The H1B mess continues -

Sometimes I'm just too pissed to write about an issue - such as the case with H1B visa's and the recent Immigration Bill that just died in the Senate.

Buried in the questionable Immigration Bill was a massive increase in the number of H1B visas and a new L1 visa program. While its difficult to tell which is really worse right now I'll focus on the H1B visa issue.

Unfortunately the H1B visa program has bipartisan support. I expect Heather and Saint Pete to not care about the middle class or High Tech workers but when the Dems stab us in the back its hard to ignore. While I'm not sure how Rep. Udall views the H1B program I'm sad to say that it has received unwavering support from Senator Bingaman. My communication with his staff has been disappointing. Essentially when it became clear that I didn't agree with them they blew me off -

My first email -

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I'm writing to inquire about Senator Bingaman's views on H1B visas. I became alarmed recently when I discovered that the number of H1B visas would be increase massively by the new Immigration bill. I understand that the Senator was successful last week in cutting the number of visas issued in half but not sure how that effects numbers of future H1B visas.

I and others oppose H1B visas since they are simply a mechanism to cut high tech worker salaries. I personally know of situations where companies only hire H1B visa holders for certain types of jobs - US citizens/legal residents need not apply. The whole situation is simply a farce and the "safeguards" that are supposed to prevent abuse are a joke. I urge Senator Bingaman to join Senator Durbin in opposing more of these visas.

Thanks for your time and be well -
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Their reply to the email above......
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xxxxxxx xxxx asked that I get back to you regarding your inquiry about H-1Bs. I am the Senator's staffer who works on immigration issues. As you know, the legislation that we are debating as part of the immigration bill raises the annual allocation of H-1Bs to 115,000, but also contains an escalator mechanism that allows this number to grow up to 180,000 if the cap is reached each year. The immigration bill also tightens the rules regarding the issuance of H-1Bs (these protections were added at the request of Senator Durbin).

Last week, Bingaman voted to impose a surcharge of $3,500 on employers who hire H-1B workers (in addition to the $1,500 fee) to raise scholarship money for American students to pursue degrees in mathematics, engineering, nursing, medicine, or computer science. Although he believes that we should ensure that there is an avenue for talented foreign-born immigrants to work and study in the United States, he also strongly believes that the best way to ensure our nation's competitiveness is to invest in educating our youth and improving the skill set of our workforce.

The amendment Bingaman offered reduced the number of guest worker visas allocated under a new program (separate from the H-1B program) that allows foreign workers to fill a wide variety of non-agricultural jobs throughout the economy. The number of workers under the original version of the bill could have allowed up to 600,000 of such workers to be admitted each year (his amendment reduced this number to 200,000).

Senator Bingaman has many concerns about guest worker programs and their affect on American workers, and as we discuss the immigration bill he will continue to fight to ensure that we are not undercutting American workers.

Please let me know if you have any other questions or concerns.
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My reply......
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xxxxxxx:

Thanks for the quick reply -

To be blunt - the problem with all this is that its really a fraud. And sadly, like the bankruptcy bill, its another place where the Democratic Party is stabbing the middle class in the back yet again.

If we are simply gonna import more workers in the Tech industry why do we need to train them? I teach IT and can't tell you how many of my students over the last few years have told me that they were losing their jobs to outsourcing or to a HIB visa holders. Enrollment in IT programs is falling nationwide because student know there are no jobs - the House/Senate/Administration is working hard to send them offshore.

Re: the $3,500 to train workers for jobs that aren't there - well the employers will just take that out of the "hides" of the poor slobs from India or China who get H1B visas. Remember, once they get to the US they can't change jobs or move around. They are stuck. To change jobs they have to go home and start again so their employers can do whatever they want to them. These poor folks are in a kind of hi-tech slavery. Like the bankruptcy bill - sooner or later Senator Bingaman will be embarrassed by his votes for this program.

Be well,
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No further replies for Bingaman's office - another email from me......
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xxxxxxx, xxxxxx:

You may have heard of this YouTube video on H1B visas -
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TCbFEgFajGU

Please view it!

It clearly shows that H1B visa process is a fraud.

After this I can't see how Senator Bingaman will continue to support these visas.

The program must be ended now!


Be well,
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To date nothing else from Bingaman's office -

Its clear - I will be ignored from now on -

Just so you won't miss it - here's the informative YouTube video on the subject. It pretty much explains how the process is manipulate by Corporate America today and why the "safegards" to protect American workers are a sad joke: