l****l
发帖数: 3394 | 1 http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/jonosborne/march-31-
House Subcommittee Hearing on H-1B Visas Misses an Opportunity to Stand Up
for Unemployed Americans
By Jonathan Osborne, Thursday, March 31, 2011, 5:23 PM EDT
The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement
hosted a hearing Thursday morning called “H-1B Visas: Designing a Program
to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers."
The Congressmen in attendance were Elton Gallegly (Subcommittee Chairman) of
California, Lamar Smith (Committee Chairman) of Texas, Steve King (
Subcommittee Vice-Chairman) of Iowa, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Ted Poe of
Texas, Dennis Ross of Florida, Trey Gowdy of South Carolina, Dan Lungren of
California, Zoe Lofgren (Subcommittee Ranking Member) of California, John
Conyers (Committee Ranking Member) of Michigan, and Sheila Jackson Lee of
Texas.
The witnesses were Donald Neufeld from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration
Service, an immigration attorney named Bo Cooper, Dr. Ron Hira from the
Rochester Institute of Technology, and Bruce Morrison with the Morrison
Public Affairs Group.
This was the first immigration hearing held by the Immigration Subcommittee
in three weeks and it was nice to see Members returning to legislative
business. Also, despite spring showers in Washington, D.C., this hearing
commanded a large crowd with no empty seats and “committee full” signs
posted on the doors.
I attended the hearing with our NumbersUSA intern Kimberly as an orientation
to the Immigration Subcommittee and overall committee process. She was
slightly overwhelmed by the large crowd size, small room, and length of the
hearing. I explained that the topic of H-1B visas attracts a larger
collection of interests beyond the usual students, interns, and immigration
staffers. People representing business and education were also in attendance
. Kimberly was also surprised to hear Chairman Gallegly mention that this
was the first hearing on H-1B visas in five years. However, I told her it
wasn’t that much of a surprise since the two previous Congresses wouldn’t
touch immigration issues with an eight foot pole. While this current
Congress is still new and not particularly aggressive on immigration, at
least they’ll constructively discuss the issues.
Chairman Gallegly opened the hearing with some simple background information
on the H-1B program, including its place in relation to the recession and
concerns about fraud and enforcement.
Ranking Member Lofgren, on the other hand, discussed the needs of her
Silicon Valley based Congressional District. She said immigration
restrictions are hurting technological innovation, thus preventing economic
growth. Likewise, she said sending foreign students back to the home
countries is a serious “brain drain” on the United States.
Committee Chairman Lamar Smith then presented an opening statement
discussing the merits of the H-1B program, similar to Mr. Gallegly, yet went
into more depth with concerns about how the program is currently operated.
Specifically, he said,
I am also concerned about the legacy of fraud in the H-1B program. At a
hearing over a decade ago, we heard about petitioning companies that were
nothing more than a P.O. Box, an abandoned building or a fictitious address
and single telephone number. We heard about H-1B workers slated for
employment as janitors or nurse’s aides or store clerks.
Apparently, such fraud is not a thing of the past, despite a $500 anti-fraud
fee that was instituted in 2004. In 2008, USCIS’s Office of Fraud
Detection and National Security issued an assessment that found outright
fraud in over 13% of randomly selected cases.
Unfortunately, the issues of fraud and program management remained the
primary topics of concern for most of the Republican side instead of whether
or not foreign workers are still necessary during the peak of our recession.
On the other hand, the Democrats just wanted more green cards. Ranking
Member Conyers even suggested that a green card should be granted to every
foreign student that earns an advanced diploma. He said, “Just staple a
green card to the graduate certificate.”
America has the best university system in the world. Students from across
the globe want to study in the United States and thousands are enrolled in
our schools each year under various programs and areas of research. Just
imagine the immigration nightmare Mr. Conyers’ suggestion would create.
On the other hand, Mr. Conyers’ questions for Dr. Hira produced some of the
best answers of the hearing including concerns for wages.
Dr. Hira said, “H-1Bs are designed to complement the workforce, not
displace workers.” He went on to express concern for bringing in workers at
below market wages even though they may be paid prevailing wages. He also
expressed concern about whether or not H-1Bs are really the best and
brightest instead of simply a cheap alternative to American workers. Many
workers apparently learn the top trade secrets, fulfill their visa
requirements, and then return to their home countries to sell their skills
to the highest bidder.
When it was Lofgren’s turn to question the witnesses she directed her
questions to Mr. Neufeld from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Service.
She asked why green cards from 1992 to 2007 were not all issued despite the
long waiting lines. Mr. Neufeld responded by saying they had been using up
all the visas in recent years, but adjustment of status cases take first
priority.
When it was Sheila Jackson Lee’s turn, she again expressed her support (
like every hearing) for “comprehensive immigration (amnesty) reform” to
fix the H-1B problem along with the “DREAM kids,” referring to the DREAM
Act amnesty for the children of illegal aliens. Like Mr. Conyers, she then
went on to express support for more green cards.
In contrast, Steve King directly questioned the panel about whether or not
there is too much legal immigration. Without much surprise, Mr. Cooper
defiantly replied that there is “not enough legal immigration” (after all,
he is an immigration attorney). Dr. Hira wasn’t sure if there was too much
and Mr. Morrison said Congress should determine the level of national
interest for immigration. Mr. King then responded by saying that too much
legal immigration drives down wages.
Freshman Representatives Ross and Gowdy then questioned the panel about wage
depression and returned to the topic of prevailing wage instead of market
wage with concerns for undercutting current workers. Mr. Ross even went a
step further and asked if H-1Bs were creating age discrimination and Dr.
Hira said it enabled such discrimination. Age discrimination by itself is
worth a hearing and I’m glad to hear Mr. Ross and Dr. Hira relate it to the
H-1B visa program.
In closing, while this was not a substantial hearing as far as new ideas and
productive debate, I do believe it was a positive step for this Congress to
reopen debate and oversight on the H-1B visa program. I also think this is
a topic that needs to be considered by the House Committee on Education and
Labor as they work on ways to encourage more Americans to pursue advanced
degrees in engineering, medicine, and computer science.
I don’t think any side of the H-1B debate would disagree that we need more
Americans in these fields. I agree that we need innovation to grow the
economy, but we can’t continue to import short-term talent from foreign
countries or else we’ll just inevitably help nations like the Peoples
Republic of China strengthen and grow their economies at the same time.
Despite only three Democrats at this rainy day hearing, it’s sure to be
different and exciting next week when the Subcommittee discusses Visa
Lottery.
JONATHAN OSBORNE is the Chief Legislative Analyst for NumbersUSA
NumbersUSA's blogs are copyrighted and may be republished or reposted only
if they are copied in their entirety, including this paragraph, and provide
proper credit to NumbersUSA. NumbersUSA bears no responsibility for where
our blogs may be republished or reposted. | l******g
发帖数: 338 | 2 我们能从这里学点什么呢？发人深省！
2011/house-subcommittee-hearing-h-1b-visas-misses-opportunity-stand-une
Up
Program
Chairman) of
【在 l****l 的大作中提到】
: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/jonosborne/march-31-
: House Subcommittee Hearing on H-1B Visas Misses an Opportunity to Stand Up
: for Unemployed Americans
: By Jonathan Osborne, Thursday, March 31, 2011, 5:23 PM EDT
: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement
: hosted a hearing Thursday morning called “H-1B Visas: Designing a Program
: to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers."
: The Congressmen in attendance were Elton Gallegly (Subcommittee Chairman) of
: California, Lamar Smith (Committee Chairman) of Texas, Steve King (
: Subcommittee Vice-Chairman) of Iowa, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Ted Poe of
| l******g
发帖数: 338 | 3 Donald Neufeld, Associate Director USCIS, testified before the House
Committee on the Judiciary, Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and
Enforcement on March 31, 2011, on the "H-1B Visas: Designing a Program
to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers."
2011/house-subcommittee-hearing-h-1b-visas-misses-opportunity-stand-une
Stand Up
Enforcement
Program
Chairman) of
【在 l****l 的大作中提到】
: http://www.numbersusa.com/content/nusablog/jonosborne/march-31-
: House Subcommittee Hearing on H-1B Visas Misses an Opportunity to Stand Up
: for Unemployed Americans
: By Jonathan Osborne, Thursday, March 31, 2011, 5:23 PM EDT
: The House Judiciary Subcommittee on Immigration Policy and Enforcement
: hosted a hearing Thursday morning called “H-1B Visas: Designing a Program
: to Meet the Needs of the U.S. Economy and U.S. Workers."
: The Congressmen in attendance were Elton Gallegly (Subcommittee Chairman) of
: California, Lamar Smith (Committee Chairman) of Texas, Steve King (
: Subcommittee Vice-Chairman) of Iowa, Louie Gohmert of Texas, Ted Poe of
| r*******3
发帖数: 711 | 4 你学到什么了？请不吝赐教。
我只看看到有人再次拿“做梦的孩子”和合法移民捆绑。
还看到有太多的H1-B fraud,印度还有哪个国家的人来美国H1-B fraud? 为什么没见任
何打击行动？他们占有的I485inventory名额，有没有吐出来？
【在 l******g 的大作中提到】
: 我们能从这里学点什么呢？发人深省！
:
: 2011/house-subcommittee-hearing-h-1b-visas-misses-opportunity-stand-une
: Up
: Program
: Chairman) of
| a****l
发帖数: 8211 | 5 老实说,h1-B的再fraud,进来的到底还是至少有高等教育的人,总比FB大赦lottery放进
那么多目不识丁的人好的多了.
再说了,那个老美的报道也是典型的说明这些本土人的愚蠢,自己说很多h1的人干了几年
就回去然后把关键技术带回去了,难道这不就暗示应该给这些人自动发绿卡?写出这种自
己打自己嘴巴的文章,怪不得美国只能通过h1引进外国人才/工人了.
【在 r*******3 的大作中提到】
: 你学到什么了？请不吝赐教。
: 我只看看到有人再次拿“做梦的孩子”和合法移民捆绑。
: 还看到有太多的H1-B fraud,印度还有哪个国家的人来美国H1-B fraud? 为什么没见任
: 何打击行动？他们占有的I485inventory名额，有没有吐出来？
|
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