A good start but not a total solution to a difficult issue. Has anyone noticed that the H1B visa is a symptom of a larger and underlying problem? Many of the companies promoting H1B visa hiring claim that they need them because similarly educated, trained and motivated employees are not available in the existing U.S. market. If true, this points, once again, at a failure of the education system to produce graduates prepared to fill positions required by today’s companies and markets. If there is any truth to this argument, the education system needs to be addressed. If, on the other hand, the H1B visa applications are revealed to be purely economic, they need to be curtailed dramatically.
"An employer whose new hires do different work has a complete answer and can give it in an afternoon."
Different work? For how long? I've been in IT for 45 years. Every position is labelled as generically as possible. "Member of the technical staff" doesn't tell you what work they are actually doing.... or from where.
This has been going on since 2001 when George W Bush opened the floodgates.
I had started a computer company in 1999. It was just me with 19 subcontractors. I'd met most of those in my Microsoft Certification courses. Nearly all of us were mid-life career switchers who jumped at the opportunity to get certified. It was an exciting time and the demand was high.
My plan was to eventually hire some of these guys. By mid-2001 I was looking for a storefront, was a Compaq Small Business Reseller, and was making more money than I'd ever made.
I was small and nimble, undercutting some of the big value-added resellers in my market. I was using my subcontractors' excess bandwidth, mostly. I could put together teams to do just about anything a small company might need.
At first it was a few of my subs lost accounts that were their bread and butter. They didn't understand it. Then they started to close up shop. Within six months, I was down to two subs and lost the ability to fulfill many of my contracts.
The largest VAR was the key player in this scheme in my market. Only big corporations had the ability to get through the government maze to bring these parasites into our nation.
None of us had ever heard of H-1Bs. I struggled until mid-2002 until I had to shut down, six weeks before the birth of my daughter.
In about 2004, I read about the first round of Disney forcing laid-off employees to train their replacements, lest they lose their severance packages. It was the first time I'd heard about H-1B's, but I recalled seeing Indians when visiting businesses I'd lost, trying to regain their business.
H-1Bs and other stupid visa programs have destroyed so many careers. Lives. Families. Americans.
I grew up in Fort Worth, where every good old boy, despite his major, could get a job at then General Dynamics ( now Lockheed). Along comes my middle son, with degrees in Aerospace engineering and Math from Texas A& M, and he can't get near an interview. He lost our to quotas and I'm sure, H1B. What ever happened to encouraging STEM degrees? What's the point? I'm very happy to see this action from President Trump. Hopefully we right the ship.
Sorry Cara, but that's not the case here - LM , GD and DoD contractors require US Citizenship because DoD security clearance requirement. These DoD jobs dry up because Congress doesnt pass budgets runs on Continuining Resolutions and dont provide long term funding if Defense contracts - and those jobs go away , RIF, within days of USG cancelling contract for conveience. But having worked both DoD and commercial IT for 30 years - H1B is a Huge Scam on the Commercial IT side.
Over the past ten years or more it would be difficult to count how many companies laid off their employees in departments such as customer service, and shipped those jobs to India and other countries.
That’s why you can barely understand the representative you speak to when you call these companies, who are speaking to you from a foreign country, and most of the giant insurance and credit card companies are a large case in point.
Thousands of Americans were kicked to the curb (right after they had to train their replacements!), just so these companies could save money on salaries and benefits.
Some claim this suggests that restricting H-1B visas can inadvertently accelerate offshoring rather than protect domestic jobs.
Is there anything in this crackdown that protects American workers from being displaced by overseas entities?
Trump has tackled many issues that have been ignored for decades. We can watch old videos of him on Oprah and other shows where he spoke of the "goings on" that most of us were unaware of that were damaging our country. This issue is a really important one as it will undercut the devious, money-hungry snakes who have been profiting off of hard-working Americans. Of course, we could never expect our elected officials to take such action.
A good start but not a total solution to a difficult issue. Has anyone noticed that the H1B visa is a symptom of a larger and underlying problem? Many of the companies promoting H1B visa hiring claim that they need them because similarly educated, trained and motivated employees are not available in the existing U.S. market. If true, this points, once again, at a failure of the education system to produce graduates prepared to fill positions required by today’s companies and markets. If there is any truth to this argument, the education system needs to be addressed. If, on the other hand, the H1B visa applications are revealed to be purely economic, they need to be curtailed dramatically.
The $100,000 fee brought a 87% decline in applications, so it’s already working. These new applications will have much more scrutiny.
It’s a good start.
"An employer whose new hires do different work has a complete answer and can give it in an afternoon."
Different work? For how long? I've been in IT for 45 years. Every position is labelled as generically as possible. "Member of the technical staff" doesn't tell you what work they are actually doing.... or from where.
This has been going on since 2001 when George W Bush opened the floodgates.
I had started a computer company in 1999. It was just me with 19 subcontractors. I'd met most of those in my Microsoft Certification courses. Nearly all of us were mid-life career switchers who jumped at the opportunity to get certified. It was an exciting time and the demand was high.
My plan was to eventually hire some of these guys. By mid-2001 I was looking for a storefront, was a Compaq Small Business Reseller, and was making more money than I'd ever made.
I was small and nimble, undercutting some of the big value-added resellers in my market. I was using my subcontractors' excess bandwidth, mostly. I could put together teams to do just about anything a small company might need.
At first it was a few of my subs lost accounts that were their bread and butter. They didn't understand it. Then they started to close up shop. Within six months, I was down to two subs and lost the ability to fulfill many of my contracts.
The largest VAR was the key player in this scheme in my market. Only big corporations had the ability to get through the government maze to bring these parasites into our nation.
None of us had ever heard of H-1Bs. I struggled until mid-2002 until I had to shut down, six weeks before the birth of my daughter.
In about 2004, I read about the first round of Disney forcing laid-off employees to train their replacements, lest they lose their severance packages. It was the first time I'd heard about H-1B's, but I recalled seeing Indians when visiting businesses I'd lost, trying to regain their business.
H-1Bs and other stupid visa programs have destroyed so many careers. Lives. Families. Americans.
Muse is my favorite policy wonk. And that's a high compliment.
Indeed! Muse’s knowledge on so many different topics is amazing. I always learn from his articles.
Seriously, what good does it do when a president takes action and the next one eliminates it?
Every battle fought strengthens us for the next round. Trump never gives up on American ideals and neither can we.
I grew up in Fort Worth, where every good old boy, despite his major, could get a job at then General Dynamics ( now Lockheed). Along comes my middle son, with degrees in Aerospace engineering and Math from Texas A& M, and he can't get near an interview. He lost our to quotas and I'm sure, H1B. What ever happened to encouraging STEM degrees? What's the point? I'm very happy to see this action from President Trump. Hopefully we right the ship.
Sorry Cara, but that's not the case here - LM , GD and DoD contractors require US Citizenship because DoD security clearance requirement. These DoD jobs dry up because Congress doesnt pass budgets runs on Continuining Resolutions and dont provide long term funding if Defense contracts - and those jobs go away , RIF, within days of USG cancelling contract for conveience. But having worked both DoD and commercial IT for 30 years - H1B is a Huge Scam on the Commercial IT side.
In that case I blame good, old fashioned quotas. Can't have too many white boys, have to have women and minorities.
Great work. Thank you. Keep the continuity train running.
🎯🎯🎯
Over the past ten years or more it would be difficult to count how many companies laid off their employees in departments such as customer service, and shipped those jobs to India and other countries.
That’s why you can barely understand the representative you speak to when you call these companies, who are speaking to you from a foreign country, and most of the giant insurance and credit card companies are a large case in point.
Thousands of Americans were kicked to the curb (right after they had to train their replacements!), just so these companies could save money on salaries and benefits.
Some claim this suggests that restricting H-1B visas can inadvertently accelerate offshoring rather than protect domestic jobs.
Is there anything in this crackdown that protects American workers from being displaced by overseas entities?
Trump has tackled many issues that have been ignored for decades. We can watch old videos of him on Oprah and other shows where he spoke of the "goings on" that most of us were unaware of that were damaging our country. This issue is a really important one as it will undercut the devious, money-hungry snakes who have been profiting off of hard-working Americans. Of course, we could never expect our elected officials to take such action.