Cogitationis poenam nemo patitur.
Nobody should be punished for his thoughts.
H1B Visas in the United States (July 28th, 2002)
I'm writing this because, more often than not, someone on the Discussion boards at CramSession.Com starts blaming H1B Visa holders for taking American jobs, and frankly, that's just not the case. I'm tired of typing the answers, so I'm putting it in here. If I sent you a link to this page, or posted for it to refer to, it's because it's a topic that is often misunderstood.
H1Bs don't take American Jobs
Nope, they don't. Many people think people with H1Bs are to blame for lost jobs in the United States, and this isn't the case. Many people don't really know anything about people who hold H1B visas except "They Ain't From 'Round Here" and that they sometimes have accents.
During recent discussion (the date this was originally written), kcshrader answered my cry for someone to post a FAQ with this link which is, indeed, an H1B FAQ. Not really what I meant, but it serves a purpose. Reading the document would be good for people who DON'T know what an H1B Visa is - and that people who hold them don't answer to "H1B".
A quick read of the document shows quite a few interesting things. First off, an H1B can only be hired by a sponsoring company - which means, they don't show up in the United States with H1B visas and plot the demise of the American worker's job. If anyone is to blame, it would be the sponsoring company - if they didn't look hard enough for someone suitably qualified in the United States. So, if you lost your job, and someone with an H1B visa took your job - your company is at fault. Yup, a good old American Enterprise. I have yet to get proof that an H1B Visa Holder actually took someone else's job away.
Furthermore, they can only be maintain H1B status for 6 years (after which, they have to leave the U.S. for a year before applying for an H1B visa again) - and if they lose their present job, they have 2 months to find work before they are deported. So, if they lose their job, they have an incentive to find work quickly (like anyone really needs that). If you are competing with people with H1B visas, they may have more to lose than you - but if an employer is looking for someone for the long haul, odds are that they won't pick someone with an H1B visa. If they do, it means that the person may simply be more qualified. Sorry, go hit the books. It's a new economy.
In the end, H1Bs aren't really making as much of an impact on the hiring of American workers. Instead, look at American Corporations who outsource their work to other countries. Microsoft and India immediately comes to mind. They can get the same work done cheaper and faster than they can in the United States.
Some people think of this as slave labour, but in reality - if you need less money to live comfortably, you need less overhead. You may not be able to go to Bennigans whenever you feel like it, and so on, but you can do the same job for less money and maintain a high quality of living.
This points back to the U.S. economy - why does it cost so much more than other countries to live there? Answer that, and solve it, and you may just find a way to keep American jobs in America.
