H-1B Visas a Symptom of Special-Interest Influence in D.C.

[Origisaurus]

John Miano again.

Another sign that it doesn't matter who the Republicans nominate, or which party has majorities in Congress.  Business Corruption as usual.

[TRexx]

From the article:

Others make absurd job claims, such as that each H-1B worker creates six additional jobs (Do the math here: With around 100,000 H-1B visas a year, that would make H-1B the single largest job creation factor in the economy.)

I propose that for each H-1B visa issued, the employer must place a amount equal to the employee's total compensation in an interest bearing escrow account.  At then end of a year, that money may be withdrawn by the employer to help pay those 6 new employees.  If the employer does not meet that goal of 6 new hires, then the money is forfeit. 

[Origisaurus]

From the article:

Others make absurd job claims, such as that each H-1B worker creates six additional jobs (Do the math here: With around 100,000 H-1B visas a year, that would make H-1B the single largest job creation factor in the economy.)

I propose that for each H-1B visa issued, the employer must place a amount equal to the employee's total compensation in an interest bearing escrow account.  At then end of a year, that money may be withdrawn by the employer to help pay those 6 new employees.  If the employer does not meet that goal of 6 new hires, then the money is forfeit.

IOW, "put your money where your mouth is".  But, you see, with "Corruption as Usual"^TM, they get a bigger return from paying lobbyists to bribe congressdroids and flacks to give them cover by making up this nonsense.

[I D Shukhov]

Check out the comment (at the end of Matloff's opinion)  from "I work for a major telecom in NJ...."   It completely corroborates ilconsiglliere's posts.


http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-h-b-visas-be-easier-to-get/abuse-of-the-h-1b-program-is-widespread

[ilconsiglliere]

Yeah that quote sums it up and it wasnt written by me. Its either Ma B*ll in Middletown, NJ or one of the V*rizon building in Warren or Bedminster.

I have decided that I am leaving the corporate life. I am going to start or buy a business of some kind. I am sick of this already. I dont want to be a minority at work nor put up with these companies any longer. I am done.

Check out the comment (at the end of Matloff's opinion)  from "I work for a major telecom in NJ...."   It completely corroborates ilconsiglliere's posts.


http://www.usnews.com/debate-club/should-h-b-visas-be-easier-to-get/abuse-of-the-h-1b-program-is-widespread

[ilconsiglliere]

Just so everyone is aware, every company in NJ is full of these people. NJ has one of the highest Indian populations in the US now. We are like 2nd or 3rd nationally.

That being said every company I have been in via interviews and jobs I have held iis now full of them. Here are just my observations:

C*ticorp in Warren, NJ: This is L*cents ex-headquarters after they were spun off. It was empty for years and now C*ticorp is in it. At any rate the building is like 70% Indian.

M*rck in Whitehouse Station, NJ: This is their headquarters. My friend works there. I met him and his wife there one day for lunch. His wife had never been to the building, she says to me very casually - how come everyone is Indian that she sees.

J*&*J in Raritan and New Brunswick, NJ: Raritan is where they decided to concentrate all their IT people. I have been on interviews there and I am like the only American. The past few interviews I have been on recently have been with Indian managers. The last interview I was interviewed by a panel of Indians.

N*w Y*rk Life in Clinton, NJ and NYC: I was perm there till February of 2011. At any rate in the 5 years I was there I saw the number of Indians expand dramatically. When I first started there were none. When they laid me off, every single contractor brought in was Indian. Since my layoff they have multiple layoffs and are doing another one in about 8 days. The employees are freaking out as N*Y*L has a target of every group now has to have 30% contractors versus most right now are 100% employees. So much for the company you keep.

M*tlife in Somerset, NJ: For the brief stint that I was there in the summer it became very readily apparent that they are about 70-80% Indian. Last week I had an interview for a perm job where they really put the screws to me. I asked how much offshoring they had done and they said there were NO developers in the US any longer. They also said that insurance underwriters are now in India. They said that they have huge numbers of them now. I never thought I would see an insurance company having their underwriters in India.

Ma B*ll in Middletown, NJ: I worked there when I was an employee and recently this past summer till the screaming manager encouraged me to leave. This site is about 80-90% Indian. I was the only American on my section of the floor. This is a huge site too as its designed to hold 6K people but now is mostly vacant except for the Indians. I would estimate that its at no more than 1/3 capacity. This site was expanded dramatically when Ma B*ll spun off L*cent. It was originally 1 building but now is 5. B*ll Labs famous physics laboratory in Holmdel which is across the road which held 6K scientists has been empty for about 8 years now. Nobody knows what to do with a 6M square foot research center.

L*cent in Murray Hill, NJ: This is all that is left of B*ll Labs in NJ. The site is mostly empty except for admin people and all the H1Bs that are there. I have some friends that are hanging on and they know their days are numbered as most of the actual research is not done any longer. The site is a joke, this is where Unix was invented among other things. Today its a graveyard.

Pf*zer in Madison, NJ and Parsippany, NJ: They have been doing brutal layoffs for the last bunch of years. The only people that are left are all the H1Bs that are still there. When you go to these sites you would think you are in Bombay. There is that many of them there.

Almost forgot good old V*rizon.

V*rizon in Bedminster, Basking Ridge and Warren, NJ: They have HUGE number of Indians. The same as Ma B*ll. No difference. The description of 80-90 Indian applies to some V*rizon buildings. I have been on interviews there where the hiring manager and all the underlings were Indian. Frankly though the corporate culture of V*rizon is much worse than Ma B*ll. V*rizon is brutal and asks things from the contractors like working 50 hours a week and being paid 40. The dont even attempt to hide it, they ask up front.

So thats where I have been in a nutshell.

[I D Shukhov]

Just so everyone is aware, every company in NJ is full of these people. NJ has one of the highest Indian populations in the US now. We are like 2nd or 3rd nationally.

That being said every company I have been in via interviews and jobs I have held iis now full of them. Here are just my observations:

C*ticorp in Warren, NJ: This is L*cents ex-headquarters after they were spun off. It was empty for years and now C*ticorp is in it. At any rate the building is like 70% Indian.

M*rck in Whitehouse Station, NJ: This is their headquarters. My friend works there. I met him and his wife there one day for lunch. His wife had never been to the building, she says to me very casually - how come everyone is Indian that she sees.

J*&*J in Raritan and New Brunswick, NJ: Raritan is where they decided to concentrate all their IT people. I have been on interviews there and I am like the only American. The past few interviews I have been on recently have been with Indian managers. The last interview I was interviewed by a panel of Indians.

N*w Y*rk Life in Clinton, NJ and NYC: I was perm there till February of 2011. At any rate in the 5 years I was there I saw the number of Indians expand dramatically. When I first started there were none. When they laid me off, every single contractor brought in was Indian. Since my layoff they have multiple layoffs and are doing another one in about 8 days. The employees are freaking out as N*Y*L has a target of every group now has to have 30% contractors versus most right now are 100% employees. So much for the company you keep.

M*tlife in Somerset, NJ: For the brief stint that I was there in the summer it became very readily apparent that they are about 70-80% Indian. Last week I had an interview for a perm job where they really put the screws to me. I asked how much offshoring they had done and they said there were NO developers in the US any longer. They also said that insurance underwriters are now in India. They said that they have huge numbers of them now. I never thought I would see an insurance company having their underwriters in India.

Ma B*ll in Middletown, NJ: I worked there when I was an employee and recently this past summer till the screaming manager encouraged me to leave. This site is about 80-90% Indian. I was the only American on my section of the floor. This is a huge site too as its designed to hold 6K people but now is mostly vacant except for the Indians. I would estimate that its at no more than 1/3 capacity. This site was expanded dramatically when Ma B*ll spun off L*cent. It was originally 1 building but now is 5. B*ll Labs famous physics laboratory in Holmdel which is across the road which held 6K scientists has been empty for about 8 years now. Nobody knows what to do with a 6M square foot research center.

L*cent in Murray Hill, NJ: This is all that is left of B*ll Labs in NJ. The site is mostly empty except for admin people and all the H1Bs that are there. I have some friends that are hanging on and they know their days are numbered as most of the actual research is not done any longer. The site is a joke, this is where Unix was invented among other things. Today its a graveyard.

Pf*zer in Madison, NJ and Parsippany, NJ: They have been doing brutal layoffs for the last bunch of years. The only people that are left are all the H1Bs that are still there. When you go to these sites you would think you are in Bombay. There is that many of them there.

Almost forgot good old V*rizon.

V*rizon in Bedminster, Basking Ridge and Warren, NJ: They have HUGE number of Indians. The same as Ma B*ll. No difference. The description of 80-90 Indian applies to some V*rizon buildings. I have been on interviews there where the hiring manager and all the underlings were Indian. Frankly though the corporate culture of V*rizon is much worse than Ma B*ll. V*rizon is brutal and asks things from the contractors like working 50 hours a week and being paid 40. The dont even attempt to hide it, they ask up front.

So thats where I have been in a nutshell.

My take is this.  This is the end result of how companies manage the necessary function of IT work.   Management has apparently decided at these companies to insource IT to internal Indian-run shops and let them manage "their people".   Programmers can be independent-minded -- i.e. have their own ideas about how things should be -- and a bit difficult to manage, so that's the solution.

I think you're right about getting out of big-company IT.   It will be difficult to find a way to replace the income, but big-company IT work has always been a Dilbert-type exercise in frustration and dissatisfaction.

IMO it's best to forgive and accept rather than to carry around resentment.   The Stoic view is that we don't control or own a job.  A "job" is the property of whatever social reality rules at a company.   Therefore, since we have no control over jobs we should think that it is nothing of our concern and turn our attention to ways of earning an income that we do have control over.

I'm still willing to work in IT, but it's got to be in a small employee-owned and democratically managed company that, by definition, controls it's own culture.  The company should have many customers -- like individuals, or small businesses -- in order to maintain control and not be enslaved to a few big customers.

[David Randolph]

I'm still willing to work in IT, but it's got to be in a small employee-owned and democratically managed company that, by definition, controls it's own culture.  The company should have many customers -- like individuals, or small businesses -- in order to maintain control and not be enslaved to a few big customers.

Keep talking this way and you will be an entrepreneur running your own company.
Go ahead and make the jump as soon as possible. That way, you can get through the learning curve faster and start actually making some money.

[ilconsiglliere]

I am already working on the shift. I have had it.

My friend who was in IT as long as me recently bought a gym in another state. Its in a small town in a recreation area. They are doing ok as he is the only gym in the county.

There is definitely life outside of IT. Just need to find that niche.