High Tech Workers Replaced With L-1 Visa Workers.......

[cthrumatrix]

A LOOPHOLE FOR BUSTING HIGH-TECH WAGES
9/23/2003

Once again, we're offered a sterling example of the incredible ingenuity of big American corporations – outfits that never cease to amaze with their clever ability to stiff their own employees.

Their latest ingenious gimmick is an obscure provision in our nation's immigration laws. It's called the L-1 Visa, and apparently the "L" stands for Loophole. It's certainly a big one, allowing such corporations as Cigna, General Electric, and Merrill Lynch, to import low-wage technology workers from India to replace their American employees.

The L-1 Visa was meant to allow U.S. corporations to transfer a few of their own foreign employees from an overseas branch into company offices here. But now, these corporations are driving an immigration truck right through this L-1 loophole, having already used it to bring some 325,000 computer engineers, programmers, and other high-tech employees from abroad, mostly from India.

Here's how the game is played: The foreign workers are hired wholesale by Indian-based recruitment firms that then ship them to their U.S. branches, claiming that they are L-1 transfers. Once here, these workers are contracted to American corporations. The gimmick is that, technically, the immigrants are still employed by the Indian firms – but the bottom line is that major U.S. corporations have been able to smuggle in foreign workers and pay them a third to a half less than the Americans they replace.

snip...

http://www.jimhightower.com/air/read.asp?id=11192

A fine example of corporate greed .... and how they care soo much for thier workers.

[area51]

1. Unemployment in USA

Here's a couple of websites on this subject (ea. pg. should open in a new window):

Zazona


"No more H1-bs"


"Statistically speaking, it's easier to get admitted into Harvard University than to get a job in this economy."

--CBS News, 8/1/03

---

Looking for a position as a Linux or Unix Sys Admin, or a Copy Editor position in the Hou., TX area.

[Noordam]

2. I have been out of work over 2 years over this

and the economy in general.

BUT L-1 have another major problem. Under the H-1B visa if you bring your SO into the country they CAN NOT work. Only you. But on the L-1 Visas your SO can work. So say a computer contracting firm brings in a programmer to replace an US Citizen. That programmer's SO could then legally get a job at a 7-11.

[BuddhaGirl]

3. SO's of an L-1 visa can work?

I used to work with the spouse of an L-1 visa holder from Canada. She had to quit because she found out that she couldn't work due to the fact that she was in the U.S. as her husband's dependent.

[Karenina]

4. Just another example

of *corp pissing in the face of American workers. Sad that so many still believe those stinking droplets will turn into gold if they continue to support the misadministration's policies.

[SharonAnn]

5. Yes, happened to me a few months ago. Only qualified

applicant in the area. Relevant experience with high recommendations.

But, they decided to hire one of their L-1 Visa options and looked to India for their new hire. Found out this has happened a lot with them lately.

Philips Industries, in Knoxville.

[gulliver]

6. Bushism opened the floodgates.

Abuse of L-1s and even H-1Bs is a classic result of Bushism. The big corporations know that they have a "property" sitting in the White House. So it's anything goes with them. They can set up offshore offices, damage the environment, undermine worker standards of living, export manufacturing and IT jobs ... whatever.

Call the Bushies, and I'll bet the answer you get is "My that's awful! We'll check into that and get back to you."

This should be a major campaign issue. The Bushies are in the pockets of big business so that big business can pick worker pockets.

[Nottingham]

7. Oh is this why Microsoft works so well! Foreign HELP!

High Tech keeps this up! The Back Lash will be ENORMOUS!

:bounce:

[kodi]

8. then you will just love the new trade accords with chile and singapore

each accord allows into the US 5,000 skilled workers, each and every year with permanent living status. in 10 years, another 100,000 highly skilled, albeit low paid foreign workers will enter the US job market.

[VolcanoJen]

9. Not LBN... locking

This is essentially an opinion/request-for-action piece, and while the L-1 Visa issue is important, it's not really latest breaking news.

Also, LBN Forum rules require that when linking to an article, the poster use the exact title of the article as their subject line. In this case, the subject line should read "A Loophole for Busting High-Tech Wages."

This is a very interesting piece, cthrumatrix, and I hope you'll repost it in the Editorials and Other Articles Forum.

:-)

Thanks!
VolcanoJen
DU Moderator