Taking the easy way out

Date: Wednesday, June 04, 2003 12:29 PM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

www.ZaZona.com

Through the years ZDNET has published many articles by H-1B advocates.
This is just another example.

You will recognize thes common themes in most of these articles:

* they work hard

* they are educated with the latest skills

* they are responsible for America's dominance in high-tech

"they" of course are H-1Bs, not Americans

http://zdnet.com.com/2100-1107-984282.html

Taking the easy way out on H-1B

By Ronald A. Zisman
Special to ZDNet
February 12, 2003, 5:33 AM PT

COMMENTARY--The ongoing debate about whether each new generation of
immigrants constitutes a threat to or a positive development for our
economy and culture has existed since the days of the founding fathers.

The H-1B is a nonimmigrant visa category that limits the total period
of stay for a foreign worker to six years. The general requirement is
that the beneficiary be employed in a profession in which having a
university degree is a minimum requirement. Presumably, a majority of
H-1B nonimmigrants obtain lawful permanent residency, either through
employment or family sponsorship, and thus are absorbed into the
permanent work force.

A brief review of recent U.S. immigration statistics reveals that
immigration policy places a low priority on attracting educated
immigrants. Annual legal immigration represents less than four-tenths
of a percent (0.4 percent) of the U.S. population of 290 million.
Currently, immigrants make up just 8 percent of the U.S. population,
the lowest percentage in nearly 80 years.

According to the Immigration and Naturalization Service's annual
report, in fiscal year 2001 some 1,064,318 people were granted
permanent residence. About 17 percent, or 179,195, of those immigrants
were admitted under employment-based preferences. This group includes
people whose occupations ranged from chicken sexers (those who
determine a chick's sex) to CEOs. In the employment-based preference
group, only 84,421, or 7.9 percent, of total U.S. immigration involved
people who qualified under a category requiring a bachelor degree or
higher.

The European Economic Commission has developed a program specifically
designed to attract immigrants who have required IT skills. The U.S.
should develop similar programs.
By negatively focusing on a relatively small percentage of highly
educated workers, such as those on H-1B classification, critics fail to
acknowledge a significant structural business change that's
transforming the technology industry: the global outsourcing of
software development. The impact on the domestic labor force remains to
be fully appreciated.

The initial growth of information technology labor on H-1B status
stemmed from the IT boom in the 1990s. The gap created by a shortage of
skilled IT professionals was in part filled by "bodyshopping," which
has been defined as "the transportation of software staff to work
overseas at the client site."

But bodyshopping is abating as U.S. and European companies are
establishing their own in-house offshore sites or contracting to third
parties at offshore sites.

India, Ireland and Israel are generally considered first-tier offshore
sites, with each country developing its own areas of expertise in
software design, data management tools, security software or other
products or services. Global software outsourcing spending by U.S.
companies was expected to reach $7 billion in 2002; spending was $5.5
billion in 2000. The growth rate exceeds 10 percent per annum. General
Electric, Intel and Ford are shifting significant amounts of IT work
abroad.

This transition is a direct result of the growth of educated workers
abroad, combined with the ease of transfer of modular technology via
the Internet and the lower cost of producing products. Not having to
deal with U.S. immigration issues also plays a role. Research has shown
that lower costs are not the leading cause for the exodus, but a factor
in it.

Foreign workers have uniformly brought to the U.S. incredible energy
and know-how.
>From a nation-building point of view, a national immigration policy
should attract H-1B workers for their education, entrepreneurial skills
and economic earning power. The European Economic Commission has
developed a program specifically designed to attract immigrants who
have required IT skills. The U.S. should develop similar programs.

My own experience representing high-tech companies and skilled workers
over 20 years is that foreign workers have uniformly brought to the
U.S. incredible energy and know-how. Well-educated first-generation
workers who instill a strong work ethic in their children and also have
a potential to earn high incomes should be a major part of our
immigration policy. In a tight labor market, such as was seen in the
mid- to late 1990s, a decision to hire foreign workers was principally
based on two factors: demand and skills. In today's soft labor market,
the utilization of H-1B visas has dropped dramatically as the pool of
skilled local workers has grown.

If you have any doubts about the contribution of foreign workers to the
U.S. economy, let me mention a few names: Andy Grove, Les Vadasz, Dov
Frohman, Federico Faggin, Masatoshi Shima, Jean-Claude Cornet, Vinod
Dham and Avtar Saini. Citizens from Hungary, Israel, Italy, Japan,
France and India, all were instrumental in creating a
$20-billion-dollar company. I'm sure you can guess the name.

biography

Ronald A. Zisman practices U.S. immigration and nationality law with
Preshaw & Zisman in Everett, Wash., and Vancouver, British Columbia. He
lectures frequently on U.S. immigration law and has conducted related
seminars and courses.

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