H-1B Visas were invented to fill a skilled labor shortage in our high tech industries. A sponsoring employer who cannot fill a job opening with domestic talent agrees to employ an H-1B immigrant until they get their green card. They are permitted to work only for their sponsoring company for 3 years, extensible to 6.

The original deal was that one immigrant would fill one opening. Since its inception, H-1B visas have been granted to temp agencies who fill many openings over time with the same immigrant. This has created stong downward pressure on high-tech wages because the H-1B immigrants have no mobility with which to bargain for wage increases. If they change sponsors, they must move to the back of the green card line. Green cards now take 6-7 years. That makes H1-B workers, in effect, indentured servants working for a very low wage.

Temp agencies have made H-1B's the low-cost, low-risk alternative to hiring domestic engineers. Recently, I saw the resume of Indian-born software engineers that cover 10 Fortune-500 companies over 8 years. I've befriended H1-B's who work for temp agencies and tell me they are getting less than half of what the client is paying. The temp agencies are getting money for nothing, the H-1Bs are sleeping in bunk beds while American-born engineers are being passed over. And American-born college students are veering away from engineering fields where H-1Bs are competitive.

Many very talented people have entered the country via H-1B Visas. After all, India has more honor students than we have students. But, as an independent software contractor, I blame this program for slashing my real wages over the past 8 years. How can native-born software engineers expect to compete on price with slaves?
We need to level the playing field, especially now that our economy is entering a recession. NO MORE H-1B VISAS FOR TEMP AGENCIES!

I am not completely disagreeing this fact. But, those who don't have any idea about India, there is no education standard in India. Sometimes, specially in the southern states, you can get a certificate by paying money and sitting at home. There is no accreditation system. Lot of those are private, money making business like universities. So, honors students, really doesn't mean anything. Also, US companies need to get proper punishment, every time they hire a new H1 employee, Unless the candidate got their advance degree from US. I know, being born and raised in India and still lot of connectivity back in India, how bogus and inflated those Indian-Talent concept. America need to awake and stop flecking of America.

IBM – Layoff, IT Companies and L1 VISA

Companies like IBM are laying-off thousands of people here and hiring in India. They are laying off here not because there is no work requirement here. They are not hiring in India because there is a huge requirement is there. Rather, they are hiring them in India and bringing them here in L1 VISA to do those works that is vacated by American workers, through layoff.

My simple question is, when you are going to stop this criminal behavior? Mind it those in L1 VISA don’t pay taxes here as they get paid as per diem and companies get tax breaks for those per diem.

This is a insane process going on and a perfect example of flexing of America. Where is media to expose this?