>Date:    Tue, 9 Jul 2002 11:50:59 -0400
>From:    "Groves, Gary A" <[log in to unmask]>
>
>But today, amid a prolonged slump in the high-tech industry
>that has shut down dot-coms and left tens of thousands of
>technology workers unemployed, the welcome mat has been
>pulled back. Bhambhani lost his job with Star Information
>Technology in Medfield last year, requiring him to leave the
>country immediately, joining the exodus of thousands of
>laid-off foreign technology workers.
.......
>Bhambhani, who was laid off from his high-tech job in Boston,
>is now working in India. He travels on business to the United
>States, but he cannot live here unless he finds a new American
>H1-B sponsor.

Let me just ignore the debate on whether there is a shortage
of tech workers or if it is a good idea to import the skills
or not, and let me go off on a rant on what is a very harmful
aspect of the H1-B program. The visas are temporary! That is
just the dumbest thing possible.

First lets import foreign workers, make sure that they get
job training in the most in-demand skills in technology and
send them back. What do we think they are going to do India:
twiddle their thumbs and wait for us to call. Hell no. They
are going to take their new knowledge of American customers
and technology and start firms and compete. Sure there is a
slump now, but I lived through the same thing in the 80s
during the age of downsizing. People reskilled and started
new businesses. Mark Wonsil posted on this topic that he
thought keeping out foreign workers would only encourage
building tech firms aboard. Well, training there workforce
for them at our expense and shipping them back will insure
it.

Once more, a H1-B worker can not really freely negociate a
fair wage with his employer since staying in the country
depends on maintaining your sponsor. This is not free
movement of labor, but indentured servitude. If they had
permanent residency they could bargain on an even playing
field.

Right now I'm an America working in Europe. Germany recently
had a bitter debate with many xenophobic overtones about
allowing in high tech worker. It finally passed with a much
reduced quota. Embarrassingly, they can't fill the reduced
quota. No one with any talent wants to go there. After living
here for awhile I've come to the conclusion that Europeans
are fairly clueless when it comes to assimilating immigrants
and reaping the benefits that they bring, as opposed to the
US which is some times referred to the Brain Drain, due the
ability to attracted the highest talent.

If you really want to stop H1-B, then first demand that the
visas will not be temporary. You're not open to accusations
of xenophobia then. If the USA really needs skilled techs,
then they need these people to become part of the fabric of
society permanently. The temporary nature of the visas is
only to insure an unequal bargaining position between the
parties.

Secondly, regardless of what you think of the program, those
that are already here, have already received job training,
learned our business structures and customers. So don't send
them back. Give them permanent residency and opportunity to
obtain citizenship. Beside once they are no longer beholden
to their H1-B sponsor, they can tell them that they'll go sell
retail for more money if they push for too low a wage.

Jerry Finn
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