immi_enthu
08-28 10:14 AM
what do u mean by approved labor not signed??
Labour approval is approved by DOL .
It needs to be attached to 140 application.
140 application needs to signed by employer or by attorney in case a G 28 is signed by the employer.
485 is to signed by you or by attrnoney in case a G 28 is signed by you
That is correct. You do not get to sign the 140 as it is has to be applied by the employer. You however, have to sign your approved Labor which will be attached to the 140 application.
please see the above quote by kaiserose
Labour approval is approved by DOL .
It needs to be attached to 140 application.
140 application needs to signed by employer or by attorney in case a G 28 is signed by the employer.
485 is to signed by you or by attrnoney in case a G 28 is signed by you
That is correct. You do not get to sign the 140 as it is has to be applied by the employer. You however, have to sign your approved Labor which will be attached to the 140 application.
please see the above quote by kaiserose
eb3_nepa
04-23 11:50 AM
What about EB1s? Were they also Unavailable in the interim July 2- July 17 blackout period?
gc_check
01-22 08:11 PM
I used Clinton Bush Haiti Fund**|**Home (http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org) to make my small contribution, it took less than 2 minutes, no account creation required, this site accepts paypal too.
https://re.clintonbushhaitifund.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3884
I also donated a small amount that I can through Clinton Bush Haiti Fund**|**Home (http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org) as well. Also check, some employers also do a matching contribution to this organization or also some other charity organization, You just need to fill a form and fax and they do the rest. So the contribution doubles. Just addition 5 minutes work, but it definitely helps people in need.
https://re.clintonbushhaitifund.org/SSLPage.aspx?pid=3884
I also donated a small amount that I can through Clinton Bush Haiti Fund**|**Home (http://www.clintonbushhaitifund.org) as well. Also check, some employers also do a matching contribution to this organization or also some other charity organization, You just need to fill a form and fax and they do the rest. So the contribution doubles. Just addition 5 minutes work, but it definitely helps people in need.
rb_248
10-19 04:27 PM
Did you have to change your address while you switched jo?. And if you had changed address, did you inform USCIS. I am trying to find out if address chnge is what triggers RFE for job switch. Also were you on H1B or using EAD with previous employer.
I moved out of state. I owned a home and it took a while to sell. So I stayed at a temporary facility. So effectively I retained the same address. But, we got the cards just before we sold the house. So the answer to your question is No I did not inform USCIS. But, I had a justification not to inform the USCIS.
I moved out of state. I owned a home and it took a while to sell. So I stayed at a temporary facility. So effectively I retained the same address. But, we got the cards just before we sold the house. So the answer to your question is No I did not inform USCIS. But, I had a justification not to inform the USCIS.
more...
cjain
07-23 04:03 PM
^^^^
CADude
07-23 11:22 PM
Take alternative opnion from good Attorney and take a chance.
Hi,
My situation is as follows:
1) approved RIR labor 2002
2) approved perm labor 2005
3) approved i-140 2006 (PD 2005)
4) ALL of above for company-A. 2006 company-B took over.
My lawyer said i cannot file and have to start again with new labor as merger/acquistion was 'asset only' type.
I want to self-file i-485 giving the company "name change" letter as the only proof along with the rest of regular documents. Company-B employer is in 100% support of my application.
SHOULD I just waste $$$$ money or take a chance ? PLEASE HELP...TIRED OF WAITING FOR LAST 5 years :(
Regards,
-Ravi
Hi,
My situation is as follows:
1) approved RIR labor 2002
2) approved perm labor 2005
3) approved i-140 2006 (PD 2005)
4) ALL of above for company-A. 2006 company-B took over.
My lawyer said i cannot file and have to start again with new labor as merger/acquistion was 'asset only' type.
I want to self-file i-485 giving the company "name change" letter as the only proof along with the rest of regular documents. Company-B employer is in 100% support of my application.
SHOULD I just waste $$$$ money or take a chance ? PLEASE HELP...TIRED OF WAITING FOR LAST 5 years :(
Regards,
-Ravi
more...
aj2000
07-13 10:13 PM
My papers reached my lawyer only on 3rd. So, she didnt file at that time. Yesterday, she asked me if we can apply to become a part of lawsuit. I said OK. My file was sent to uscis yesterday by fedex. Since, I have spent 1000$ already on medical and other stuffs, just thought, why not give it a shot.
I would ask you guys to consider filing especially if your PD is in 2005 or later.
I would ask you guys to consider filing especially if your PD is in 2005 or later.
as_rudra
07-26 12:47 PM
You can change the address of you I-485 application online at
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=coa
I have done this when i moved at the end of May. I also recieved a confirmation mail that the address on my application has changed.
Hope that helps!
https://egov.uscis.gov/crisgwi/go?action=coa
I have done this when i moved at the end of May. I also recieved a confirmation mail that the address on my application has changed.
Hope that helps!
more...
leoindiano
01-31 10:35 AM
I had this experience before in Pennsylvania, same single bed room, had a PC, fridge, thats pretty much it...
Apartment management said, check with power company. Power company said the apartment have insulation problems. There are quite a few reasons why this may happen..
1) Location of apartment, corner, ground level
2) Old equipment, like washer/dryer, bad insulation
3) Normally in northern states winter power rates are more almost 2.5 times....
the highest i got was $350 dollars at that time, that was in 2004....
Apartment management said, check with power company. Power company said the apartment have insulation problems. There are quite a few reasons why this may happen..
1) Location of apartment, corner, ground level
2) Old equipment, like washer/dryer, bad insulation
3) Normally in northern states winter power rates are more almost 2.5 times....
the highest i got was $350 dollars at that time, that was in 2004....
kevinkris
05-08 02:43 PM
05/08/2008: Fashion Model Nonimmigrant Visa Reclassification and Relief Legislation Inching Ahead - 05/08/2008 Mark-Up
* Currently, foreign fashion models come to work in the U.S. under the nonimmigrant visa classification of H-1B. A legislative bill , H.R. 4080, was introduced last December in the House to reclassify the visa classification from H-1B to P visas for artists and athlets. This morning, the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee is scheduled to debate 9:30 a.m. on this bill and it is expected that this bill will move ahead to the House floor. For the full text of the bill, please click the bill number.
* Currently, foreign fashion models come to work in the U.S. under the nonimmigrant visa classification of H-1B. A legislative bill , H.R. 4080, was introduced last December in the House to reclassify the visa classification from H-1B to P visas for artists and athlets. This morning, the House Judiciary Immigration Subcommittee is scheduled to debate 9:30 a.m. on this bill and it is expected that this bill will move ahead to the House floor. For the full text of the bill, please click the bill number.
more...
ronhira
04-28 10:31 AM
we r coming to a full circle here..... over 90% americans also supported & practiced slavery back in 1786...... the declaration of independence was agreed by all americans and it said - "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.... but over 90% americans supported slavery which wasthe biggest mockery of what everyone believed..... it just proves that just becoz majority of the people support something doesn't make it right or doesn't make it just.... in the end this nation had to go in for a civil war between the north & the south to end slavery.....
fast forward.... the current immigration debate is no different...... this country ought to have learned from the experience of the civil war..... for all the men, women and children who died in the civil war.... this country & this world provides for abundance of resources for everyone..... we can all cohabit this planet and live happily.... some people just don't want too..... the real question is...... will these facist forces stop with the undocumented or will they next try to squash another group who don't look like them..... my guess is that after they take care of the undocumented..... we r next.... its the generation old question that was asked during 2nd world war.... will the nazi forces of hitler stop within europe or will they next attack the US or soviet etc.... we all know the answer to that question.... and hence the 2nd world war.... the debate for the undocumented is of the same kind.... do we stop the negative fascist forces right here or will they be allowed to expand their wings.... i know the final outcome..... its just a matter of time.....
now u can throw out all the bull arguing that these are "illegal" people or they crossed the border etc.... these r the same sort of arguments presented for slavery or for mistreating women or immigrant groups, who were treated as slaves back then.... these negative fascist forces said the exact same things against abolishing slavery or giving equal rights to women, african americans and different immigrant groups..... u may think u are on the right side of this debate but u have no freaking clue that above human law there is another law... and that greater law supersedes every other human law.... every action in contradiction to the greater law will eventually lose.... wait & watch.... its just a matter of time....
60% of Americans support getting tough on illegals. Currently the US is the only country in the world, which puts the priorities of illegals above those of Citizens and legal people within its borders. Both Mexico and India (just to pick to countries) have very tough laws against visa over-stay, presence with out visa etc.
Nationally, 60% Favor Letting Local Police Stop and Verify Immigration Status - Rasmussen Reports� (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_ verify_immigration_status)
fast forward.... the current immigration debate is no different...... this country ought to have learned from the experience of the civil war..... for all the men, women and children who died in the civil war.... this country & this world provides for abundance of resources for everyone..... we can all cohabit this planet and live happily.... some people just don't want too..... the real question is...... will these facist forces stop with the undocumented or will they next try to squash another group who don't look like them..... my guess is that after they take care of the undocumented..... we r next.... its the generation old question that was asked during 2nd world war.... will the nazi forces of hitler stop within europe or will they next attack the US or soviet etc.... we all know the answer to that question.... and hence the 2nd world war.... the debate for the undocumented is of the same kind.... do we stop the negative fascist forces right here or will they be allowed to expand their wings.... i know the final outcome..... its just a matter of time.....
now u can throw out all the bull arguing that these are "illegal" people or they crossed the border etc.... these r the same sort of arguments presented for slavery or for mistreating women or immigrant groups, who were treated as slaves back then.... these negative fascist forces said the exact same things against abolishing slavery or giving equal rights to women, african americans and different immigrant groups..... u may think u are on the right side of this debate but u have no freaking clue that above human law there is another law... and that greater law supersedes every other human law.... every action in contradiction to the greater law will eventually lose.... wait & watch.... its just a matter of time....
60% of Americans support getting tough on illegals. Currently the US is the only country in the world, which puts the priorities of illegals above those of Citizens and legal people within its borders. Both Mexico and India (just to pick to countries) have very tough laws against visa over-stay, presence with out visa etc.
Nationally, 60% Favor Letting Local Police Stop and Verify Immigration Status - Rasmussen Reports� (http://www.rasmussenreports.com/public_content/politics/current_events/immigration/nationally_60_favor_letting_local_police_stop_and_ verify_immigration_status)
leoindiano
08-28 03:00 AM
Admin Dudes,
I contributed $600 dollars so far and i have no access to Donor Forums. Please fix this.
Thanks
I contributed $600 dollars so far and i have no access to Donor Forums. Please fix this.
Thanks
more...
rogerdepena
08-01 10:17 PM
i guess they are already issuing receipt number for I485 received aug. 1, 2007. so where is mine????
Receipt Number: lin07223500XX
Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS
Current Status: Case received and pending.
On August 1, 2007, we received this I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.
EAD:
Receipt Number: lin0722353XXX
Application Type: I765, APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Current Status: Case received and pending.
On August 1, 2007, we received this I765 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.
Receipt Number: lin07223500XX
Application Type: I485, APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS
Current Status: Case received and pending.
On August 1, 2007, we received this I485 APPLICATION TO REGISTER PERMANENT RESIDENCE OR TO ADJUST STATUS, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.
EAD:
Receipt Number: lin0722353XXX
Application Type: I765, APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION
Current Status: Case received and pending.
On August 1, 2007, we received this I765 APPLICATION FOR EMPLOYMENT AUTHORIZATION, and mailed you a notice describing how we will process your case. Please follow any instructions on this notice. We will notify you by mail when we make a decision or if we need something from you. If you move while this case is pending, call customer service. We process cases in the order we receive them. You can use our processing dates to estimate when yours will be done. This case is at our NEBRASKA SERVICE CENTER location. Follow the link below to check processing dates. You can also receive automatic e-mail updates as we process your case. Just follow the link below to register.
raj2007
06-20 01:28 PM
I was working for company A as a Title X through H1 B visa
And company A filed my GC sponsorship petition with title Y and I-140 cleared.
I resigned company A for job Title X and joined company B (H1 transfer) (I did not rejected or asked him to cancel my EB based GC petition)
But Company A revoked my EB based sponsored petition.
Is there a legal right for me to ask why did he revokes my EB based sponsorship petition when I have not rejected his offer for GC Title Y
Please clarify
You have no legal right. Employer can sponser and revoke the petition.
And company A filed my GC sponsorship petition with title Y and I-140 cleared.
I resigned company A for job Title X and joined company B (H1 transfer) (I did not rejected or asked him to cancel my EB based GC petition)
But Company A revoked my EB based sponsored petition.
Is there a legal right for me to ask why did he revokes my EB based sponsorship petition when I have not rejected his offer for GC Title Y
Please clarify
You have no legal right. Employer can sponser and revoke the petition.
more...
dog123
09-18 06:07 PM
NSC and Paper file
GCwaitforever
11-12 07:50 AM
Looks like the law suit worked. Congratulations to the Emeries. The other case will be resolved with Dream act. Is not there a TPS for Honduras citizens?
more...
jchan
05-14 05:26 PM
Didn't the last recapture of visas (AC21) happen in 2000, an election year ? Also H1B law was modified to include 20000 visas for US Masters students during 2004. Actually, history is in our favor.
I was about the say the same thing. I still remember vividly when the 20k new H1B was made available and the nervous waiting for that to be implemented back then. Whew, can't believe it's been 4 years an I am still stuck in this same old waiting game.
I was about the say the same thing. I still remember vividly when the 20k new H1B was made available and the nervous waiting for that to be implemented back then. Whew, can't believe it's been 4 years an I am still stuck in this same old waiting game.
ggc
10-16 04:41 PM
No, I received interview cancellation letter for the interview that scheduled in 2009. Reason not mentioned in that letter. We moved to CA, this year and San Jose field office scheduled interview
zofa30
09-13 02:40 PM
Hi pd052009,
Thank you for your help. I am just confused about one issue. I thought by porting my PD from and old EB2+ perm case to a new EB2+perm will save me time in waiting for the PD. Now you mentioned that if I port my PD from an old EB2 to a new EB2 (same category), I will not save any time. Please clarify.
Thanks.
Thank you for your help. I am just confused about one issue. I thought by porting my PD from and old EB2+ perm case to a new EB2+perm will save me time in waiting for the PD. Now you mentioned that if I port my PD from an old EB2 to a new EB2 (same category), I will not save any time. Please clarify.
Thanks.
meridiani.planum
07-22 12:32 AM
inline....
Hi,
I had applied for H1 for 2008 from two different employers.Both got approved.
you are one lucky dude. when you get to the US go to las vegas and try you luck there :)
Now my concern is ,
1)would there be any problem during the Visa stamping?
no. there is no law against 2 h1s. Any problems you might face would be related more to your qualifications, the company that is sponsoring you etc.
2)What should i do to other visa ,which i will be not using?
ignore it, it does not matter
3)How should i approach the employer whose employment i will be not accepting?
wait for your visa stamping to come through with one employer, then inform the other one that you wont be able to accept his job offer
4)I have signed one offer letter from the employer but other employer had not provided me with the offer leter.so whom should i join?
signing the offer letter is also not too late to switch employers (though its bad form). See which company is better based on other things:
- is one a regular company with a job already for you and the other a consultant who still has to place you
- where are the offices? Is one in the big hubs like silicon valley, new jersey/new york, austin, dallas, phoenix etc? Is it in a place where the standard of living might be hard based on your salary (1bed apartments rent range anywhere from 200 bucks to 1200 bucks depending on whether you are in arkansas or bay area). Is one in a place where the weather might be too harsh for you.
- what is the profile of the two employers (which one is more reachable, friendly)? If both are consultants, which one is bigger, with a better client list.
- salary, benefits of each of them.
all in all, even if you pick teh 'wrong' employer, you can always come here and then change...
Hi,
I had applied for H1 for 2008 from two different employers.Both got approved.
you are one lucky dude. when you get to the US go to las vegas and try you luck there :)
Now my concern is ,
1)would there be any problem during the Visa stamping?
no. there is no law against 2 h1s. Any problems you might face would be related more to your qualifications, the company that is sponsoring you etc.
2)What should i do to other visa ,which i will be not using?
ignore it, it does not matter
3)How should i approach the employer whose employment i will be not accepting?
wait for your visa stamping to come through with one employer, then inform the other one that you wont be able to accept his job offer
4)I have signed one offer letter from the employer but other employer had not provided me with the offer leter.so whom should i join?
signing the offer letter is also not too late to switch employers (though its bad form). See which company is better based on other things:
- is one a regular company with a job already for you and the other a consultant who still has to place you
- where are the offices? Is one in the big hubs like silicon valley, new jersey/new york, austin, dallas, phoenix etc? Is it in a place where the standard of living might be hard based on your salary (1bed apartments rent range anywhere from 200 bucks to 1200 bucks depending on whether you are in arkansas or bay area). Is one in a place where the weather might be too harsh for you.
- what is the profile of the two employers (which one is more reachable, friendly)? If both are consultants, which one is bigger, with a better client list.
- salary, benefits of each of them.
all in all, even if you pick teh 'wrong' employer, you can always come here and then change...
pellucid
04-05 03:31 PM
America embraces foreign-born ballplayers, but not engineers, much to the
dismay of big business, says Fortune's Marc Gunther.
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Imagine if the baseball season had begun this week
without such foreign-born stars as Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Justin
Morneau and the latest Japanese import, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his
mysterious "gyroball."
It wouldn't be as much fun, would it? Fans want to see the most skilled
players compete - immigrants and Americans.
So why is it that people don't want skilled immigrants to compete for jobs
in the multibillion-dollar technology industry?
They view these immigrants as a threat. CNN anchor Lou Dobbs argues
permitting more educated, foreign-born engineers, scientists and teachers
into the country would force many qualified American workers out of the job
market.
That may be true in baseball, where the number of jobs on big league rosters
is fixed. That's not necessarily so in technology, where people with skills
and ambition help expand job opportunities. Immigrants helped start Sun
Microsystems, Intel (Charts), Yahoo! (Charts), eBay (Charts) and Google (
Charts). Would America be better off if they'd stayed home?
"This is not about filling jobs that would go to Americans," says Robert
Hoffman, an Oracle (Charts) vice president and co-chair of a business
coalition called Compete America, which favors allowing more skilled workers
into the United States. "This is important to create jobs. It's not a zero
sum game."
This week, as it happens, is not just opening week of the baseball season.
It's the week when employers rush to apply for the limited number of visas,
called H-1B visas, that became available on April 1 to allow them to
temporarily hire educated, foreign-born workers. This year, Congress has
allowed 65,000 of these H-1B visas, plus another 20,000 for foreign-born
students who earn advanced degrees from U.S. universities. After obtaining
guest-worker visas, employees can then seek green cards that allow them to
stay in the United States
FedEx and UPS did a brisk business last weekend because the visas are
awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 65,000 are already
gone. The 20,000 earmarked for graduates of U.S. universities will be
distributed in a month or two, experts say.
This makes it very hard for companies to hire foreign-born graduates of the
U.S.'s top schools. More than half the graduate students in science and
engineering at U.S. universities were born overseas.
"It's sending a signal to the best international students that they may not
want to make their career in the United States," says Stuart Anderson,
executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a
research group. (Anderson, an immigration specialist, also wrote a study of
baseball and immigration that's available here as a PDF file.)
Expanding H1-B visas is a top priority for U.S. tech firms. Bill Gates,
Microsoft's (Charts) chairman, told Congress last month: "I cannot overstate
the importance of overhauling our high-skilled immigration system....
Unfortunately, our immigration policies are driving away the world's best
and brightest precisely when we need them most."
CNN's Lou Dobbs was unimpressed. "The Gates plan would force many qualified
American workers right out of the job market," he fretted on the air after
Gates testified. "There's something wrong when a man as smart as Bill Gates
advances an elitist agenda, without regard to the impact that he's having on
working men and women in this country."
It's not just Dobbs. Internet bulletin boards and blogs are filled with
complaints about foreign-born engineers. The U.S. branch of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the leading society of engineers,
brought about 60 engineers to Washington last month to ask for reforms to
the H-1B program. IEEE-USA supports a bill proposed by Senators Dick Durbin,
an Illinois Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, that is
designed to crack down on companies that use the guest worker program to
displace Americans from jobs.
As it happens, most of the largest users of the H1-B program are not
American companies but foreign firms that want to move jobs out of the
United States. Seven of the 10 firms that requested the most H1-B visas in
2006 were outsourcing firms based in India, which use the visas to train
workers in the United States before they are rotated home, according to Ron
Hira, an engineer who teaches public policy at the Rochester Institute of
Technology. Indian outsourcing firms Wipro and Infosys were the two top
requestors of H1-B visas.
In a paper for the Economic Policy Institute, Hira says that expanding H-1B
visas without improving controls will "lead to more offshore outsourcing of
jobs, displacement of American technology workers (and) decreased wages and
job opportunities" for Americans. He told me: "Bill Gates talks about how
you are shutting out $100,000-a-year software engineers. But if you look at
the median wage for new H1-B workers, it's closer to $50,000."
Asked about that, Jack Krumholtz, who runs Microsoft's Washington office,
said the average salary for Microsoft's H1-B workers is more than $109,000,
and that the company spends another $10,000 to $15,000 per worker applying
for the visas and helping workers apply for green cards. "We only hire
people who we want to have on our team for the long run," he said.
It seems clear that Microsoft - along with Oracle, Intel, Hewlett Packard
and other members of the Compete America coalition - do not use the guest
worker program to hire cheap labor. They just want to hire the best
engineers, many of whom are foreign born.
So what to do? Everyone seems to agree that the H1-B program needs fixing. (
Even Hira, the critic, says the United States should absorb more high-
skilled immigrants.) Whether Congress can fix it is questionable. The guest-
worker program is tied up in the debate over broader immigration reforms.
But guess what? Just last year, Congress passed the Compete Act of 2006,
which stands (sort of) for "Creating Opportunities for Minor League
Professions, Entertainers and Teams through Legal Entry." Yes, that law made
it easier for baseball teams to get visas for foreign-born minor league
players.
If the government can fix the problem for baseball, surely it can do so for
technology, too.
dismay of big business, says Fortune's Marc Gunther.
By Marc Gunther, Fortune senior writer
NEW YORK (Fortune) -- Imagine if the baseball season had begun this week
without such foreign-born stars as Albert Pujols, David Ortiz, Justin
Morneau and the latest Japanese import, pitcher Daisuke Matsuzaka and his
mysterious "gyroball."
It wouldn't be as much fun, would it? Fans want to see the most skilled
players compete - immigrants and Americans.
So why is it that people don't want skilled immigrants to compete for jobs
in the multibillion-dollar technology industry?
They view these immigrants as a threat. CNN anchor Lou Dobbs argues
permitting more educated, foreign-born engineers, scientists and teachers
into the country would force many qualified American workers out of the job
market.
That may be true in baseball, where the number of jobs on big league rosters
is fixed. That's not necessarily so in technology, where people with skills
and ambition help expand job opportunities. Immigrants helped start Sun
Microsystems, Intel (Charts), Yahoo! (Charts), eBay (Charts) and Google (
Charts). Would America be better off if they'd stayed home?
"This is not about filling jobs that would go to Americans," says Robert
Hoffman, an Oracle (Charts) vice president and co-chair of a business
coalition called Compete America, which favors allowing more skilled workers
into the United States. "This is important to create jobs. It's not a zero
sum game."
This week, as it happens, is not just opening week of the baseball season.
It's the week when employers rush to apply for the limited number of visas,
called H-1B visas, that became available on April 1 to allow them to
temporarily hire educated, foreign-born workers. This year, Congress has
allowed 65,000 of these H-1B visas, plus another 20,000 for foreign-born
students who earn advanced degrees from U.S. universities. After obtaining
guest-worker visas, employees can then seek green cards that allow them to
stay in the United States
FedEx and UPS did a brisk business last weekend because the visas are
awarded on a first-come, first-served basis. The first 65,000 are already
gone. The 20,000 earmarked for graduates of U.S. universities will be
distributed in a month or two, experts say.
This makes it very hard for companies to hire foreign-born graduates of the
U.S.'s top schools. More than half the graduate students in science and
engineering at U.S. universities were born overseas.
"It's sending a signal to the best international students that they may not
want to make their career in the United States," says Stuart Anderson,
executive director of the National Foundation for American Policy, a
research group. (Anderson, an immigration specialist, also wrote a study of
baseball and immigration that's available here as a PDF file.)
Expanding H1-B visas is a top priority for U.S. tech firms. Bill Gates,
Microsoft's (Charts) chairman, told Congress last month: "I cannot overstate
the importance of overhauling our high-skilled immigration system....
Unfortunately, our immigration policies are driving away the world's best
and brightest precisely when we need them most."
CNN's Lou Dobbs was unimpressed. "The Gates plan would force many qualified
American workers right out of the job market," he fretted on the air after
Gates testified. "There's something wrong when a man as smart as Bill Gates
advances an elitist agenda, without regard to the impact that he's having on
working men and women in this country."
It's not just Dobbs. Internet bulletin boards and blogs are filled with
complaints about foreign-born engineers. The U.S. branch of the Institute of
Electrical and Electronics Engineers, the leading society of engineers,
brought about 60 engineers to Washington last month to ask for reforms to
the H-1B program. IEEE-USA supports a bill proposed by Senators Dick Durbin,
an Illinois Democrat, and Chuck Grassley, an Iowa Republican, that is
designed to crack down on companies that use the guest worker program to
displace Americans from jobs.
As it happens, most of the largest users of the H1-B program are not
American companies but foreign firms that want to move jobs out of the
United States. Seven of the 10 firms that requested the most H1-B visas in
2006 were outsourcing firms based in India, which use the visas to train
workers in the United States before they are rotated home, according to Ron
Hira, an engineer who teaches public policy at the Rochester Institute of
Technology. Indian outsourcing firms Wipro and Infosys were the two top
requestors of H1-B visas.
In a paper for the Economic Policy Institute, Hira says that expanding H-1B
visas without improving controls will "lead to more offshore outsourcing of
jobs, displacement of American technology workers (and) decreased wages and
job opportunities" for Americans. He told me: "Bill Gates talks about how
you are shutting out $100,000-a-year software engineers. But if you look at
the median wage for new H1-B workers, it's closer to $50,000."
Asked about that, Jack Krumholtz, who runs Microsoft's Washington office,
said the average salary for Microsoft's H1-B workers is more than $109,000,
and that the company spends another $10,000 to $15,000 per worker applying
for the visas and helping workers apply for green cards. "We only hire
people who we want to have on our team for the long run," he said.
It seems clear that Microsoft - along with Oracle, Intel, Hewlett Packard
and other members of the Compete America coalition - do not use the guest
worker program to hire cheap labor. They just want to hire the best
engineers, many of whom are foreign born.
So what to do? Everyone seems to agree that the H1-B program needs fixing. (
Even Hira, the critic, says the United States should absorb more high-
skilled immigrants.) Whether Congress can fix it is questionable. The guest-
worker program is tied up in the debate over broader immigration reforms.
But guess what? Just last year, Congress passed the Compete Act of 2006,
which stands (sort of) for "Creating Opportunities for Minor League
Professions, Entertainers and Teams through Legal Entry." Yes, that law made
it easier for baseball teams to get visas for foreign-born minor league
players.
If the government can fix the problem for baseball, surely it can do so for
technology, too.
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