Employers force their U.S. workers to train their H-1B replacements, under threat of termination for cause and loss of benefits.

Coder group: H-1Bs behind women's decline in IT - By Ed Frauenheim
Story last modified Mon Jun 27 13:58:00 PDT 2005
Want to know why women's share of tech jobs is shrinking? Look at the temporary guest workers entering the country, most of whom are male.
That's the case being made by a group that advocates on behalf of U.S. software programmers and opposes H-1B visas.

The Programmers Guild plans to release a report this week that re-examines data from a workforce diversity study published last week by the Information Technology Association of America industry group. Among the guild's arguments: the use of H-1B visas contributes to low shares of information technology jobs held by women and some racial minorities.
"Often employers force their U.S. workers to train their H-1B replacements, under threat of termination for cause and loss of benefits--
driving women and underrepresented minorities out of the profession," the report states. A number of reports, including the recent ITAA study, have documented a decline in women's share of tech jobs. The ITAA found that the percentage of women in the IT workforce dropped from 41 percent in 1996 to 32.4 percent in 2004. That report also discovered that employers hired men at a higher rate than women between 2003 and 2004. The number of unemployed skilled male IT workers dropped 34.4 percent from 189,000 to 124,000, while the number of unemployed skilled female IT workers dropped only 5.2 percent, from 97,000 to 92,000.

According to the ITAA, the declining representation of women is due largely to the fact that one out of every three women in the IT workforce falls into administrative job categories that have experienced significant overall declines in recent years.

The Programmers Guild, though, said a factor in the underrepresentation of women in the IT workforce is that a disproportionate number of H-1B workers are male. The guild cited federal data from 2002, showing that women made up 24 percent of temporary workers and trainees admitted to the country.

H-1Bs, which allow skilled workers to be employed in the United States for up to six years, account for one kind of temporary worker visa. Other such visas are for agricultural workers and nurses.

John Miano, founder of the Programmers Guild professional group, has estimated that more than 180,000 new H-1B workers in the computer field came to the United States between 2001 and 2003, while computer-related jobs in the nation increased by just 27,380.

Bob Cohen, senior vice president at the ITAA, dismissed the guild claim that the influx of predominantly male H-1B workers could explain the drop in women's percentage of the IT workforce. The "assertion is simply that: an assertion," Cohen said in an e-mail. "...the percentage of women in (nonadministrative) IT categories between 1996 and 2004 is roughly the same. We do not think the H-1B program impacts these figures."

H-1B visas have long been a point of debate in the tech industry. Thirty-nine percent of H-1B visa petitions approved in 2003 were for workers in computer-related occupations, with nearly 37 percent of all approvals that year for workers born in India. The program's annual cap of 65,000 visas was expanded last year, with 20,000 additional permits reserved for foreigners with advanced degrees from a U.S. institution.

Industry leaders have defended the visas as a means to fill shortages and give U.S. companies access to international talent as they compete globally. Visa backers, which include the ITAA, also say they serve as a brake on offshoring.

Critics have said the H-1B program undermines U.S. wages, is ripe for abuse and fuels the shift of skilled work overseas. The guild suggested that the ITAA's own report indicates the visas are undermining America's tech leadership.

"(A)necdotally, the (U.S.) IT industry is experiencing a 'brain drain' among certain foreign-born IT workers who have been working in the U.S. IT work force for years and are now returning to their native countries like India, Pakistan and China to lead major technology companies," the ITAA's report said.

"The ITAA report bolsters the guild's concern that the H-1B visa program is being used by our economic adversaries as a means of gaining tech skills in the U.S. and then returning to their home countries like India and China to lead major technology companies," the guild said.
Copyright ©1995-2005 CNET Networks, Inc. All rights reserved.

H-1B visa holders seeking to stay beyond the maximum six-year period or to change employers under AC21.

Your country is being SOLD as you sleep. How far will they go?
Immigration Solutions - Improved USCIS policy for H-1B visa holders By Robert L. Reeves
As we discussed in a recent article, the Department of Homeland Security-US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS) published an interoffice memorandum clarifying how immigrant workers can change employers during the adjustment of status stage under the American Competitiveness in 21st Century Act of 2000 (AC21). This week, we will cover the USCISs policy regarding H-1B visa holders seeking to stay beyond the maximum six-year period or to change employers under AC21.
As we have noted in previous articles, H-1B visas are only issued to alien workers employed in a "specialty occupation" or a fashion models of distinguished merit and ability. The regulations define "specialty occupation" as an occupation that requires theoretical and practical application of a body of specialized knowledge and attainment of a bachelors degree or higher in the specific specialty as a minimum qualification for entry into the United States. Examples of H-1B occupations include teacher, accountant, computer programmer, and engineer. Immigrant workers can only be in H-1B status for a maximum of six years.
AC21 benefits H-1B workers approaching their 6th year of H-1B status. As the USCIS confirmed in the memo, an H-1B worker may extend his status beyond the six-year limitation if a labor certification or an immigrant visa petition has been filed, and 365 days or more have elapsed since the filing of the application. Departing from prior policy, the USCIS stated that the H-1B petitioner need only show that the labor certification or immigrant visa was or will have been pending for at least 365 days prior to the start date on the H-1B extension application. Previously, the USCIS denied H-1B visa petitions where the qualifying labor certification or immigrant visa had not been pending for the required 365 days at the time the request for extension of stay was filed.
An extension of H-1B status beyond the 6th year can only be granted in one-year increments, but may be requested on a single (combined) extension request for any remaining time left in the initial six-year period. However, if the qualifying labor certification, immigrant visa petition, or adjustment application has been denied, then the alien worker will not be able to stay beyond the six-year period.
The USCIS also confirmed in the AC21 memo that if a timely and non-frivolous appeal of a denied immigrant visa petition is pending at the Administrative Appeals Office (AAO), the USCIS will not consider the denial to be final for the purpose of requesting a 7th year H-1B extension. Additionally, the USCIS confirmed that an H-1B worker can still extend for a 7th year (and beyond) even where the employer who filed the qualifying labor certification or immigrant visa petition more than 365 days ago is different than the H-1B petitioner. The USCIS did not provide any guidelines regarding 7th year extensions under the new Program Electronic Review Management (PERM) labor certification program; guidance regarding this specific issue is forthcoming.
The USCIS also clarified its policy on H-1B workers changing employers under AC21. Immigrant workers in H-1B status can move (or "port") to a new employer upon the filing of an H-1B petition by the prospective employer. The USCIS also confirmed that H-1B workers can port to a new employer even where their I94 or last approved petition has expired, so long as the original petitioner filed a timely extension, and the alien worker is in a period of stay authorized by the Attorney General.
Heres an example: Employer A timely files an extension of an aliens H-1B status. While this petition is pending, the original H-1B approved for Employer A expires. The H-1B worker is then in a "period of stay authorized by the Attorney General" while Employer As extension is pending, and is authorized to continue working for 240 days under the regulations. Employer B then files a new petition and the worker wants to port to Employer B. The USCIS confirms that the worker may move to Employer B upon the filing of the new petition, but advises that all petitions filed on the alien workers behalf while he is in a "period of stay authorized by the Attorney General" must be approved for the extension of status to be granted with Employer B. If the extension of status is denied and the original H-1B visa petition has expired, then the foreign national will fall out of status and accrue unlawful presence.
The USCIS advises that the memo provides officers with interim guidance, and that it will only be in effect until regulations for AC21 are published as a final rule, which could reflect a more restrictive interpretation. In the meantime, this memorandum is very helpful for H1B visa holders seeking a 7th year extension or a change in employer.
Seeking extensions of H-1B visas with the same or different employer has become increasingly more difficult and complex. Employers or individuals seeking assistance with such matters should consult with knowledgeable and experienced immigration attorneys.

India demanding 195,000 H-1Bs?

June 24, 2005 10:08 AM PDT
India demanding 195,000 H-1Bs? June 24, 2005 10:08 AM PDT
According to a report today in The Economic Times, India's government has made a proposal to the World Trade Organization demanding that the United States' annual cap for H-1B visas be raised sharply, to 195,000.
Currently, the annual ceiling for the guest worker visas is 65,000, along with an additional 20,000 visas reserved for foreigners with advanced degrees from a U.S. institution.
If the story in the Indian press is true, the move likely would be welcomed by U.S. employers who have pushed for more visas, but criticized by labor groups already wary of the guest worker permits.
H-1B visas, which allow skilled foreigners to work in the United States for up to six years, have long been a point of debate in the tech industry.
Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates stirred up the pot recently by calling for the elimination of H-1B visa caps.
From The Economic Times story: "In the ongoing WTO talks, India has made enhancement of the H1B quota as a key bargaining chip for offering concessions on market access for industrial products and farm goods, highly-placed government officials said." Posted by Ed Frauenheim
The Economic Times Online Printed from economictimes.indiatimes.com


India demands 195K H1-B US visas G GANAPATHY SUBRAMANIAM &
MK VENUTIMES NEWS NETWORK[ FRIDAY, JUNE 24, 2005 01:01:14 AM]
NEW DELHI: IN A move that has significance for Indian professionals seeking to work in the US, the government has made a formal proposal to the WTO demanding that the yearly quota of H1B visas be increased to 1,95,000 from the current ceiling of 65,000. If conceded, the move could turn out to be a boon for IT and other skilled professionals heading for the US. In the ongoing WTO talks, India has made enhancement of the H1B quota as a key bargaining chip for offering concessions on market access for industrial products and farm goods, highly-placed government officials said. Even if the US partly concedes the Indian demand, it will be a big step forward in liberalisation of norms governing movement of natural persons — as work permits are called in WTO parlance. A formal proposal to this effect has been submitted by India and response from the US is awaited, the sources said.
Under the ongoing talks on liberalisation of services, negotiations are taking place through the ‘requests and offers’ mode which requires every WTO member-nation to seek market access in specific areas from other countries. Similarly, willingness to open up specific sectors is also conveyed to all other WTO members. A number of top US companies like Microsoft are also keen to see increase in H1B visas, as this would help them in getting highly-qualified manpower from India. Most of the 65,000 H1B visas issued every year go to Indians and the quota gets exhausted quickly, sometimes within a day as American companies line up their plans for the whole year in advance. In view of heavy demand, the US allowed an additional quota of 20,000 visas for the current year. Liberalisation of visas is a key demand of India in current negotiations, with the US and the EU being the key markets of interest. While the services market is divided into four categories, India has emphasised on Mode 4, which relates to liberalisation of visas and Mode 1, which is important for outsourcing as it deals with cross-border supply of services. Apart from techies, the other beneficiaries of H1B visas include lawyers, accountants, teachers and healthcare professionals.
India would favourably consider demand from the US and the EU for greater market for industrial goods in the country if the request for liberalisation of H1B visas is accepted, sources said. The government is also looking at granting better market in services as well as agriculture if the demand for more visas is met. The visa issue is important to India, along with other issues like elimination of export subsidies for farm products in the US and the EU. Scrapping of tariff peaks, which restrict market access to key goods like agriculture, is also being pursued strongly. Negotiations on services, agriculture and market access for industrial goods — technically called Nama (non-agriculture market access) — are picking up in the run up to the Hong Kong ministerial meeting of the WTO slated for December. In the case of services, the initial offers of India would pertain to liberalisation of business services, construction and related engineering services, health-related services, tourism and travel-related services, maritime services and transport services.
In certain cases, India has opened up the market for foreign companies on its own and the offer at the WTO would be to commit itself against reversal of market access. In other words, market access would be ‘bound’ in a manner that makes it virtually impossible to close the doors on foreign companies without facing serious consequences. As the time-consuming process of negotiations through ‘offers’ and ‘requests’ moves ahead, India might work on better market access to its partners only if other countries are willing to liberalise Mode 4 and Mode 1 under the GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services). Initial offers were submitted at the end of last month and negotiations with various partners are ongoing.
©Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Outsourcing exposes firms to fraud - Fake degrees and documents are a major concern

Outsourcing exposes firms to fraud - By Zubair Ahmed BBC News, Mumbai
The arrest last week of a man in western India in an alleged call-centre fraud case went unreported. This was despite the high-profile reporting on the case in April when 16 others were arrested. This suited India's business process outsourcing (BPO) companies, especially Mphasis, whose four employees have been implicated in the case. They are yet to recover from the shock of the alleged fraud of nearly $400,000.
Amid calls for tightening BPO regulations and more effective cyber laws the country's call centres are busy taking adequate security measures. Another one or two such cases and the industry is doomed, they admit. Police, who are still investigating the case, believe it was well thought through and very organised. Investigating officer Sanjay Yadav says the latest arrest just highlights how well-planned and widespread the fraud was.
Backlash fears
Police say some of the 17 people currently languishing in jail opened fake accounts, and allegedly transferred large sums from the bank accounts of four American customers of Citibank whose back office work was being done by Mphasis in Pune near Mumbai.
Fake degrees and documents are a major concern of our clients Yogesh Bhura, Quest Research
Mr Yadav says they went on a luxurious holiday to Bangkok and kept transferring more money into their fake accounts from the Thai capital.
The industry, fearing a backlash from clients in the West, has started to get its act together.
One of the security steps the BPO centres are taking is the stringent background screening of new employees.
Yogesh Bhura, whose company, Quest Research, undertakes this task, has more than 250 BPO customers.
He has clients all over Asia, but many of his new customers are Indian.
But Mr Bhura's main challenge remains "educating people of the need to make this critical activity an integral part of their recruitment policy."
He reveals that 10-25% of applicants to call centres provide false and incorrect information.
"Fake degrees and documents are a major concern of our clients,"
he says. Screening But verifying an applicant's criminal background remains the most challenging task for companies such as Mr Bhura's and he admits it: "It's a grey area: there's no central data of criminals, there's no standardised process of data storage in police stations. It's a continuous challenge."
Many believe background screening is not enough. Mr Bhura is quick to add a rider: "It's a risk mitigation and not a risk elimination activity."
But one of his clients, Intellinet Global Services, a joint venture between HDFC and Barclays, says background verification is not the only security tool it's applying.
"We take a lot of precautions," says Manuel D'Souza, the company's HR head.
"We don't allow mobile phones in the office, no e-mail access is provided; pen and papers are not allowed in and all employees are screened when they leave the office."
But experts say call centres are a young industry in India. It still doesn't have a comprehensive security management system in place.
Vinod Singh, boss of Bangalore-based security management company Ilantus, is alarmed by the state of affairs the BPO companies are in.
"Our understanding of most of the BPOs that we have been surveying is that they have put the basic IT systems in place, they have put in a lot of money, but the management of IT infrastructure is not up to the mark," he says.
This is one of the major problems with the $4bn BPO industry, which began to flourish in India just five years ago.
Security hole
According to industry estimates, 80% of BPO companies don't use integrated security management tools. That probably explains why some current and former employees of Mphasis, which has a security certification from an international trade body, allegedly stole huge sums belonging to its clients in the U.S.
Ilantus surveyed seven call centres in Bangalore and to its horror found that the digital IDs of the former employees still existed, which potentially can be misused.
But Mr D'Souza says most companies would immediately delete the IDs of the employees who are leaving them.
Growth brings in its own pressures. Back office business is one of India's sunshine industries, growing at 30% annually. The workforce is young, loyalty is low as the young boys and girls move to greener pastures at the first opportunity.
For most of them it's not a career option, but a good first job out of college. The workforce turnover is as high as 40%. Work from the US and Europe is pouring in thick and fast.
Cyber squad Industry players admit they know security is the top priority, but they say there is no time to implement all the security measures.
Pune police are providing a safe environment for BPO customers from the West Sanjay Yadav, Cyber Crime Cell Mr Bhura says background screening is just one of the security measures: "Internal security control has to be the most important component of the overall security system".
Mr Singh of Ilantus too cannot guarantee a foolproof internal security system.
"Our system is not 100%, but it dramatically reduces the risks."
But one can take a lot of satisfaction from the fact that a relatively small city like Pune has a Cyber Crime Cell.
The alleged fraud was committed in Pune-based Mphasis and it was busted by the city's Cyber Crime Cell.
As Mr Yadav of the Cell says: "We have acted swiftly to bust the fraud and recovered most of the money siphoned off. Pune police are providing a safe environment for BPO customers from the West."
Till the time the authorities come up with tighter legislations, the Cyber Crime Cells in Indian cities are the best bet.
Story from BBC NEWS:http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/1/hi/business/4094894.stmPublished: 2005/06/16 22:42:36 GMT

Abuse of the temporary foreign worker program will not be tolerated - Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao.

Why India LOVES George W. Bush
DOL Finds Tennessee Doctor Guilty of Violating Temporary ForeignWorker Visa Program; Required to Pay Over $1 Million in Back Wages - Wed Jun 22, 3:25 PM ET
To: National Desk and Labor Reporter
Contact: Dolline Hatchett of the U.S. Department of Labor, 202-693-4650

WASHINGTON, June 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The U.S. Department of Labor's Administrative Review Board (ARB) has ruled that 17 physicians, hired to work in rural Tennessee clinics under the Immigration and Nationality Act's H-1B visa program, are due over $1 million in back wages. The ARB also upheld the assessment of over $100,000 in civil money penalties for "willful" violations of the law.
"The Department of Labor is committed to ensuring that workers are protected," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "As this case shows, abuse of the temporary foreign worker program will not be tolerated and violators will be aggressively pursued."
(But if you are a AMERICAN and have been replaced by an H-1B you can go to hell).
The ARB also ruled that Dr. Mohan Kutty, corporate owner of the now-defunct medical clinics where the doctors worked, was personally liable for the back wages and civil money penalties. The review board determined that Kutty could not hide behind the clinics' corporate status to avoid liability. In addition, Kutty was ordered to reimburse the doctors for certain business expenses they incurred as a part of the visa hiring process.
The department also found that Kutty violated the statute's anti-retaliation provision by refusing to pay physicians who complained about wage violations and firing seven physicians on the same day that an investigator from the department's Wage and Hour Division arrived at the office to examine records. The ARB debarred Kutty from participating in the visa program for two years.
The H-1B visa program permits employers to temporarily hire nonimmigrants to fill specialized jobs in the United States. An employer must pay an H-1B worker at least the same wage it pays other employees who perform the same type of work or the prevailing wage in the area.
Information about the H-1B visa program's worker protection provisions may be obtained by calling the Department of Labor's toll-free helpline at 1-866-4USWAGE (1-866-487-9243). Information is also available on the Internet at http://www.wagehour.dol.gov.
-----
U.S. Labor Department releases are accessible on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov. The information in this news release will be made available in alternate format upon request (large print, Braille, audio tape or disc) from the COAST office. Please specify which news release when placing your request. Call 202- 693-7765 or TTY 202-693-7755.
http://www.usnewswire.com/

With millions of Americans unemployed - What are they up to?

USA For Sale - When will all this STOP!
TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ MONDAY, JUNE 20, 2005 12:38:13 AM]
My two sons are in the USA. One is there on H-1B visa and the other is on optional practical training. My daughter has procured admission for master’s course in a university there. Her carrier consultant has asked her not to state about her brothers being in the US in her visa application form. Should she follow his advice?
A mother Certainly not. Following this advice would amount to misrepresentation and fraud.
It is likely to be detected. If found, her visa would be denied and she would become inadmissible in entering the US. Whilst filling up the application form for a visa, remember that honesty is the best policy. What are the privileges of obtaining a green card through investment?

Narendra D. Shah, Chennai Green cards through investment are available to anyone who invest a minimum of $1 million in a business in the US. The investor and his spouse and unmarried children under the age of 21 qualify for green card. They may travel in or out of the US whenever they wish. The investor must work in his own company first but after a certain length of time he may work anywhere or may not work at all and after five years may apply to become a US citizen.

Who qualifies for an H-2B visa? Mukti Parekh, Kolkata Anyone travelling to the US to accept a temporary or seasonal non-agricultural job from a US employer with the correct background or skills or natural abilities needed by that employer may qualify for an H-2B visa.
To get an H-2B visa, it must be shown that there are no qualified Americans to take the job.

I was denied an H-1B visa on the ground that I have committed the offence of material misrepresentation. Is it possible to reverse this finding of inadmissibility? Narayan Shetty, Hyderabad If you can prove that the accusation of inadmissibility against you was false, then you may overcome the finding of inadmissibility against you.

My son, who is on H-1B visa in the US, is inviting me along with my wife to visit him for a few days. He is prepared to support us during our stay in the US and also provide for our plane fare. What sort of writing should I obtain from him to show to the consular officer whilst applying for visitor’s visa. Gurucharan Bakshi, Chandigarh Your son should provide you an affidavit of support in Form I-134. There in paragraph 11 he must clearly mention that he will provide you air fare to and fro USA, and lodging and boarding and other miscellaneous expenses during your stay in the US.
©Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Exporting jobs betrays American workers

Home News Tribune Online 06/14/05
Fox News and the rest of our corporate media give the American masses fake scandals like the runaway bride, Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson and Monica Lewinsky to distract their attention from the real scandal that has been perpetrated by the corporations since 1980: the systematic betrayal and destruction of the middle class by the corporations' outsourcing of 80 million American jobs to India, Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe and Central America for cheap labor.

The propaganda from George W. Bush is that outsourcing is good for America. He dwells on the fact that corporate profits and productivity are at an all-time high. However, these profits are a windfall for the ever-increasing and obscene pay given to corporate executives. The big lie is that profits and productivity will translate into meaningful employment for millions of displaced employees.
Many of our college graduates cannot find meaningful employment. And high productivity primarily means more work for less pay for employees.No answers are given concerning: Where and how do we retrain millions of unemployed? What do you train them for? Who pays for the retraining and the family living costs through retraining and finding a new job? Two recent examples of this corporate betrayal of the American worker are United Airlines and the Gillette Company. In May, United Airlines reneged on paying long-term employees their promised pensions, and the Gillette Company said it would not offer buyout packages to employees who will lose their jobs as part of planned job cuts. Nonetheless, Gillette offered chief executive James Kilts options to purchase an additional 800,000 shares of company stock — on top of the $165 million he stands to receive as a result of Procter & Gamble's acquisition of the shaving firm. The fact of the matter is that Bush's economic policies have been an utter disaster for the average American. The measly tax cuts most Americans received have been significantly outweighed by lower wages, higher health-care costs, higher education costs and fewer social services. In view of the above evidence that corporations are no longer loyal to American workers but only to profits, many people have abandoned all hope for the future of America. The power of corporations is now unstoppable and perfectly lethal to everything and everyone on earth, including the minuscule mob at the top currently profiting from their predations. In all of this, President Bush, an instrument of corporate America, has played his part magnificently. Most Americans, by any measure, are clueless to the point of moral imbecility. This is, after all, an alleged democracy, and democracy means responsibility to make informed decisions as a citizen. As a rule, Americans simply don't care, don't pay attention, and a growing number don't even read newspapers anymore. They are too busy watching the trash and propaganda on commercial television to understand how the corporations have betrayed the middle class worker during the past 25 years. Burke
http://thnt.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050614/OPINION02/506140417/1080

Senators terrified to tackle illegal immigration. WHY??? Too much Lobbying Money to turn down.

Thursday, June 09, 2005 - By Tom Elias
Want to frighten a roomful of U.S. senators? One of the most certain ways is to try to get them to debate the hotly emotional, but vitally important, topic of illegal immigration.
How important is immigrant labor - illegal or not - to the American economy?
Think this issue is confined only to agricultural states? Well, Democratic Sen. Barbara Mikulski of Maryland predicted recently that the crab processors of her state’s Chesapeake Bay might have to close their factories this summer if they can’t get visas for temporary workers from Mexico. "I say then CLOSE the factories for good, who needs eat crab that badly.

(As of today, my family will BOYCOTT Chesapeake Bay CRAB and Idaho Potatos)

At the same time, potato farmers in Idaho, cherry growers in Michigan and cotton farmers in Georgia and South Carolina are on record saying they’d suffer dearly if they couldn’t hire illegal immigrants.That’s why they solidly backed an amendment proposed by Republican Sen. Larry Craig of Idaho that sought to grant legal status and permanent resident status to any agricultural worker who has been in this country illegally, but has worked 100 days out of any one-year period during the 18 months before Jan. 1 of this year. Their families would also have qualified under the Craig plan.Some estimates put the number of working illegals Craig sought to legalize and allow to stay in America for good at 1 million, with another 2 million family members quickly legalized, too.Had Craig’s plan been approved, it would have started the largest immigration amnesty program of the last 19 years, one that might have dwarfed the 1986 amnesty plan that eventually produced more than 1.5 million new American citizens, more than half of them living in California.That program was a major factor in changing the political complexion of California from a state that mostly voted Republican in statewide and national elections to one that’s been solidly Democratic in such votes since 1994 - except when a celebrated and muscular actor was running.This history terrifies many Republican senators. They were also scared by seeing hundreds of “Minuteman” quasi-vigilantes conducting private patrols in the deserts near the Mexican border with Arizona. They get uncomfortable when they see how popular a few strongly anti-illegal immigrant congressmen have become with far-right, grass-roots elements of their party like the California Republican Assembly.One of these - Tom Tancredo of Colorado - even is actively contemplating a run for President in 2008.Republican senators are divided on illegal immigration because they know cheap labor provided by the undocumented helps many businesses, which in turn boost the economies of their states and - not incidentally - contribute to their campaigns.At the same time, some share the concerns of groups like the American Patrol, which are convinced any amnesty would open the flood gates of illegal immigration, inspiring moves by many thousands of Mexicans and Central Americans who now hesitate to make the hazardous trek north. They believe even a limited legalization would cause those still living in the sending countries to believe all they need is patience and they, too, can one day win amnesty and eventually U.S. citizenship.In fact, Craig’s proposal was peanuts compared to what President Bush has proposed - a much larger plan inviting workers to enter the country legally for a limited period after which they’d have to go home.
The history of programs like the post-war braceros and today’s H-1b visas for highly skilled (CHEAP LABOR) workers indicates at least half those who come in under short-term visas stay much longer, legal or not.Craig argued for his plan on moral and business grounds and vows to bring it back to the Senate soon. “We want to stabilize the current agriculture work force - workers who are trusted, who are already on the job, who are already putting food on our tables. It makes more sense to allow them to earn legal status than to try to replace a large part of the agriculture work force,” a top Craig aide told a reporter.But most senators don’t even want to talk about this idea. That’s why Craig was unable to break the threatened filibuster that limited debate on his measure and killed it for now. But they had to say a little, because Craig attached it to a spending bill covering costs associated with the war on terror.This didn’t sit well with most senators. A week before the filibuster threat derailed the plan, they passed a non-binding resolution calling for passage of the spending bill with no immigration amendments on a bipartisan vote of 61-38, with California’s Dianne Feinstein in favor and Barbara Boxer against. The entire sequence was merely avoidance behavior, though. For illegal immigration and its role in American business is the ignored elephant sitting in America’s living room and especially in California’s. This state now is host to more than one-fourth of all illegal immigrants in America. Eventually, both California and national politicians will have to bite the bullet and confront the conflict between fears of business failure and fears that a huge influx of Latino immigrants will change the very nature of America. The sooner the better, even if it makes all of us uncomfortable. Tom Elias

New U.S. Guide Helps Immigrants Integrate

Just arrived in the United States?
Want to know how to enroll your child in school?
Not sure of the difference between an ATM and a debit card? Need driving tips?
The U.S. Office of Citizenship and Immigration Services unveiled a new guide Tuesday for recently arrived legal immigrants that answers those questions and more.
It's the first major effort in nearly a century to provide basic civic education and practical tips for permanent residents.
"Because of the record levels of immigration and the diversities of countries that immigrants are coming from, we want to make sure we engage immigrants as soon as they arrive," said Alfonso Aguilar, head of Homeland Security's Office of Citizenship.
The guide is part of an effort to assimilate immigrants into American culture as soon as possible rather than waiting until they become citizens, he said.
More than 9 million legal immigrants were admitted to the United States between 1993 and 2003 — nearly double the number that entered during the 1970s, according to Homeland Security statistics.
Aguilar hopes the guide will help broaden discussion about immigrants to include those who come here legally, not just illegally. He realizes some of the information might be useful to undocumented immigrants.
Immigrant groups welcomed the 100-page booklet, but some said it was too general and questioned the Office of Citizenship decision to print it only in English and Spanish. The government will gauge the demand for those guides before deciding whether to print versions in other languages, Aguilar said.
The initial printed guides will cost $9.50 but will be available at a discount to community groups. Free versions will be available online in more languages, including Chinese, Tagalog, Korean, Russian, Arabic and Haitian Creole.
"I'm happy to see this kind of attention from the federal government toward immigrants. It's a first step," said Yoon K. Han, head of the Korean American Coalition's citizenship project.
___
On the Net: www.uscis.gov/graphics/citizenship
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http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050608/ap_on_go_ot/immigrants_civic_tips

US Consular officers are strict, not rude, yet they have allowed over 4 million Indians to the US since 2001

While so many Americans lose their job, and can't find new jobs, while so many Americans students can't afford college, here is real treason in action, this one not only got a job in the US from India, but a college in the US offered her financial assistance of almost half the tuition fees. (Speechless)

SUDHIR SHAH - TIMES NEWS NETWORK[ SUNDAY, JUNE 05, 2005 08:31:28 PM]
My daughter is keen on working in the US.
She has already procured a job in a big company there.
They are prepared to file an H-1B petition for her benefit.
However, my daughter is afraid of facing the consular officers at the Mumbai Consulate during her H-1B visa interview.
She feels that the consular officers at the Mumbai Consulate are very rude, suspicious, do not listen to anything and do not look into any documents.
She plans to travel to the US on her existing B-1/B-2 visa and after reaching there intends to change her status to H-1B. Are my daughter’s plans ok?
A father First of all, the impression which your daughter has about the consular officers at the American Consulate at Mumbai is absolutely incorrect. The consular officers at the American Consulate, Mumbai at times are strict with the applicants who lie or try to use forged and fabricated documents. But they are not rude. Majority of the applicants do not take the trouble to find out as to what are the requirements for the category of visa which they are applying for and they try to show to the consular officers irrelevant documents. The officers, therefore, have to stop them. This is construed as rudeness. Your daughter, if she is a genuine person and possesses all the required qualifications needed by an H-1B applicant, should not worry about the consular officers’ nature and attitude. After travelling to the US on B-1/B-2 visa and there changing her status to H-1B, she will be required to travel to India to get her passport stamped with H-1B visa.

My applications for a students visa were denied on three occasions last year because the consular officer failed to appreciate my father’s financial capability to meet the expenses of my studies in the US. My father has more than Rs 1 crore invested in shares and his income is from the dividends of the said investments. The consular officer could not digest this.
Thereafter one of the universities which had granted me admission has offered me financial assistance of almost half the tuition fees.

If I apply for a student visa now, will I be granted the same? A student The consular officer is likely to ask you what is new on this occasion and tell you to give him one convincing reason to change the earlier officer’s decision. You must prepare yourself thoroughly to answer this or similar questions with confidence and in convincing manner supported by proper documents. It would be advisable if you take guidance from an immigration advocate.
Normally what questions are asked by the immigration officers to persons seeking to enter the US as tourists? Vipul Shah, Surat An immigration officer normally seeks to enquire of a tourist as to what is the purpose of his visit to the US? Which places he intends to visit? How he intends to travel internally in the US? Where he would be staying there? etc.
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1133069.cms
©Bennett, Coleman and Co., Ltd. All rights reserved.

Offshore Outsourcing for Real - IT Workers on a Ship

A front page report in The Times of India talks about three American entrepreneurs who plan to house an international crew of software developers on a ship just off the California coast. This way, say promoters of the company called Sea Code, U.S. jobs will stay close home, foreign workers will be saved immigration hassles, and U.S. firms will get competitive rates for projects. Sea Code will be registered in the Bahamas, not subject to U.S. labor laws. The trio has already identified a $10 million ship called the Carousel for their experiment. The promoters, San Diego techies David Cook and Roger Green backed by investor Barry Shillito, a former assistant secretary of defense, say they will hire around 600 programmers from all over the world — including the U.S. and India. “With hybrid-sourcing Sea Code brings already-off shored jobs back to the U.S. and assures that 90 cents of every dollar from our clients stays in the U.S. instead of flowing to foreign locations,” a company press release said. Cook, a former sailor-turned-techie, said he expects the venture to sail smoothly, adding:
“We’re not a slave ship.” His partner Green says it will be more “like the International Space Ram Station.”Well, it remains to be seen whether the trio pull it off, but their attempt surely is a reflection (even if slightly bizarre) of the U.S. industry feeling the pinch of federal government policies to keep a check on the number of foreign skilled workers. Microsoft chairman Bill Gates echoed similar sentiments when he directly slammed the U.S. administration’s strict limits on temporary visas for technology workers (the bulk of whom are Indians), saying that if he had his way, the system would be scrapped entirely. “The whole idea of the H1-B visa thing is, don’t let too many smart people come into the country,’’ the world’s richest executive has said. “The thing basically doesn’t make sense.”Gates was reacting to the current annual cap of 65,000 with an additional 20,000 exempt visas (for foreign graduates out of U.S. universities), taking the total to 85,000 consequent to the outsourcing backlash as well as Americans losing jobs to skilled workers from Asia. Prior to 2000, the H1-B program had a visa ceiling of 65,000 but was increased to 115,000 in 2000 and subsequently to 195,000 for a period of three years, during the tech boom. But, after the three-year period ended, H1-B cap was brought back to the original 65,000 per year, due to protests by American workers in an election year. Last year the quota was exhausted on the very first day the new allocations opened, the first such occurrence.H1-B is the specialty-occupation visa status under which a large number of Indian information technology firms send their employees to the United States for on-site project-development work, popularly known as body-shopping. The United States is the prime export destination for the Indian software industry.Echoing Gates words, Ravi Venkatesan, chairman, Microsoft India, has said: “There exists a demographic challenge in the U.S. with an aging population whereas India has dynamic and highly educated youth. It is in the natural interest of both the economies to allow this integration of resources and talent. In this day of globalization, dropping of artificial barriers such as this is essential to allow free flow of trade and talent to benefit both countries while fostering economic development at the same time.” U.S. industry has been pushing for a removal of the cap which has been opposed by labor unions. Complete America — a coalition of over 200 corporations, universities, research institutions and trade associations — has been advocating for a raise in the annual cap. The allowance of the extra 20,000 visas to foreign nationals graduating from U.S. universities was as a result of their efforts.As things stand, the Bush administration does not seem to be in any mood to comply. The H1-B visa program has been criticized by unemployed U.S. professionals for “taking away” their jobs. The administration is of the view that unemployment among U.S. computer engineers regularly exceeds the figures in other industries.
Indian information industry czars are predictably happy at Gates’ clarion call which highlights the mismatch between the availability of skills and demand for tech workers in the U.S., despite the U.S. administration claims. The Indian IT industry is concerned that the limit will affect Indian software firms, which have a large number of clients in the U.S., though it would bring more offshore work to India from the U.S. The restriction will curtail the flexibility to reinforce onsite teams at various stages in the software development lifecycle (system requirement study, testing and implementation phases) if adequate and proactive planning is not in place. Big companies like Wipro, Infosys, HCL and Tata Consultancy Services have already built robust H1-B visa banks, with a shelf life of 6 years, in anticipation of a shortage; it is the smaller IT firms that will really have to struggle. However, it is believed that if the cap remains for a longer while, it will definitely impact the Indian IT industry as a whole. In a statement, India’s software giant Infosys has said: “Bill Gates is an icon of American industry. His voice creates a positive cluster of opinion and is a clear signal to policy makers what U.S., Inc. wants. Such voices will be more vocal now as you will see the rhetoric fading out.”In any case, there are other areas, apart from the tech-sector which may feel the pinch of the H1-B cap. Reports in India highlight the acute shortage of nurses and teachers which can adversely affect U.S. while at the same time open up opportunities for Indians. According to Stephen S. Nuell, president of Nurses for International Exchange, the demand for nurses has escalated so much that the U.S. Congress is set to bring in legislation to make visas to nurses easily available. Estimates put the demand for Indian nurses in the U.S. to the tune of 250,000. Estimates of shortage of teachers in U.S. range up to 700,000. This is a huge human resource problem. So What is to be done?
Could floating hospitals be an answer? Or schools?
http://news.ncmonline.com/news/view_article.html?article_id=f066d7b4afe3cd4bc31fe590831f794b
Siliconeer , Siddharth Srivastava, Jun 03, 2005 <----- Indian

When offshoring hits home - Ex-worker tells story of IBM layoffs

BY CRAIG WOLF Gannett News Service
When Steven Bergeron lost his job at IBM in Poughkeepsie, he became part of a new statistic: The shifting of work to other countries.Overseas outsourcing, some call it, or just "offshoring."
But behind those statistics are real people whose lives have been put into turmoil.
"I had this sick feeling in my gut that the company I had trusted and believed in was turning its back on me," Bergeron said.
Bergeron, now of Massachusetts, has worked 24 1/2 years for IBM Corp., one of them in Poughkeepsie, from August 2003 to August 2004.
That year was a life-after-layoff experience. He had managed to get back on the IBM payroll after an earlier downsizing only to find that his new job would lead to another layoff.
This time, his work was to be shipped off to India, and he even had to help train the Indian IBMers who would take the work back to Bangalore.
Closing operations center The job he had been given eventually involved closing down a procurement operations center.
"Not only do I have to teach my replacement, I have to sit with them ... while they're in Poughkeepsie, taking my job from me, and then it's my job to be on daily conference calls to help them be a better team in India," Bergeron said. "It takes an emotional toll on employees."
Ironically, one of his earlier assignments, begun in 1999 while he was based in Burlington, Vt., was to help design the system of moving work offshore that would eventually cost him the job he would have later.
Bergeron doesn't hold anything against the Indian workers he and others at Poughkeepsie helped to train. And, he even spoke of them as reminding him of his own children, also in their mid-20s.
"I felt like a father to them in some ways," he said. "But I was amazed at their basic inability to communicate," both because of weaknesses in English and lack of background in procurement.
Bergeron offered his personal views on what it's like on the inside when a company's business transformation hits home.
And while his views are his own, and not the company's nor necessarily those of other displaced IBMers, they are similar to the laments voiced by many career IBMers swept aside as IBM's vaunted jobs-for-life model turned to jobs-till-whenever.
"For principles, and to give my children and their children more employment options, I am only trying to make IBM a better place to work," he said.
Outsourcing jobs of Americans to overseas people has become a trend for companies and a worry for workers. At least 366,753 jobs have been offshored, said the Washington Alliance of Technology Workers, a labor group that reports IBM alone has offshored 15,000 jobs.Industry analyst Forrester Research has predicted 3.4 million more in the decade ahead.
The Alliance@IBM, a labor union group of which many IBMers are members, including Bergeron, has urged the company to specify how many jobs are being offshored, but the company is meager with details.
But the movement of jobs is not over, IBM executives have said. Globalization is a standard strategy now for IBM, a global company from its early days, but never like now.
'Globally integrated'
They talk about pressing onward, finding low-cost jurisdictions and consolidating functions to take costs out of the business.
IBM is "moving to a new model," a "globally integrated company," Chairman and CEO Samuel Palmisano told analysts May 20. In the old model, IBM replicated its structure and all of its departments in each country as "self-sufficient IBMs."Palmisano said that now, specific functions and skills for the entire company can be located where it's best to locate them.
"We are optimizing key operations in the right places in the world eliminating the redundancies and excess overhead and integrating those operations horizontally and globally," Palmisano said.
Bergeron points out that "redundancies" is often another word for people losing jobs.
He's experienced it twice. The first one came in 2002 when IBM gave him a one-year leave of absence without pay to do volunteer work for Habitat for Humanity and take some time off. That job was eliminated before he came back. Halfway through his leave he began to apply internally for an IBM job but was not offered one. His leave was up June 30, 2003, which was the same day he was got his first layoff package.
He and his attorney argued that the layoff policy meant the company was to place him in a job. He fought it through the IBM bureaucracy and was given the post at Poughkeepsie, but with a two-level demotion and a few days to report. He sought a formal "open door" review of the demotion and assignment, but lost that appeal. Then on Jan. 7, 2004, came the announcement that the section's work would be outsourced to India.
IBM's policy, like that of most companies, is not to comment on individual employees' situations.
On March 29, he got his layoff notice from IBM's Integrated Supply Chain division, the corporate purchasing department. He was part of what was left of the Procurement Operations Center in Poughkeepsie, where five of six staffers were selected to be fired.
The rest of the Poughkeepsie procurement operations center had already fallen under the offshoring ax.
On Jan. 7, 2004, about 80 people in Poughkeepsie got word their jobs would end and the work would be sent overseas, the Poughkeepsie Journal reported. Their jobs, and all similar work around the globe, were being consolidated into just three sites: India, Hungary and China.
IBM's local spokesman, Steve Cole, said it was not a layoff and about 30 IBMers would be placed in other jobs.
Posts held by about 50 temporary staffers from Manpower Inc. disappeared from Poughkeepsie.
Given new jobs
Spokeswoman Tara Sexton of IBM's Integrated Supply Chain said, "All employees were redeployed to new jobs in other areas of procurement, including operations, strategic sourcing and procurement services."
But besides the 30 IBMers who got new jobs and the 50 temp slots that expired, there was a third group, Bergeron said, the one he was in.
The difference, he said, was that the laid-off group consisted of "Band 6" or below employees while the group that was protected with new jobs were ranked at "Band 7" and above. IBM has a band system with higher pay grades for the higher ranks.
For Bergeron, the emotional toll has more recently been added to by a physical one, a chronic disease he said was considered potentially fatal. He declined to make the details public.
"You're afraid to tell your employer because you're afraid it will be held against you," he said.
But in August, he told his managers of his illness and of his need to move to Massachusetts, closer to his support network of friends and family, and asked to be allowed to work from home.
Medications began, and work became more difficult, he said, prompting him to take a leave under the Family Medical Leave Act beginning Jan. 5 and lasting until March 28.
He received his permanent layoff notice one day after his medical leave expired, he said. The notice said his employment would "end on a date to be determined."
He said he is still with the company, supported through the company's sickness and accident medical plan, which provides reduced pay. He is not sure for how long.
After surviving two layoffs, both coming at the end of leaves, surviving offshoring and surviving his medical troubles, Bergeron suggests to others in trying circumstances that they do have choices and need not always simply accept what the management hands down.
Bergeron's 24 1/2 years with Big Blue have evolved from the quiet life of the contented IBMer of old to the turmoil of modern times.
His immediate goal, he said, is: "I want to make it to the quarter-century mark."

Outsourcing Swindle - It is breaking new frontiers in CRIME

Outsourcing swindle worth Millions

INDIA NEW DELHI: Information Technology is providing not just a cutting edge to the economy, it is breaking new frontiers in crime.
Today, we look at a simple — but devastating fraud — that unscrupulous fly-by-night operators are perpetrating on unsuspecting companies hoping to tap into the infotech boom. The method is simple. The fraudsters claim to have grabbed substantial BPO work from an Indian or overseas client — who does not exist in reality.
Then they dupe Indian companies who are "sub-contracted" the work. Databases are provided a sumptuous advance from the duped companies. Once the work is completed, it is rejected on flimsy grounds and crooks refuse to return sureties or simply vanish. In one such case, the economic offences wing (EOW) received a complaint from a firm called M/s Shivam Institute of Medical Transcription alleging it had been cheated by a Bangalore-based company called M/s Maithry Infotech.
It is understood that M/s Maithry Infotech told smaller companies that it had a form-filling contract from Life Insurance Corporation (LIC), India, and was on the lookout for companies who could process the data. "The complainant alleged that Maithry Infotech signed agreements with outsourced parties from across the country and collected procurement fees from them in return. Maithry Infotech is believed to have raised invoices to the tune of Rs 3,03,70,180, after which the company reportedly went underground," DCP EOW, Prabhakar, said.
In two other cases, the firms — M/s V Joy Technologies and M/s SiS Technologies — apparently said they were agents of some off-shore clients and signed MoUs with small companies, who were asked to pay security deposits. And each time the small firms submitted the completed work, it was rejected on some ground or the other. The estimated amount of fraud is over Rs 2 crore in case of M/s SiS Technologies and over Rs 20 lakh in other cases reported with the Delhi Police so far.

MEGHA SURITIMES NEWS NETWORK[ TUESDAY, MAY 31, 2005 02:10:37 AM ]