I’ve been following the H1B visa thing for a while. The system has a tendency to breed fraud. Duncan Hunter could easily win both sides of this issue by opening an investigation into the fraud. Once employers know that there would be a consequent decrease in the numbers of supposedly qualified applicants, all of a sudden, then the open slots wouldn’t need to be filled by lottery. The quality of the immigrants goes up, and everyone wins.
The fair trade thing has been with us for a long time and will probably show itself in many forms, from Smoot-Hawley to H1B Visas. Here’s an oldie but goodie thread on Visa abuse.
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/705954/posts
Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage
Testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee
Subcommittee on Immigration
Dr. Norman Matloff
Department of Computer Science
University of California at Davis
Davis, CA 95616
(530) 752-1953
matloff@cs.ucdavis.edu
©1998, 1999, 2000, 2001
Presented April 21, 1998; updated February 4, 2002
I don’t think there is a desparate software labor shortage.
However I do think that US companies will move existng jobs overseas if they can’t hire people locally. Plus they will create new businesses outside the US. It is simpler to manage local staff, but it is not necessary that they be local. Many professional jobs can now be performed from nearly anywhere in the world.
jas3
Hey Sam, here’s a potential angle on the immigration debate for you father to look into.