To: H-1B/L-1/offshoring e-newsletter 109

The H-1B work visa is basically about cheap labor.  As many readers here
know, I break that concept down into what I call Type I and Type II
forms of cheap labor.  Type I situations are the ones people readily
understand--employers paying H-1Bs less than what they would to American
workers of the same level of experience, skills and so on.  In Type II
situations, employers want to hire younger (i.e. cheaper) workers in
lieu of older (i.e. more expensive) ones; when employers run out of
young Americans to hire, they hire young H-1Bs instead of older
Americans.

The industry lobbyists, of course, deny that employers hire H-1Bs for
either of these reasons.  Yet the statistical evidence is overwhelming,
and once in while someone in the industry will admit it without even
realizing what they are saying.  We have two examples of such admissions
in the articles enclosed below.

Type II is the more subtle of the two types, though it has even greater
adverse impact on American programmers and engineers than Type I.  Most
industry lobbyists claim that employers hire new graduates because they
have newer skill sets, not because they are cheaper.  Yet in the first
article enclosed below, the head of the Indian offshoring giant Wipro
makes it quite clear:

   Premji says hiring graduates with little or no experience benefits
   Wipro because they are cheaper than IT veterans.

Even a slick executive at Microsoft admitted recently that they hire
mainly young people.  (The guy stumbled even more by saying, "That's
because we don't have many positions for the older people"--not realizing
he was simply restating the same thing.)  See my posting on this,
http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/Archive/MicrosoftLetsTruthSlipOut.txt

The industry lobbyists also claim that they hire foreign students from
U.S. campuses because they are "the best and the brightest," as opposed
to being the cheapest.  Yet the second article below tells the truth:

   "Companies are very welcoming to international students because they
   can pay them less money than the local workers, even if their ability
   is equal," said Ping Lu, a sophomore management major from China, who
   plans on staying in the US to work after she graduates.

Employers even admitted to the GAO that they hire the H-1Bs because they
are willing to work for less.  And this was an even more interesting
thing to blurt out, as they noted, correctly, that it is perfectly legal
to underpay the H-1Bs.

By the way, Ms. Lu says that the H-1Bs can later get a better deal, once
they prove themselves.  This is true once they get a green card (which
is probably what she meant), but that takes years, and in the meantime,
the foreign workers are exploitable de facto indentured servants and
thus will get smaller raises, if any, than their American counterparts.

I won't comment on the other points in the articles, as I've covered
them so often.

Norm

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22988038/from/ET/

Premji: U.S. must fix IT worker shortage

By Justin Rubner

Atlanta Business Chronicle

Azim Premji, an Indian entrepreneur who became one of the richest men in
the world by transforming a small cooking oil business into a global
information technology powerhouse, says the United States' business
leadership needs to "take the problem by the horns" and better address the
country's growing shortage of high-tech professionals.

Premji, CEO and chairman of Bangalore-based Wipro Ltd., calls the lack of
technology talent in the U.S. a "serious problem."

"America does not have the talent," said Premji, 62, in a Jan. 29 interview
with Atlanta Business Chronicle. "There's a huge shortage of IT
professionals here."

Wipro (NYSE: WIT) is in the process of opening its first American software
development center in Buckhead at Piedmont Center and plans to hire 200
employees here within a year and up to 500 within three years. In two
months, Premji says, the company will start recruiting from the area's
schools and plans to partner with Kennesaw State University and Southern
Polytechnic State University. He says the company will fill positions in
software development and back-office processing.

Premji, whose net worth is estimated by Forbes magazine at $17.1 billion,
has become the world's 21st-richest person by offshoring work from the
United States and Europe. But now, he says, it's time to start creating
jobs in the very places that used to outsource them. He calls the decision
-- two centers similar to one coming to Atlanta are in the works across the
country -- "good politics." In addition, having a development center that
is closer to a client makes good business sense, he says.

While India has experienced an economic boom due to the increasing number
of students getting high-tech degrees there, the number of awarded
engineering degrees in the United States has dropped 20 percent over the
past two decades, according to pro worker-visa-advocacy group Compete
America. That fact can be seen with the growing demand for H-1B visas,
which allow foreigners to temporarily live here to fulfill specialty jobs,
usually in technology.

On April 2 last year, U.S. employers flooded the federal government with
requests for visas to hire thousands of foreign workers during 2008. By
late in the day -- the first day the applications were accepted -- the
government had received about 150,000 requests, a new record, and within
hours turned away all additional applications.

Premji has advocated that the visa cap hurts American competitiveness. But
he also says the high-tech industry here needs to proselytize more to
students about the benefits of computing jobs. Outreach, he says, should be
on the minds of any executive running a high-tech company.

Premji recently had lunch with a board member at Germany-based auto parts
maker Robert Bosch GmbH, who told him about the company's outreach policy.
All plant managers at Bosch's numerous facilities are required to adopt
schools to motivate students to pursue high-tech careers and to help
teachers make math and science more exciting. A similar mind-set, he says,
would benefit the American economy as a whole.

"Bosch figures 10 years from now, the talent won't be there," Premji said.

One problem technology leadership needs to address with students is the
stigma that it's futile to study for a high-tech career because all the
jobs are going overseas to India, which for years has been the No. 1 source
of H-1B workers employed here. While some positions are lost, he says,
there is ultimately a net gain of jobs. American companies that can
offshore, he maintains, are more competitive and create more jobs
domestically in the long run.

He says another problem is that too many Americans and Europeans find
high-tech and math courses boring or too difficult. Premji says schools
here have to find a way to make math, science and computing stimulating.

"It is such an exciting area if it's well taught," Premji said. "The
fundamental focus has got to be teachers. They have to be teaching math and
science in a way that's exciting to students."

Han Reichgelt, dean of the School of Computing and Software Engineering at
Southern Polytechnic, says the university is gearing up to partner with
Wipro to provide the company access to students. The dean agrees with
Premji and says the word needs to be spread that high-tech careers not only
pay well but also are relatively safe against offshoring -- if employees
are specialized and adaptable.

"We're simply not meeting the demands of companies," Reichgelt said of the
American higher education system. "There are more vacancies in IT than we
are meeting. Here's the thing that is frustrating for us: We know the jobs
are out there but we're still failing to increase enrollments. We're not
good at recruiting students to meet those jobs."

Southern Polytechnic, which has 4,300 students, plans to modify its
schedule to tailor it to Wipro's needs.

The upcoming partnership with Wipro, Reichgelt says, benefits both parties.
For Southern Polytechnic, the university gets exposure and can tell
students that good jobs are waiting for them when they graduate. For Wipro,
he says, the company knows that competition for trained high-tech
professionals is tight. Taking graduates with little or no work experience
is a way for the company to have an edge over companies such as Lockheed
Martin Corp. (NYSE: LMT), which has an extensive operation in Marietta.

Premji says hiring graduates with little or no experience benefits Wipro
because they are cheaper than IT veterans. And hiring fresh graduates also
limits offshoring and decreases the need for imported talent, he says,
because the company can save on labor costs while at the same time having
young employees trained specifically for Wipro's needs.

The 'Wipro way'
The Financial Times lists Premji as one of the top 25 people who are
"dramatically reshaping the way people live, work or think." He got his
start in 1966, when he dropped out of Stanford University to take over
Wipro -- then a $2 million maker of cooking oil -- from his father, who
passed away. In the 1980s, Premji repositioned the company into one of
India's first providers of diversified technology services. Today, Wipro,
which also manufactures consumer goods such as soap, operates in 35
countries and last year posted $3.4 billion in revenue.

Premji touts that recent graduates working for Wipro will have a fulfilling
experience. Once hired, they will be sent to India for an intensive
three-month training program in which students will learn about Indian
culture, the global IT economy and the "Wipro way."

"I think Americans trained in our system can have long careers with us,"
Premji said. "The global experience is invaluable."

But he's not only looking for recent graduates. Some specialized,
experienced professionals will also be needed. In addition, Premji is
targeting military veterans, who he says are disciplined and tech-savvy.
Salaries will be competitive.

Wipro, which employs 8,000 people in the United States and 82,000
worldwide, has been engaged in a virtual hiring frenzy of late. He says the
company is hiring 100 people in the United States every month. Many are
H-1B or other visa workers. But in Atlanta, he says, 90 percent will likely
be American citizens.

Premji was in Atlanta Jan. 29 to pitch a large company here on the benefits
of outsourcing to Wipro. He also made an appearance at the Southeast CEO
Summit, held at the Atlanta Woman's Club.

Premji says he chose Buckhead because of its proximity to Georgia Tech,
KSU, Southern Polytechnic and other universities. Other reasons include
great weather, the airport's global reach and the fact that Wipro has a
growing list of big clients here, including Delta Air Lines Inc., The
Coca-Cola Co. and AGL Resources Inc.

Premji says Wipro already has customers who want outsourced employees here.
If demand continues to increase, he says, Wipro's 30,000 square feet of
office space may be substantially expanded to meet future needs.


http://spectrum.buffalo.edu/article.php?id=35050

The Spectrum Online

International students

Have skills, will travel: foreign students hope for work in the United
States

January 30th, 2008
LESLIE CHURCH - Asst. News Editor
   After graduation, international students studying at UB have exactly 60
days to pack their bags, take their last few snapshots of Niagara Falls,
and hightail it out of here before US Immigration Enforcement comes
knocking on their door. Those who don't want to leave have either the
choice of higher education or employment.

   "We don't allow people to just hang out," said Mark Popiel, who teaches
an immigration clinic through the UB Law School. "You have to have a
purpose to be in the US. There has to be a legitimate reason for them to be
here."

   The reason for most international students to stay in the US is to work
and to gain experience on the job that can be taken back to their home
country. Unfortunately, the hunt for employment has left some students
dismayed, with nothing left to do but "hang out" and hope for an interview.


   Foreign students who have an F-1 visa, the typical student pass for
temporary study in the US, can apply for Optional Practical Training (OPT)
after graduation. Students who can bear the $340 processing fee and at
least three months for paperwork to be reviewed could be granted 12 months
of OPT, which is intended to give them professional experience at a job
relating to their degree.

   "OPT is an attractive feature of our system," said John Wood, associate
vice provost for International Education. "It's very valuable to a lot of
students."

   The student must find a job that meets certain criteria, such as being
relevant to the student's field of study and open to degree-holders only;
flipping burgers at McDonald's won't cut it.

   Some have found that months go by with barely a glance from potential
employers, let alone an invitation to join the company. Henry Mok, a
Malaysian student who graduated from UB with a B.S. in electrical
engineering, applied to at least 80 jobs during his OPT in the Buffalo
area. With only a few interviews and no job offers, Mok spent his summer
perfecting his fishing skills at a friend's farm rather than his
engineering expertise.

   "Our roots are not here," Mok said. "There's a risk that we would want
to go back to our home country. I think that's always on the employer's
mind."

   Students who do attract the attention of employers can find themselves
on the road to more long-term work if the company is willing to sponsor
them for the H-1B visa, which allows three to six years of residence in the
US as a worker.

   "The opportunity for international students to have OPT...is extremely
helpful," said Magdalena Jaworska, a 2006 graduate of UB with a master's in
applied economics. "If we didn't have that, nobody would really hire us.
Having that option, you can start as an intern and then get into the US
work environment."

   Jaworska was hired for a permanent position at Arbor Capital Management,
an investment counseling group based in Amherst, after completing an
internship with the company.

   The desire to be sponsored for the H-1B visa is a topic that should be
brought up in the job interview, said Dan Berger, an immigration attorney
based in Massachusetts, in a presentation for international students in
November.

   The cost of an H-1B visa is steep - over $2,000 for private companies
with more than 25 employees, according to Berger. The paperwork is tedious,
as heightened security checks after 9/11 have slowed the process.

   Employers, in addition to being required by law to pay the fees, have to
prove that they could not find any better qualified domestic workers
instead. Beyond that, the company's role is only to sign papers, as long as
a lawyer helps to sort through the intricacies of the visa process.

   However, mentioning the word "visa" is often an employer-repellant for
some international workers, probably because the company fears a mountain
of paperwork.

   "Applying for permanent positions was very hard," Jaworska said. "A lot
of companies didn't even want to talk to you unless you had a green card. I
think they're afraid that the visa process is complicated, which is not
true."

   The final step is to apply for the visa by April 1 - the first day
applications are accepted. Students with a bachelor's degree are competing
with over 100,000 others for an allotment of 45,000 visas. This year, it
took only one day for the quota of H-1B visas to be filled.

   "There's such a discrepancy between the need and what they allow,"
Jaworska said.

   Twenty thousand visas are set aside for foreign workers with a master's
degree or Ph.D., and those visas are relatively easy to come by, as are
visas for students who are offered a position at UB - there is no quota for
University employment.

   After establishing H-1B status, foreign workers can reap the benefits of
experience at an American job for the next few years. While they watch
their resumes grow, making them more competitive in their home country,
some foresee their bank accounts dwindling because of discrimination.

   "Companies are very welcoming to international students because they can
pay them less money than the local workers, even if their ability is
equal," said Ping Lu, a sophomore management major from China, who plans on
staying in the US to work after she graduates.

   Lu said she knows people caught in this situation, but that after the
workers prove their abilities on the job, their salary will increase.

   Jaworska, however, said she hasn't experienced any discrimination, in
pay or otherwise. Regardless, most foreign students agree that salary is
not their top priority.

   "I don't really care about the money," Lu said. "I want the experience."



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