RE: AS/400 Lobby - H1B Visas

[jkrueger@xxxxxxxxxxxx]

My "propaganda" link was a direct response to a question that was raised.  I
have friends who have been laid off, whose jobs are now being done by H1B Visa
holders.  That probably does color my opinion, which is that if Congress raises
the H1B Visa limit, it should be with a clause that prohibits companies from
applying for H1B Visa workers within 12 months of laying off their own
workers...

One of the problems with the current administration of H1B Visas is that while
the laws clearly state that H1B Visa holders be paid 'competitive' wages, they
are not very well enforced.  And even if the INS tried to enforce them, it would
be difficult since 'competitive' is a subjective term.

My pointer was to a site that includes links to all the articles we have found
on the subject, both pro and con.  Our site suggests that people write to their
congressional representatives about the issue, and tells them how to do that.
Our recommendation is that an increase in H1B Visas is not needed, but people
can read through all of the literature and formulate their own opinion.  We
think the issue does have a direct impact on the AS/400 IT community...

Our representatives NEED our input on any issues that concern us;  I don't
expect everyone to have the same opinions as me, or to come to the same
conclusions after reading about a particular issue.  But if we all assume that
our representatives are looking after our interests, without ever communicating
with them, then we deserve the kind of government Washington has become.

Someone asked what prevents companies from simply moving jobs offshore.  In this
modern internet age, that is certainly more easy to do economically than it has
been in the past.  If you do some research, you'll find that more and more US
programming is indeed being done offshore.  IBM, as an example, has a very large
subsidiary in India, and has programming labs in many other countries as well.
But I haven't seen any data at all that suggests a direct link between the
availability of H1B Visas and movement of projects offshore.

Janet Krueger
Andrews Consulting Group


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