H-1B reform right on time

The Hill ^ | November 19, 2015 | Ian M. Smith

[ConservingFreedom]

H-1B ping. Let me know if you're not on the list and want to be added (or are and want to be removed).

[Mr. K]

H1-B should be all but ended.

They are giving away college degrees with 3 cereal box tops over there lately, judging by the quality of software people whose code I HAVE HAD TO FIX lately

[alancarp]

About freaking time... betting it won’t have any teeth in it by the time that the lobbyists have their say, though.

[stephenjohnbanker]

“H1-B should be all but ended.”

END it!

It has more holes than swiss cheese, and corporate lawyers have found them all.

[JediJones]

Maybe that’s how H-1Bs create more American jobs. They make a lot of bad code we have to fix.

[JediJones]

Let’s not forget we just had British actors playing Batman, Superman, Spider-Man and now new Star Wars characters. Of course two of them lost their jobs after the last movies so maybe Trump is onto a trend here. I guess it’s fair to have an Aussie playing Thor since Asgard isn’t a real country.

[alancarp]

[central_va]

H-1B has to be ended there is no way it cannot be abused. Posting job openings with impossible qualification is the big joke. They ‘can’t’ get anyone(superman) then hire an Indian that has 1/10 the skills. End it now.

[desertfreedom765]

They should just change the law so that the minimum wage for an H1B worker is 100k/yr. Index it to inflation.

This will take care of the abuse.

[utford]

Would like to be added to the ping list please.

[ConservingFreedom]

Added. Welcome aboard!

[Armando Guerra]

Real H-1B reform should use the laws of supply and demand to dictate the need for additional workers. If wages for a particular profession are stagnant or falling, new workers are obviously not needed. However, if wages are rapidly rising then it shows that the supply is inadequate for the need. Lack of sufficient skilled workers could impair employers here in the US. For instance, years ago the government changed regulations requiring nursing homes to provide physical and occupational therapy. All of the sudden, it would not have mattered what you were paying there were just not enough therapists to meet the demand. The growth in wages was so rapid that only the bigger assisted living facilities could compete and the smaller ones were being squeezed out. The therapist market at that time was a heavy H-1B user. Without access to these additional workers, many smaller assisted living facilities would have closed.

To petition for an H-1B professional visa would require that the need for foreign workers be demonstrated with rapid wage growth that considerably exceeds the overall market growth level. I haven't really thought it through fully, but I could envision a system were the Department of Labor certifies that a certain profession had an annual salary growth in excess of whatever the threshold is set at. The Immigration Service could then issue a number of visas linked to that level of growth for the profession. As an example, let's say that overall wage growth for the economy was 1% and the wage growth for "widget maker" was 3% (or 3 times the overall rate, the trigger in this example). Then and only then could visas be issued in this profession. A formula could also be set to determine the number of visas to be issued. For example, 0.1 of the growth rate times the number in the profession. If there were 1,000,000 "widget makers" then (0.1 x .03 x 1,000,000) would allow 3,000 visas for "widget makers" in this example. If the threshold wage growth level continued to be met or exceeded, additional visas as per the formula could be issued. If the wages had leveled off, then visas could no longer be issued in that profession. In this way, industries that truly face a worker shortage and have been paying wages growing at rate considerably faster than normal can continue to do business until domestic supply has caught up. However, workers in a profession where there is no great shortage and wages are not exceeding the threshold growth levels would not have additional workers brought in to depress their wages or take their jobs.

[central_va]

BS. Wages grow rapidly more people get training. It is called incentive. Importing people ruins the incentive.

[Laxfan3]

Can you add me?

[Laxfan3]

Can you add me?

[ConservingFreedom]

Added. Welcome aboard!

[xzins]

In many of those countries family and money is more important than anything. Certifications are subject to graft just as much as anything else. That’s one reason to insist on seeing the actual credentials of any medical person working on your love ones.

[Armando Guerra]

I do think the current H-1B system is being abused. However, an H-1B is, by definition, for a professional requiring at least a 4 year degree. Do businesses have to wait 4 years for more people to get training to catch up to the demand? The smaller business will be closed by then. Your point is that there should never be an H-1B visa category. My point is that there may be a need for it, but only in very limited circumstances where the market clearly shows that there is a imbalance between the supply and the demand in that profession. I gave a real world example of that happening. My point is trying to balance the needs of business with protecting labor. Your point is just pro-labor. Bernie will appreciate your vote.

[central_va]

Do businesses have to wait 4 years for more people to get training to catch up to the demand?

Those that are willing to pay current market rates will get people. It is called supply and demand. H-1B needs to die.