How 800,000 H-1B Workers Came to the U.S.
Dawn Kawamoto May 14, 2013 Looking in Tech 127
Here’s where it starts: Employers say there’s a lack of tech professionals who have the skills they need to compete in today’s increasingly technology-driven global markets. They can’t find computer systems analysts, programmers and software applications engineers, especially with advanced degrees. Without these skills, they contend, they’re at a disadvantage. But by hiring professionals from other countries, who are more than willing to bring their talents to the United States, they can solve the problem.
But American tech workers don’t buy it. The motivations behind the corporate push are all about suppressing wages, they charge. Plenty of experienced native-born professionals are available to do the work, right now, especially if Corporate America would spend the money to train them. Guest workers do the same work for less money, they argue. And, they contend, the claim that visa holders provide the only solution gives companies an easy justification for easing out higher-paid tech veterans.