Converting Student Visas to H-1Bs

Date: Wednesday, March 05, 2003 2:54 PM

H-1B and JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

This Ohio State website at http://www.thelantern.com/ had an article
that contained lots of whining by foreign students that complain they
can't find jobs in the U.S. The myth that employers are required to
give job priority to Americans is once again perpetuated. Even though
employers aren't required to prove a shortage, plenty of students from
countries like Pakistan blame this for their woes. They also gripe
about the "complicated visa process" and don't seem to consider that
fellow classmates that are citizens aren't getting jobs either.

There is one golden nugget of information in the article:

More than 53 percent of international students
who received a job offer came from internships,
Berrios said. Under the university's sponsor,
F-1 students can have practical work experience
during a student's academic program with
Curricular Practical Training.

In the newsletter "Mohammed Studied Engineering in U.S." I explained
that students on J-1 (or F-1) visas take jobs in the U.S. that American
students need. The J-1s are hired by companies to work on internships
and then get their visa converted to H-1Bs. American workers are never
even considered for these positions because the J-1 visa holder already
has the job.

Dr. Norman Matloff and I researched a now defunct company called
WomenConnect.com that provides a classic example of how these student
visas are converted to H-1Bs. The CEO, Susan DeFife admitted to Matloff
that the student she hired was a Mexican national that had worked at
WomenConnect since her internship. The visa was converted to an H-1B
after the internship because DeFife claimed she couldn't hire a good
programmer to work in Washington D.C. for $35,000.

To find out more on the WomenConnect.com story go to these links:
http://www.ZaZonaCom.com/ShameH1B/Library/Matloff/WomenConnect.htm

http://www.vdare.com/pb/matloff_h1b.htm
SPECIAL REPORT - FRADULENT TESTIMONY TO SENATE

*** Pay Attention to This ***

Companies don't have to give preference for American citizens when
hiring or firing, but there is a catch: They are still required to at
least consider Americans for their job openings. Scroll to the bottom
of the LCA form and you will see (in small print) the following
statement:

http://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/foreign/pdf/eta9035v50.pdf

Complaints alleging failure to offer employment
to an equally or better qualified U.S. worker,
or an employer's misrepresentation regarding
such offer(s) of employment, may be filed with:

U.S. Dept. of Justice
Office of the Special Counsel
10th and Constitution Ave. NW
Washington, DC 20530

Converting J-1s into H-1Bs violate this principle, because as we have
seen, citizens aren't even considered for these positions. Companies
often cover themselves legally by running a newspaper ad that says
something like:

"2 Years Experience in the job offered is required"

It still might be worthwhile for you to send complaints to the DOL if
you know this has happened where you work. If you send a complaint and
the DOL responds, please contact me. The DOL might be accepting
complaints but it is unknown if they have ever done anything about
them. Perhaps they need more complaints to motivate them to get off
their butts!

University Wire

February 27, 2003, Thursday

Employment difficult to find for international students

Kyu Ran Lee, The Lantern

With the economy hurting now more than ever, American college students
may be
struggling with the job search. However, foreign students are faced
with
increased challenges in finding jobs in the United States.

It is very hard for me to get the second interview," said Feng Ye, an
MBA
candidate from China.

Ye, who attended the Fisher Financial Services Career Fair on Tuesday,
seemed
to be disappointed most companies do not consider F-1, or international
students, in hiring. Only one company out of 14 that participated in
the job
fair showed willingness to hire international students.

Other international students are coping with similar challenges. Taimur
A.
Khan, a senior in management information systems from Pakistan, said he
had sent
out about 30 resumes since December, but has not received a response
from any of
the companies.

Most career-services directors nodded heads about foreign students'
challenges in the American job market.

International MBA students nationwide are challenged by both the
internships
and career search," said Jamie M. Mead, director of graduate career
development
at the Fisher College of Business. "Our Fisher College international
MBA
students are faced with similar challenges in that many companies have
policies
that do not allow them to interview international students."

Employers agreed with Mead.

Due to our company's policy, we are not able to sponsor any students,"
said
Stacy Held, a recruiter of BMW Financial Services.

The policies are not necessarily applied to international MBA students
only,
but restrict almost all international students regardless of major and
rank.
Some career-services professionals attributed the policies to the
complexity of
the visa process.

Employers have that perception (of the complicated visa process)," said
Amy
Thaci, director of Arts and Sciences Career Services. "It has always
been that
way."

Employers who wish to hire foreign students must sponsor them for an
H1-B
visa, which is a temporary working visa. The first step to hiring
foreign
workers is for the employer to file a Labor Condition Application with
the
Department of Labor. Then the employer is required to file the LCA
approval
notice with the I-129 petition, a required form for non-immigrants.

Employers have to convince the Immigration and Naturalization Services
that
no U.S. citizens or permanent residents can fulfill the job.
Nevertheless, in
light of the economy, it seems to be tougher for employers to prove
that.

During the economic boom of the 1990s, jobs were in surplus, so
employers
turned to international employees. However, after the Sept. 11, 2001,
terrorist
attacks, the economy began to decline, and employers produced far fewer
jobs for
foreign students to fill since have American students to choose from.

At the moment, most companies seem reluctant to take on the trouble and
expense of hiring someone whom they will need to sponsor, especially
since the
supply of American college graduates is sufficient to meet reduced
need," said

Rosemary L.M. Hill, director of Engineering Career Services.

Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act sets an annual
limit on
the number of non-immigrants that can receive H-1B status in a fiscal
year. For
the fiscal year 2000 the limit was set at 115,000. After former
President Bill
Clinton signed the American Competitiveness in the 21st Century Act,
the federal
government was allowed to issue as many as 195,000 H-1B visas annually
for 2001,
2002 and 2003. However, it will be cut to 65,000 in 2004.

Because of the cut, career counselors have changed their direction in
advising students.

My advice for international students currently seeking employment in
the
United States is really different from the advice I have been giving
for more
than 10 years," Hill said.

Most of them still encourage students that they can be H-1B visa
holders.

It's possible," said Ana C. Berrios, a career counselor of Career
Connection
at OSU. "Start networking, look for internships and join the career
services."

More than 53 percent of international students who received a job offer
came
from internships, Berrios said. Under the university's sponsor, F-1
students can
have practical work experience during a student's academic program with
Curricular Practical Training. After completing an academic program,
they also
can apply for Optional Practical Training, which authorizes students to
work for
one year.

To take advantage of practical training properly, students should be
familiar
with policies, deadlines and timelines that will impact them, said
Pamela
Park-Curry, director of Undergraduate Career Services at the Fisher
College of
Business.

I know of international students who have gotten job offers and could
not
start working because their immigration paperwork was not complete or
not
processed in time, and so they lost the job," she said.

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