMENTS	313
59	CAPGEMINI	309
60	HARVARD UNIVERSITY	308
61	EMC	305
62	SUN MICROSYSTEMS	303
63	RITE AID	301
64	BLOOMBERG	298
65	GENERAL ELECTRIC	292
66	AMGEN	289
67	McKINSEY U.S.	286
68	MORGAN STANLEY	285
69	STANFORD UNIVERSITY	279
70	WASHINGTON UNIV. IN ST. LOUIS	278
71	VERIZON DATA SERVICES	276
72	NYC-HHC HARLEM HOSPITAL CENTER	276
73	UNIVERSITY OF PITTSBURGH	275
74	INDIANA UNIVERSITY	273
75	OHIO STATE	271
76	EVEREST CONSULTING GROUP	269
77	UNIV. OF MINNESOTA	269
78	AMTEX SYSTEMS	268
79	UNIV. OF WISCONSIN AT MADISON	268
80	SUNY-STONY BROOK	262
81	AMAZON GLOBAL RESOURCES	262
82	CLEVELAND CLINIC FOUNDATION	256
83	DALLAS INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT	255
84	UNIV. OF CALIF. AT DAVIS	254
85	NORTHWESTERN	251
86	SYNTEL	250
87	UNIV. OF MISSOURI AT COLUMBIA	247
88	GLOBALCYNEX	247
89	KANBAY	246
90	AMERICAN SOLUTIONS	242
91	UNIV. OF FLORIDA INTL. CENTER	240
92	UCLA	239
93	DUKE UNIV. MEDICAL CENTER	238
94	MOUNT SINAI MEDICAL CENTER	236
95	BANK OF AMERICA	236
96	SOFTWARE RESEARCH GROUP	234
97	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	234
98	MASSACHUSETTS GENERAL HOSPITAL	232
99	CIBER	232
100	VERINON TECHNOLOGY SOLUTIONS	230
101	EVEREST BUSINESS SOLUTIONS	226
102	VOLT TECHNICAL RESOURCES	224
103	OKLAHOMA STATE UNIVERSITY	223
104	COMPUNNEL SOFTWARE GROUP	222
105	U.S. TECH SOLUTIONS	221
106	SYMANTEC	220
107	JSMN INTERNATIONAL	218
108	UBS	216
109	CVS PHARMACY	213
110	THE PENNSYLVANIA STATE UNIVERSITY	213
111	UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON	213
112	NORTEL NETWORKS	212
113	UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN FRANCISCO	211
114	UNIVERSITY OF MASS. MEDICAL SCHOOL	210
115	SPRINT/UNITED MANAGEMENT	209
116	HOUSTON INDEPENDENT SCHOOL DISTRICT	209
117	PURDUE	208
118	GLOBAL CONSULTANTS	207
119	EMORY UNIVERSITY	207
120	UT HEALTH SCIENCE CENTER	207
121	UNIV. OF COLORADO	207
122	VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY	205
123	OBJECTWIN TECHNOLOGY	205
124	DIASPARK	204
125	HSBC BANK USA	203
126	EBUSINESS APPLICATION SOLUTIONS	203
127	BROADCOM	203
128	PRINCE GEORGES COUNTY (MD.) PUBLIC SCHS	203
129	MICRON TECHNOLOGY	202
130	COUNTRYWIDE HOME LOANS	198
131	TEXAS A&M	198
132	APPLIED MATERIALS	195
133	SCHLUMBERGER TECHNOLOGY	194
134	UNIVERSITY OF IOWA	194
135	IBM GLOBAL SVCS. INDIA	194
136	DELOITTE TAX	194
137	CUMMINS	193
138	ITECH U.S.	191
139	COMPUWARE	189
140	INTL. STUDENTS AND SCHOLARS OFFICE	186
141	UNIV. OF CALIF. AT SAN DIEGO	185
142	WALGREEN'S	184
143	HOWARD HUGHES MEDICAL INSTITUTE	184
144	USC	183
145	VISION SYSTEMS GROUP	182
146	T MOBILE USA	180
147	MULTIVISION	178
148	ELECTRONIC DATA SYSTEMS	177
149	MASSACHUSETTS INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	175
150	CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY	174
151	CASE WESTERN RESERVE UNIV.	173
152	UNC AT CHAPEL HILL	173
153	UNIV. OF ALABAMA AT BIRMINGHAM	172
154	DEUTSCHE BANK	170
155	CATERPILLAR	170
156	HALLMARK GLOBAL TECHNOLOGIES	169
157	CYBERTHINK	169
158	CORPORATE COMPUTER SERVICES	167
159	ADVANCED MICRO DEVICES	167
160	MEGASOFT CONSULTANTS	166
161	ENTERPRISE SOLUTIONS	165
162	FREESCALE SEMICONDUCTOR	163
163	UT SOUTHWESTERN MEDICAL CENTER	163
164	FIRST TEK TECHNOLOGIES	161
165	MICHIGAN STATE	161
166	RESEARCH FDN OF THE STATE UNIV OF	160
167	COMSYS SERVICES	160
168	VIRGINIA TECH	160
169	JUNIPER NETWORKS	160
170	UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA	158
171	IOWA STATE UNIVERSITY	157
172	UNIVERSITY OF VIRGINIA	157
173	FEDEX CORPORATE SERVICES	157
174	CREDIT SUISSE FIRST BOSTON	156
175	BRISTOL-MYERS SQUIBB	156
176	VERIZON SERVICES	156
177	EBAY	155
178	AJILON CONSULTING	154
179	GENERAL MOTORS	153
180	CAMO TECHNOLOGIES	152
181	MARVELL SEMICONDUCTOR	151
182	CMC AMERICAS	150
183	UT M.D. ANDERSON CANCER CENTER	149
184	NVIDIA	149
185	AT&T SERVICES	147
186	WEILL MEDICAL COLLEGE OF CORNELL	146
187	AXIOM SYSTEMS	146
188	WAYNE STATE UNIVERSITY	146
189	MAYO CLINIC ROCHESTER	146
190	NORTH CAROLINA STATE	146
191	GENENTECH	146
192	MAKRO TECHNOLOGIES	145
193	SVAM INTERNATIONAL	144
194	MEMORIAL SLOAN-KETTERING CANCER	143
195	NUTECH INFORMATION SYSTEMS	143
196	XPEDITE TECHNOLOGIES	143
197	AUTOMATIC DATA PROCESSING	143
198	LOUISIANA STATE	142
199	FANNIE MAE	141
200	MINDTREE CONSULTING/TD>	141

Gary Scholten, CIO at Principal Financial Group Inc., pays H-1b programmers $43,000 while lobbying for more

As reported in ComputerWorld: "National tech policy battle plays out in Iowa as caucus nears":

"Gary Scholten, a senior vice president and CIO at Principal Financial Group in Des Moines, . . . related his IT workforce concerns directly to three Democratic candidates: New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson and Sens. Barack Obama and Christopher Dodd."

Among Gary's concerns is that the U.S. is not flooding in a sufficient number of H-1b workers, causing them to have to hire from the local community college, and to set up IT operations in Pune, India.

So what DIDN'T Gary tell the candidates?

Principal Financial Group Headquarters are at: 711 High Street / Des Moines, IA 50392-0001 USA. That is the same address as the LCAs for Principal Life Insurance Company. These LCAs reveal H-1B applications filed by Principal Life Insurance Company:

Approved H-1B applications: 110 Total jobs: 168

Principal's H-1b usage includes many software development positions paying between $43k - $50k.

Gary likely didn't mention that many of these H-1b come through training programs, in the USA, that are closed to American Citizens, for example, through Premier IT Solutions Inc - which cites "Principal Financial Group" among their top clients.

Gary also likely didn't mention that many of the "HELP WANTED" on their website are PERM FAKE JOB ADS, like THIS ONE - run solely to obtain green cards for their dozens of H-1b programmers:

Job Title: IT Application Analyst-(PeopleSoft)
Job ID: 208545
Location: IA - Des Moines

B.S. in computer science, information systems, engineering or related field (or foreign equivalent) plus 5 years experience in the job offered or in a related occupation such as Programmer Analyst or similar duties under a different job title. Experience to include ERP applications (PeopleSoft, Financial Suite, or HRMS suite), PeopleTools, and RDBMS.

THE PROBLEM IS APPARENT: Search for "IT" in Principal Financial Group's job openings. You'll find either positions for new graduates, or positions that require 3-6 years of experience in specific languages and applications. There are NO OPENINGS for Americans with BS degrees and several years of experience, but need the same "on the job training" that is extended to new graduates to get them up to speed.

And as long as employers can flood in H-1b programmers at $43,000, the market forces that would make that happen do not exist.

Shouldn't Presidential candidates get the full story?

Lou Dobbs challenges Bill Gates to debate H-1b visa

Bill Gates has asked Congress for an "unlimited number" of H-1b visas. Watch Lou Dobbs ask Gates to discuss the matter. (We suspect that Gates will decline this opportunity to explain to the world his reasons for wanting an H-1b increase.) Lou Dobbs Transcript November 13, 2007 IS HERE



BILL TUCKER, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): There is no shortage of students studying for careers in Math and Science. There is a shortage of jobs. That's the simply bottom line finding of a new study from the Urban Institute.

The study shows that between 1985 and 2000 435,000 U.S. citizens and permanent residents a year graduated with Bachelors, Masters, and Doctoral degrees in Science and Engineering. That's three times the number of jobs in Science and Engineering added per year, 150,000 during that time.

Separately Michael Teitelbaum at the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation told Congress last week that neither he nor a separate study by the RAND Corporation can find any evidence of worker shortages. These studies are not anomalies.

VIVEK WADHWA, HARVARD UNIVERSITY: Bottom line is that all of our research at Duke and now at Harvard shows the same thing. That there is no shortage of engineers; there's no shortage of scientists. Companies aren't going abroad because of skills. They're going abroad because it's cheaper.

Bias against American tech workers by Dan Miller and Juliana Barbassa

Eight firms used 87% of all H-1b applications in 2006 Harrisburg, PA – and all eight are owned and managed by Indian immigrants, with average salary around $45,000

Dear Dan Miller and Juliana Barbassa,

Please consider the Programmers Guild's objections to the bias in Dan's article Tech workers push for immigration reform in today's Patriot News. Dan's article is leveraged from a prior AP article Tech workers still looking for immigration change by Juliana Barbassa.

Note that I am quoted in the AP article, but in such a way that it appears that the Programmers Guild supports expansion of the green card quota, which we do not. Instead, as I had told Juliana on the phone, we believe that H-1b should only be granted in the rare cases where no qualified Americans are available - at any price. Then there would not be so many H-1b trying to use this temporary visa as a basis to obtain citizenship. (What I didn't say on the phone was that I don't believe a temporary work visa should even be a path to citizenship - it should only be used until an American can be located and trained to fill the job: If I took a job in Switzerland on a temporary work visa, I not would be so arrogant as to demand that I be granted Swiss citizenship.):

Legal immigrants who feel squeezed by limits on the number of green cards issued each year are trying to separate their complaints from the protests by illegal immigrants. . .

The green card application system is akin to ''indentured servitude,'' said Kim Berry, president of the Programmers' Guild, a group that opposes current work visa laws. ''It takes years for the green card sponsorship to happen, and they can't leave, can't ask for a raise unless they want to lose their place in line.''

The article states:

"It gets too frustrating sometimes," said Sandeep Bhatia, a software engineer from Mumbai, India, who first applied for a green card in 2001. Since then, Bhatia has completed an MBA.

Of what relevance is getting an MBA? Is there a shortage of MBA holders in the USA? I've known several programmers who obtained an MBA at night school. Typically it has no value in the programming profession. Note that none of the positions on the Harrisburg, PA Craigslist cite MBA as even a desired qualification.

The article states:

American-born tech workers who criticize the visa system argue the annual influx of 65,000 foreign workers like Bhatia takes jobs from Americans and puts a damper on all salaries.

Out of the entire article, that is the only sentence supporting the viewpoint of American Citizen (not "American-born") U.S. workers. Everyone that you quote in your article is a special interest - immigrant seeking citizenship, immigration attorney seeking to expand business, or business trying to maximize profit. You fail to interview a single U.S. worker or representative organization, nor evaluate whether the concerns are valid.

a) Please see the comments from the290 signers of the October 15th IEEE rebuttal letter. Many claim to have been directly harmed by H-1b, and many have indicated that they will speak to the media.

b) I have personally witnessed cases where qualified Americans were not hired solely because an H-1b applicant appeared to have slightly higher qualifications. But in every instance the Americans who were passed over were highly qualified to fill the positions. Bodyshops FIRST bring in H-1b workers, THEN they swamp job ads with the resumes of their H-1b staff. At that point it is ILLEGAL for employers to give any preference to Americans over temporary foreign workers.

c) Here are the H-1b applications for 2006 in Harrisburg, PA, sorted by number of employees sought.

We typically see that the largest H-1b users are Indian-run organizations that blatantly discriminate against workers who do not share their nationality, and pay below market wages.

Bingo. The top user is Mphasis Corporation with 90 applications, all within a salary range of $42,000 to $47,382. And as expected, the management of Mphasis Corporation are Indians.

The second largest user is Fortune 500 Systems, Ltd, requesting 20 "programmer analyst," all at a salary of $40,000. Here are the names of their software developers.Would you agree that this suggests a bias against hiring Americans? Their website conceals ownership information. But the LCA Records reveal that the CEO is DNYANOBA (KEN) KENDRE - the same as the CEO for the fourth largest user, below.

The third largest user is iBusiness Solution, LLC, requesting 17 programmer analysts with salary ranges from $48,000 to $52,000. They appear to be owned and managed by Indians. The LCA was filed by President Srivastava Pramod.

The fourth largest user is Global Heathcare Group - not IT related. CEO "DNYANOBA (KEN) KENDRE" is an Indian "from Latur district in Maharashtra" - same CEO as the second top user. Here he is shaking hands with the Governor Edward Rendell of PA, apparently getting congradulated for displacing skilled Americans with Indians earning $40,000 salary.

The fifth largest user is Satyam Computer Services, Ltd, a large Indian consulting firm, requesting 10 programmers with salaries ranging from $47,020 to $67,413.

The sixth largest user is Prima Technologies, LLC, requesting 7 "computer programmer" for $48,000. The LCAs reveal that the owner is "Nagesh Chilakapati" - and the only street address on their website is in India.

The seventh largest user is CLUTCHPOINT,LLC, requesting 4 "system analysts" for salaries of $48k and $49k. The LCAs reveal that the CEO is SIVARAMA KARISHNA GOGINENI - sounds Indian to me. Google does not even find a website for them. Their LCA address is 600 North 2nd Street, Suite # 500. To avoid the risk of libel, let's just call these facts "suspicious."

The eighth largest user is CYBRID, INC. requesting 3 "Software Engineer" for salaries of $60k to $65k. The LCAs reveal that president is "Kanthy Vaylay." Their website conceals ownership and management information. Google for their address "4807 Jonestown Road" suggests that this is a mail box drop. Their website is strikingly similar to Independent H1B which bills itself as a H-1b sponsorship bodyshop and with greencard services.

THESE EIGHT FIRMS ACCOUNT FOR 167 OF THE 192 H-1B APPLICATIONS IN HARRISBURG, PA, IN 2006

Why is it that the vast majority of businesses in Harrisburg are able to meet all of their staffing needs without a single H-1b visa, but that eight Indian-owned businesses account for 87% of all H-1b applications in that city?

This sampling supports the Programmers Guild's contention that H-1b are underpaid and used disproportionately by Indian bodyshops that discriminate against U.S. workers that are not the same nationality as the owners.

The article states:

Kelly Lewis, president and CEO of the Technology Council of Central Pennsylvania, estimated that workers holding H-1B visas make a small number of high-tech employees in the midstate. "We're probably just in the general Harrisburg area short 500 to 1,000 technology professionals right now," Lewis said.

Indeed. TCCP represents several Indian-based bodyshops that would flood in as many H-1b consultants at $40k per year as possible, giving them a competitive advantage against firms that hire Americans at market wage.

The article states:

Tom Richwine is president of Immigration Support Services, a company in Silver Spring Twp. Richwine said his company helps about 1,000 employers nationwide process H-1B visas and green cards. H-1B visas represent just 0.7 percent of the nation's work force, "so it's not like we are displacing U.S. workers with foreigners," he said. Richwine said the federal government must provide more new H-1B visas and increase green cards available for high-tech workers. "We could easily absorb 150,000 [new H-1B visas] a year without any problem," he said. "We've got to provide a path to come to the U.S."

Tom is a biased in that he is probably getting rich on the backs of thousands of qualified American tech workers by processing H-1b applications. Given his bias, journalism standards suggest that an opposing interest should have been asked to rebut his claim.

FACT: H-1b are concentrated in the tech sector, which has about 3,600,000 workers. Over 500,000 H-1b have flooded into this sector since 2000, while the total number of jobs has remained flat.

FACT: Even the optimistic BLS projection for 2002-2012 project only 146,500 "[t]otal job openings due to growth and net replacements" annually "Computer and mathematical science occupations" (SEE PAGE 83)

FACT: The tens of thousands of Americans graduating with BS degrees in this field are facing unfair competition with skilled H-1b workers willing to work for $40,000 in order to get out of their overcrowded countries.

FACT: There is no requirement to even consider qualified Americans before sponsoring and H-1b, and industry lobbyists are adamantly opposed to adding any such protection. If such a protection were added and enforced, the number of H-1b entering the U.S. would drop substantially, and the "Green Card Backlog" bemoaned in this article would not be a factor.

FACT: The Craigslist postings for Software professionals do not suggest that any special labor shortage exists. There are only a few posts per day, just as for the other occupational categories.

Congress set to triple the H-1b quota in HR 4065!

Author Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI] represents HR 4065 as "To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to strengthen enforcement of the immigration laws, to enhance border security, and for other purposes."

However, section SEC. 1402 contains a provision that would increase the H-1b quota from 65,000 to between 130,000 and 195,000 per year.

The Programmers Guild has sent this FAX to the 10 sponsors.

FULL TEXT of the bill IS HERE.

Congressman Sensenbrenner HR 4065 Press Release on his website. (It provides no explanation for the H-1b increase.)

REQUEST: It is critical that you phone the following Congressmen and ask that they remove this H-1b provision, which has nothing to do with enhancing border security. You can reach them all toll free at 800-614-2803, and ask to be transferred to their office. You might reference the Programmers Guild fax.

1) Rep. Brian Bilbray [R-CA]
2) Rep. Howard Coble [R-NC]
3) Rep. David Dreier [R-CA]
4) Rep. Tom Feeney [R-FL]
5) Rep. Elton Gallegly [R-CA]
6) Rep. Robert Goodlatte [R-VA]
7) Rep. Daniel Lungren [R-CA]
8) Rep. Sue Myrick [R-NC]
9) Rep. Jon Porter [R-NV]
10) Rep. James Sensenbrenner [R-WI]

Ten questions for those who believe H-1B is about a shortage of American workers

James Murphy raises ten questions for those who believe the H-1B is about a shortage of Americans to do the job:

1) If corporations get all the H-1Bs and green cards they want, can the long term consequence be anything other than total dependence on foreigners for technology?

2) Is Ben Bernanke, Chairman of the Federal Reserve, wrong? He testified to Congress: “Simply producing more engineers and scientists may not be the answer because the labor market for those workers will simply reflect lower wages or, perhaps, greater unemployment for those workers.”

3) Is Vivek Wadhwa of Duke University, a supported of more foreign workers (he is one), wrong? He says “…the problem isn't the supply, it's the demand…we have enough engineers and scientists. The problem is that the salaries aren't there.”

4) Why are law firms, like the notorious Cohen & Grigsby, holding seminars on how to legally avoid hiring qualified Americans? Lawrence Lebowitz’s famous quote explaining of the PERM application process to employers. "Our goal is clearly not to find a qualified and interested U.S. worker, and that, in a sense, sounds funny, but it's what we are trying to do here."

5) Shortage at what price? My undergraduate economics professor made a big deal about it not making economic sense to claim a shortage without a price. For example, claiming that is a shortage of good five cent cigars makes sense. A claim that there is a shortage of cigars is foolish. There is no doubt that there is a shortage of college graduate programmers at $20,000 a year, is there a shortage at what the average American programmer makes? So the question is at what price?

6) If there is a shortage why are real wages going down?

7) Why is it that those employers who claim a shortage of American tech workers laying off so many of them?

8) Is socialist Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrong? He says "What many of us have come to understand is that these H-1B visas are not being used to supplement the American workforce where we have shortages but, rather, H-1B visas are being used to replace American workers with lower cost foreign workers,"

9) Is Nobel economist Milton Friedman wrong when he says the H-1B is a subsidy? He said "There is no doubt, that the [H-1B] program is a benefit to their employers, enabling them to get workers at a lower wage, and to that extent, it is a subsidy."

10) Why not end the H-1B and other work visas and allow a free market solution? An increasing wage will attract more workers to science and engineering and solve any supply shortage that MAY exist. Free markets do not have shortages.

James Murphy has more than 30 years engineering and programing experience and is currently unemployed.

China's President vows computerized armed forces to win IT-based warfare

IDG News Service reports that China's president Hu Jintao intends to "build strong armed forces through science and technology."

Hu explained, "To attain the strategic objective of building computerized armed forces and winning IT-based warfare, we will accelerate composite development of mechanization and computerization, carry out military training under IT-based conditions, modernize every aspect of logistics, intensify our efforts to train a new type of high-caliber military personnel in large numbers and change the mode of generating combat capabilities."

Are we crazy? We admit students from China into top U.S. universities and train them in the latest IT technology. We allow top U.S. tech firms to outsource and set up shop in China, providing on-the-job training to our military adversary. As we just reported, Cisco is helping to establish 300 vocational schools in China.

Microsoft and IBM have moved development centers to China. And unlike the USA, the Chinese government is helping their tech workers gain current skills: "The [Chinese] government has established 35 national schools to provide software training, especially in technologies such as .Net, Linux, Java, and Web services. Its goal is to have 800,000 trained software pros by the end of [2005]."

"Both military and civilian sectors in China are actively exploring the information warfare concept, which could be gradually developed into a corps of 'network warriors' able to defend China's telecommunications, command, and information networks, while uncovering vulnerabilities in foreign networks," according to Sinodefence.com, an independent China military-monitoring Web site based in the U.K.

Meanwhile the USA sinks its resources into killing and maiming tens of thousands of America's "best and brightest," fighting mostly imaginary terrorists in Iraq, watching the U.S. dollar lose 30% of its value over the past two years.

Cisco working with government to open 300 vocational training centers - in China!

U.S. corporations argue for more H-1b workers in order to help America's "Global Competitiveness." So where is the outrage when U.S. corporations act contrary to U.S. interests?

Cisco is a large user of H-1b in the U.S., but to our knowledge has not establed any training facilities to the U.S. to allow Cisco to hire more Americans. But Cisco is working the Chinese goverment to open hundreds to vocational training centers in that country.

Cisco will put its capital to work in China in both direct and indirect ways. It will work with the government to open 300 new vocational training centers across China to teach network skills, with Cisco donating $6 million worth of equipment to those schools, known as the "Cisco Networking Academies." Cisco had previously helped the government open 200 such schools, and the company said 90,000 people have been trained.

It is hypocracy for U.S. companies to both be lobbying for more foreign workers in the U.S. under the guise of helping U.S. global competitiveness, while at the same time undermining our competitiveness by funding training opportunites for our competition.

This economic treason against the USA is being facilitated by the UN:

Following the G-8 Summit, Cisco Systems, Inc.,United Nations Development Program, the US Agency for International Development (Leland Initiative/EDDI), and United Nations Volunteers (UNITeS), announced the formation of this strategic partnership to help train students in Least Developed Countries (LDC) for jobs in the Internet economy.

Yappy Headed YOH wage study is flawed again

As reported by InformationWeek, Yoh has prepared a press release that again proclaims that tech workers are being paid "near record wages."

First Yoh unethically downplays that these wages are only contract wages, which could be as short as one day. They bear no relation to the wages paid to full-time employees, which are substantially lower. Yoh should make that more clear in the future.

Yoh fails to disclose that their "all-time high" wage determination does not factor in inflation. They use a base of 100 in January 2001, reaching 113.60 in Week 36 of 2007, or a 13.6% increase in wages over 6.5 years.

But according to this BLS calculator, inflation during the same period would have raised 100 to 117.72.

Thus when adjusted for inflation, the Yoh study actually finds that IT contract wages have continued to erode during this decade.

Yoh's study is further evidence that H-1b are underpaid. While Yoh cited $50 and $80 per hour as only "average wages," The average H-1b programmer -- who presumably is being brought in because they have the "hot" skills -- is paid about $52,000, according to a 2005 study.

Virtually NO H-1b LCA is for $50 per hour, and I've never seen an LCA for a software developer approach the "average" wage of $80 per hour.

Yoh's website fails to disclose salary ranges for most of their positions. Yoh's LCA filing for H-1b are here - but most are not software development occupations.

We had addressed the bias in Yoh's studies last April - nothing has changed.

Microsoft propaganda falsely cites H-1b restrictions as basis for their Vancouver, Canada office

The media has been buzzing with articles making claims like this in e-Commerce News - Microsoft Steps Across Border to Sidestep Immigration Rules

Microsoft (Nasdaq: MSFT) will open a software development center in Canada by the end of the year, a move that will enable the software giant to hire more foreign workers without running up against the limitations of U.S. immigration law.

Microsoft cofounder and Chairman Bill Gates has been among the most outspoken critics of the current limits on foreign workers who can enter the country. Gates has repeatedly pressed lawmakers to raise the cap on the number of so-called H-1B visas, which are given out to "highly skilled" workers.

A bill that would have raised the current cap of 65,000 visas each year -- part of a sweeping immigration reform measure -- failed to gain enough votes to stay alive in the U.S. Senate last week, dashing hopes that more workers would be let into the U.S. in the near term.

(Also See Paul McDougall's InformationWeek Blog Microsoft's Canada Plan Highlights Need For Immigration Reform.)

But only a few are picking up that immigration is a red herring. CNET got it right in Microsoft sings 'O Canada' amid immigration challenges:

"Microsoft spokesman Lou Gellos said that while the immigration issue was a factor, the company would be opening the center in Vancouver even if it were not for the immigration challenges. "

Reuters included this fact also, albeit buried as a virtual footnote in an article that mostly discusses the H-1b visa - Microsoft expands in Canada amid U.S. visa crunch:

Microsoft said in a statement that the Vancouver center will "allow the company to continue to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by the immigration issues in the United States." But company spokesman Lou Gellos said Microsoft's frustration with the U.S. government's visa policy wasn't the only reason for the expansion in Canada. It is part of a larger program to diversify software development outside of Microsoft headquarters in Redmond, Washington, Gellos said. . . "We would be opening this center in Vancouver even if this visa situation didn't exist," Gellos said.

Furthermore it is not "news" that Microsoft is doing software development in Vancouver, Canada, as this 1992 article reveals: Canada: Microsoft opens workgroup software R&D facility

VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA, CANADA, 1992 JUL 28 (NB) -- Microsoft has opened a workgroup software development operation here, the only Microsoft research and development facility outside the United States that will develop products for world markets.

In short, Microsoft is pulling a PR stunt, timing this announcement to make it appear that it was related to failure of the Comprehensive Immigration Reform, which contained a massive H-1b increase provision. Industry raises similar false threats that they are offshoring due to a shortage of H-1b, when in fact H-1b is a primary tool in offshoring.

NASSCOM's claim that only "small Indian companies" abuse H-1b visa is absurd

Last month U.S. Senators Durbin and Grassley wrote a letter to nine of the top Indian outsourcers regarding their use of H-1b, such as their wages, age of workers, number of U.S. citizens on staff, and their efforts to recruit Americans. To our knowledge none of the receipients have responded to the questions posed in that letter.

Instead the National Association of Software and Service Companies (NASSCOM) issued a statement that "there is little evidence of such fraud, or that restricting the number of H-1 B visas . . . will have any effect on visa fraud."

NASSCOM is being less than honest to the U.S. Senate - they have ignored the questions and raised the Red Herring of "fraud." The NASSCOM Executive Council is a "who's who" of Indian outsourcing firms, comprised of leaders of I-flex, Infosys, Wipro, HCL, and Mr. N Chandrasekaran, Executive Vice President of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS)

TCS is the number one user of combined H-1b and L-1 visas, with nearly 8000 applications in FY 2006.

We have already reported that TCS has boasted that it pays its H-1b workers 25% below market wages, and this this underpayment was its competitive advantage against American firms and U.S. workers.

While about half of TCS business is in the U.S., only about 1000 of their 90,000 employees are Americans. (Meanwhile TCS is planning to hire 5000 workers in Mexico, to assist with Perot's "giant sucking sound" of jobs.)

We also know that the thousands of TCS employees on L-1 visas can work in the U.S. for up to a year while still getting paid their foreign wage - $20,000 per year or less. These Mexicans that TCS is hiring will provide them an additional source of foreign workers that TCS can rotate into U.S. jobs and continue to pay them third-world wages, without the expense of international air fare.

Senators Durbin and Grassley have compiled a 354 page list of L-1 visa users. TCS is on top. They are asking the top users about their usage. We expect another Red Herring response from NASSCOM about "no fraud," avoiding whether they are displacing U.S. consulting firms that pay American wages by bringing in thousands of average skilled staff programmers on L-1 while paying them third world wages.

Congress: How is it not unfair competition to allow consulting firms to pay third world wages at U.S. jobs sites by rotating in workers from foreign sites? Might this be creating an incentive to NOT hire U.S. workers for U.S. jobs?

A large user of L-1 visa is Intel. During the same period that Intel in Folsom, California was laying of its American IT workers, I heard from multiple Indians on L-1 at Intel in Folsom that they and many other L-1 workers were not brought in for their skills. Instead they were new hires in India being brought to the U.S. for training, then would return to India to ramp up Intel operations there. U.S. training may be necessary since Intel blames the Bangalore division for botching the Whitefield Xeon processor project a few years ago.

Meanwhile the stress of being forced to lay off highly skilled Americans led to the suicide of a top manager at Intel Folsom in 2003. As Intel brings in foreign workers, they do not even attend career day at nearby CSU Sacramento.

While under the “spirit of the law” TCS is a bodyshop, and thus all of its employees “provide labor for hire for unaffiliated employers," it appears that under the letter of the law TCS can continue to second-source L-1 workers by a) assuring that the L-1 reports to a TCS employee, and b) assuring that the TCS employee is providing a service related to a contract that TCS holds with the client:

L-1 Visa Reform Act of 2004, signed into law December 8, 2004

SEC. 412. NONIMMIGRANT L-1 VISA CATEGORY.(a) IN GENERAL- Section 214(c)(2) of the Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

(F) An alien who will serve in a capacity involving specialized knowledge with respect to an employer for purposes of section 101(a)(15)(L) and will be stationed primarily at the worksite of an employer other than the petitioning employer or its affiliate, subsidiary, or parent shall not be eligible for classification under section 101(a)(15)(L) if—

(i) the alien will be controlled and supervised principally by such unaffiliated employer; or

(ii) the placement of the alien at the worksite of the unaffiliated employer is essentially an arrangement to provide labor for hire for the unaffiliated employer, rather than a placement in connection with the provision of a product or service for which specialized knowledge specific to the petitioning employer is necessary.

See INA § 214(c)(2)(F), 8 U.S.C. § 1184(c)(2)(F), as added by Pub. L. No. 108-649, Sec 412(a).

Microsoft, Oracle, and Google demand that H-1b remain a source of cheap labor

Microsoft, Oracle, and Google are lobbying the Senate for an increase in the H-1b visa quota, arguing that they have thousands of job openings that they cannot fill with Americans. But is that the true motive?

The DOL prevailing is split into four levels, with level one being about the 17th percentile of what average Americans are paid for the same job classifications. Currently most H-1b use the level one wage. Senator Durbin sponsored an amendment whereby only 30% of the H-1b at any company could be paid at level one. (The remainder could be paid at level two - which would still be below average.)

Oracle's vice president Robert Hoffman, who speaks for CompeteAmerica, opposes the amendment. "Thirty percent is an artificial barrier," said Hoffman.

Why does Hoffman oppose the amendment? Here are the DOL wages for Computer Programmer in Los Angeles:

• Level 1 Wage: $21.59 hour - $44,907 year
• Level 2 Wage: $27.88 hour - $57,990 year
• Level 3 Wage: $34.18 hour - $71,094 year
• Level 4 Wage: $40.47 hour - $84,178 year

The wage for an average-skilled American computer programmer in Los Angeles is over $64,000 per year. Yet Oracle objects to having to pay their H-1b workers more than $44,907.

How do we know that Microsoft, Oracle, and Google do not need H-1b due to a labor shortage?

According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft received résumés from about 100,000 graduating students in 2004, screened 15,000 of them, interviewed 3,500, and hired 1,000. Microsoft receives about 60,000 résumés a month for its 2,000 open positions.

Working at Google is among the top choices of U.S. graduates, flooding Google with 1300 resumes per DAY.

YouTube-Gate: Cohen & Grigsby train how to NOT hire qualified Americans

For those under age 40, "YouTube-Gate" is a twist on the Watergate scandal that brought down President Nixon. Our objective is that Congress end these H-1b, PERM, and related employment-based immigration scandals by revising the statutes to provide true protection for U.S. workers.

Our five-minute YouTube of an immigration seminar by the law firm of Cohen & Grigsby has received over 80,000 hits on YouTube, and resulted in major media coverage. The video prompted Senator Charles Grassley and Congressman Lamar Smith to write a letter to Labor Secretary Elaine Chao to investigate whether U.S. companies are abusing the H-1B visa program.

Today we documented that three of the eight IT classified ads in the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review today are suspect fake PERM ads. (We need a hard-copy of the June 24th Philadelphia Daily News.)

We also expose the Cohen & Grigsby client companies that are running the fake job ads. The client with the most H-1b processing is foreign outsourcing firm Hexaware. These H-1bs harm the U.S. economy by facilitating the transfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas. And Congress has an obligation to suspend laws that harm our country.

Prevailing wage? In their second video Cohen & Grigsby cite the "prevailing wage" requirement of H-1b. The majority of H-1b programmers use the Level One prevailing wage. The Level One prevailing wage for Lawyer in Philadelphia is $24.75 hour! I doubt that the attorneys in this video would contend that wage would protect them from displacement.

TIP: This website http://video.qooqle.jp/dl/ is one of many that allows you to download YouTube videos. (This is how we grabbed these training videos before the law firm removed them.)

Immigration attorney Philip Boyle argues that H-1b puts upward pressure on the salaries of U.S. software professionals (we respectfully disagree)

In his commentary "In My Turn: Immigration reform -- Vermont style," immigration attorney Philip Boyle make the outrageous claim that the H-1b program actually increases the wages of U.S. software professionals, writing:

"H-1B workers must be paid prevailing wage or better. Hence, these workers have a positive impact on wages which a tax would thwart."

If Philip Boyle is sincere - which, as an attorney is highly unlikely - then he should advocate for flooding in foreign immigation attorneys into Vermont. After all, the Level One DOL prevailing wage (which is applied for most H-1b applications) for LAWYER of $25.65 hour - $53,352 year would certainly put upward pressure on his meager salary.

The reporters at the Burlington Free Press should also rally for more H-1b reporters, as their DOL prevailing wage of $12.65 hour - $26,312 year would put upward pressure on their salaries.

By far largest user of H-1b in Vermont in 2006 was iTech. iTech LCA wages are here – as low as $36,000 minimum BS degree and specialized knowledge. iTech made the Programmers Guild “lowest paid” list. ITech is owned by an immigrant from India and is engaged in shipping work back to India, the same as the firms that have yet to respond to the Durbin/Grassley inquiry.

Boyle argues that the H-1b cap should be raised because H-1b is used to hire new grads from Vermont universities. But not one of iTech’s openings is for new grads – all require at least 2+ years of experience.

(Boyle ignores an alternate solution of giving H-1b preference to U.S. grads - or to eliminate H-1b entirely and allow supply/demand forces to draw more Americans to pursue advanced degrees – that same force that draws sufficient Americans to pursue law degrees.)

The reason iTech uses H-1b is not because no Americans are available, but rather because they hire disproportionately Indians from India – not graduates from Vermont colleges, as Boyle alleges. (Of the 80 iTech green card certifications in 2005 and 2006, 77 were for workers from India.)

iTech is second only to Goldstone Technologies in 2000-2006 LCA filings in Vermont. Goldstone is an Indian company that uses H-1b because they don’t hire Americans. (On p.22 of John Miano’s study he found that Goldstone wage are $12,000 below Expected OES wages.)

Here is an ITECH AD TO HELP PROCESS THEIR EMPLOYEES’ GREEN CARD APPLICATIONS. This person will administrate the PERM job ads that reject qualified American job seekers, as explained by the immigration lawyers in the Cohen & Grigsby video. PERM ads are described at www.programmersguild.org/RIR/

Philip Boyle does not care about Americans getting American jobs because he only profits when American jobs get filled by foreigners. If he truly belived that flooding in H-1b workers would boost wages rather than displace Americans, he would be calling for more H-1b within his own profession. As it stands, we call him "Liar Liar."

Patni Computer Systems H-1b settlement fails to compensate American Worker victims

As reported by AHN Media Corp:

Patni Computer Systems Inc. has agreed to pay $2.4 million in back wages as part of a settlement with government authorities who claim the company underpaid employees recruited under the H-1B employment visa. . . Patni is one of the nine IT companies that U.S. legislators last month asked to explain their use of the H-1B visa. The issue with wages is that under the H-1B work visas, companies are supposed to pay the workers it brings into the country the prevailing U.S. wages for those jobs so that foreign labor doesn't unfairly compete with American labor for jobs. The company, which has about 13,000 employees, was awarded 1,391 H-1B visas in 2006.

MATH REALITY CHECK: $2.4 million / 13,000 = $185 per employee. This is an insignificant penalty for Patni, which earns $350 million in annual revenue.

PATNI IS A BODYSHOP: They produce nothing of value. Instead they displace American workers at American companies. According to their July 2006 SEC filing:

“We derive a significant portion of our revenues from a limited number of clients in a few select industries. In 2003, 2004 and 2005 our largest client and one of our principal shareholders, General Electric, accounted for 41.2%, 31.7% and 22.1% of our revenues and our second largest client, State Farm Insurance, accounted for 17.4%, 14.9% and 11.5% of our revenues.” . . . Our attrition rates have been high due to a highly competitive labor market in India. . . . We are currently cooperating with the US Department of Labor with respect to compliance matters related to our past and present labor practices. We estimate the liability to be up to $2 million. . . . Most of our employees are Indian nationals. The ability of our software professionals to work in the United States, Europe and in other countries depends on our ability to obtain necessary visas and work permits. As of December 31, 2005, a majority of our software professionals in the United States held H-1B visas . . Wage costs in India have historically been significantly lower than wage costs in the United States and Europe for comparably skilled professionals, which has been one of our competitive strengths. . . Presently, we benefit from the tax holidays given by the Government of India forthe export of IT services from specially designated software technology parks and special economic zones in India.”

According to eWeek the settlement will go to only 600 Patni employees: "The department is committed to vigorously enforcing the H-1B provisions that guard against employers undercutting American workers by underpaying temporary foreign workers," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao, in a statement.

If true, then what about the other 12,400 employees? The LCA database reveals that Patni has applied for over 13,000 H-1b workers, with median wage of $45,000. That means that 6000 Patni “best and brightest, BS degreed and highly skilled” are earning less than $45,000 salary.

The real victims were the 13,000 American workers who were displaced by Patni’s unfair competition. The U.S. Congress has known for the past decade that the H-1b program is displacing U.S. workers, that the prevailing wage is a sham, and that there is no requirement to not displace qualified U.S. workers. Congress has compensated the Japanese interned during WW II. When will U.S. tech workers receive similar reparations from Congress?

When has Elaine Chao ever acted on behalf of displaced U.S. workers? In every H-1b abuse case, and reimbursement goes to the foreign workers, ignoring the collateral harm to U.S. workers.

The Programmers Guild identified Patni as #27 on the list of the lowest-paying H-1b employers. When will Chao go after the top 25?

Letter to Governor Schwarzenegger objecting to his support for an H-1b increase

(Hand-delivered to Governor’s office June 6, 2007)

June 5, 2007

Dear Governor Schwarzenegger, (916-445-2841)

Among your key campaign promises was that you would represent the People of California rather than bowing to special interests.

But yesterday in your letter advocating for an increase in H-1b visas you violated that promise. I challenge you to disclose the source of that letter, which is a clear promotion of the special interests of the American Immigration Lawyers Association, foreign consulting firms, and billionaire CEOs.

1) By advocating for retention of "an employment-based application process" you are supporting the current flawed system where employers are able to hold H-1b workers as indentured servants while they sponsor the workers' green card applications. I witnessed NEC Roseville IT department specifically seek out H-1b candidates after two of their DBAs left for better opportunities at Intel Folsom. Do you support freedom or indentured servitude?

2) By advocating that the H-1b quota "must be based on the demands of the market" you are driving California workers and consulting firms out of business: The largest users of H-1b are Indian consulting firms. Last fall Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) boasted, "Our wage per employee is 20-25 percent less than US wages for a similar employee," explaining that the underpayment gave them their competitive advantage over American workers and the American firms who employ them. Do you support more H-1b for Indian consulting firms that displace Americans with $38,000 wages?

3) H-1b allows employers to hire foreigners even when qualified Americans are available. The California Department of Transportation (CALTRANS) has sponsored dozens of H-1b workers, even as U.S. Citizens were waiting and reachable on the civil service list. Do you support hiring foreign workers for state jobs when Americans are reachable on lists?

4) CEO Larry Ellison is worth $20 billion dollars. Oracle is lobbying against a $1200 annual fee on H-1b that would be used to fund scholarships of up to $15,000 so that Americans can pursue science and engineering degrees. Do you share Oracle and Compete America’s opposition to scholarships for Americans?

5) You state, "I am concerned that the current bill may make the H-1B program harder to administer." The only material change is that, under the Durbin/Grassley amendment, employers would first have advertise the position, make a good faith effort to hire Americans, and attest that no Americans were being displaced. Do you believe that Americans should be displaced from their careers because employers find it an administrative hassle to run help wanted ads and conduct interviews?

6) You cite “between 2004 and 2014 there will be nearly one million new jobs in math and computer sciences,” but ignore that more than 100,000 Americans graduate with degrees in these fields each year. Please explain why you support industry’s call for an H-1b influx that would fill every job and then some.

7) You claim that there is a shortage of tech workers in California. So can you explain why on the day you sent your letter there were ZERO classified ads for Computer Programmers in the Sacramento Bee.

I look forward to hearing an acknowledgement that you have considered these points, and hope that upon further consideration you will withdraw your letter in support of an H-1b increase.

Sincerely,
Mr. Kim Berry
Sacramento, California

---

UPDATE: When I attempted to deliver the letter the Governor's staff was rude. I explained that I wanted to hand it to the appropriate staff. She said "I need a name." She said that the letter had to be dropped in the mailroom. When I told her I wished to meet with staff she gave me a form to fill out, but would not let me borrow a pen to fill it out. I bummed a pen off a security worker and filled it out. She would not let me attach the letter to the hand-written form.

Senators Cantwell, Cornyn, Leahy and Hatch declare war on American tech workers

Amendment #1249 to the comprehensive immigration bill, sponsored by Senators Cantwell, Cornyn, Leahy and Hatch, is a declaration of war on American tech workers. Their bill would:

• Authorize employers to displace qualified U.S. workers with H-1b foreign workers
• Authorize employers to sponsor H-1b workers without first recruiting qualified U.S. workers.
• Allow employers to fill the bulk of U.S. tech jobs with virtual indentured servants by adding 140,000 employer-sponsored greencards each year.
• Set the base H-1b quota at 150,000 per year (Incorrect)
• Provide Unlimited exemptions for advanced degrees from U.S. universities PLUS unlimited advanced degrees in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math (STEM) from foreign universities

June 5th Correction: This bill does not set the H-1b quota to 150,000 per year. On May 30th details were sketchy, and I apparently confused the 150,000 that AeA is calling for with a provision in the bill.

Aside from a sham "prevailing wage" that allows employers to pay wages far below average and still be in compliance, the above points are the key H-1b reforms that U.S. tech workers have needed.

The fifth bullet point alone could potentially flood in several hundred thousand foreign workers independent from the 150,000 quota. Why would employers hire new U.S. BS grads when the market would be flooded with workers with advanced degrees, willing to work cheap in exchange for one of the 140,000 annual green card sponsorships?

Note that for U.S. grads the exemption applies to degrees in ANY major - including the proverbial "basket-weaving" - even in professions where Americans cannot find work.

There are about 3.5 million total tech jobs in the U.S., and roughly 200,000 of those become open each year, mostly due to attrition. (Bill Gates cites 2 million new jobs in the next decade - that's what he's referring to - mostly just replacement of people that move on - by choice or by displacement.)

In 2004 American colleges and universities awarded 233,492 undergraduate Science and Engineering degrees, according to Robert J. Samuelson in "A Phony Science Gap." The vast majority - perhaps 90% - of these were awarded to U.S. workers.

Clearly there are enough American graduates to fill all jobs. But these Senators intend to fill at least 150,000 (plus other exemptions) with foreign workers. Then employers will use the 140,000 green card sponsorships to create virtual indentured servants of these workers.

These Senators must be held accountable. Please phone them and your two state senators today! (Find them at www.congress.org)

• Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) : (202) 224-3441
• Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) : (202) 224-2934
• Senator Patrick J. Leahy (D-VT) : (202) 224-4242
• Senator Orrin G. Hatch (R-UT) : (202) 224-5251

Apparently Compete America is behind this bill. Among the companies that Compete America represents is Motorola. Today Motorola announced that it will lay off 4000 more U.S. workers. IBM also announced a layoff of another 1500 workers today.

If there were truly a tech labor shortage, then the degreed and experienced U.S. workers included in these layoffs would be quickly picked up by other Compete America member companies. But that rarely happens.

"This amendment puts U.S. immigration control in the hands of foreign and multi-national corporations whose interests are often contrary to the best interests of the United States," warns Kim Berry, president of the Programmers Guild. "The bill literally allows citizens of other countries to petition their fellow foreigners for U.S. green cards, without regard for the impact on Americans or America."

Oracle opposes $1200 annual H-1b fee to provide $15,000 scholarships to American engineering students

As reported by the New York Times on May 27, 2007:

Senator Bernard Sanders, independent of Vermont, won adoption of an amendment that would increase the fee charged to employers for such a visa, known as an H-1B, to $5,000, from $1,500. The money would be used to finance scholarships for American citizens studying engineering, mathematics, computer science or health care.

Robert P. Hoffman, a vice president of Oracle, said the higher fees represented “an onerous tax increase on America’s most innovative companies.”

This “onerous” fee is less than a $1200 annual increase in the current H-1b fee ($600 foremployers with less than 25 employees). But it could substantially improve America’s competitiveness. Many American students must compromise their studies by working part time, while foreign students are free to devote 100% of their time in study groups. Others never reach their potential due to the financial realities of attending college today. So instead universities fill these slots with foreign students.

Compete America, headed by Hoffman, claims that “too few American students are seeking degrees in science, engineering and mathematics.” (Public Policy Institute of California recently made a similar claim.) But rather than support a $15,000 annual scholarship so that Americans can attend American universities, Hoffman proposes that “the H-1B and green card programs should exempt foreign-born Masters and PhD graduates of U.S. universities from arbitrary visa caps."

(The Programmers Guild refutes that there is any shortage of Americans students, citing declining salaries and tech workers over age 40 unable to find jobs. A recent Duke University study reached the same conclusion: "we did not find any indication of a shortage of engineers in the United States.")

America has made Larry Ellison one of the richest men in the world, with a net worth of $20 billion. He owns several yachts, including the 4th largest in the world valued at $200 million. He owns several aircraft, and lives in $20 million estate. (See Ellison’s home in this Google Earth Link here.)

In a May 24th press release Compete America claims: “Our companies are committed to advancing math and science education over the long term, as our future competitiveness depends on it,” but the press release bemoans that this $1200 fee “could make the H-1B program cost-prohibitive, especially for smaller businesses.”

Oracle has about 1850 H-1b on staff. Thus the annual cost to Oracle would be slightly over $2 million, providing $15,000 scholarships for 143 American students. So which is more harmful to Oracle’s global competitiveness – a nominal increase in the H-1b fee, or Ellison’s extravagant lifestyle?

As spokesman for Compete America, Hoffman also represents the opposition to these scholarships by: Google, Hewlett-Packard, Intel Corporation, Microsoft Corporation, and Sun Microsystems. All of these U.S. companies prefer to spend millions lobbying for more H-1b rather than part with $1200 to assist American students.

Oracle’s objections do not stop at the scholarship. Oracle also objects that H-1b reforms would limit their ability to displace qualified Americans with H-1b workers, and to lay off Americans while retaining H-1b workers. Hoffman says such provisions "are a huge requirement that might violate international trade laws." Industry also deems the new H-1b requirement to attest to having made a good faith effort to hire an American as overbearing.

Only a handful of companies applied for more than 500 H-1b workers in 2006. Those are predominately huge corporations for which the scholarship fee would be insignificant.

The top users of H-1b are Indian consulting firms that admit to underpaying their H-1b workers: "Our wage per employee is 20-25 per cent less than US wages for a similar employee," boasts Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) vice president Phiroz Vandrevala. The $1200 fee does not begin to offset this underpayment advantage, and the Durbin/Grassley bill would address this wage underpayment - which is currently perfectly legal under H-1b statutes.

This highlights the flaw in the current prevailing wage provision, and the Programmers Guild calls on Congress to include the prevailing wage provision of the Durbin/Grassley bill.