H-1B visa programme hurts America: Ron Hira

[OhioChick]

15 May, 2011, 01.14AM IST,ET Bureau

Ron Hira is a man who Indian IT companies love to hate. A professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and an expert on offshoring, Hira recently told a US house judiciary panel that the H-1B programme does more harm than good. He believes that loopholes in the H-1B programme make it too easy to bring in cheaper foreign workers, who substitute for Americans. Hira spoke to ET on Sunday, about why he thinks H-1B visas hurt America.

What are the biggest problems with H-1B visa programme?

The biggest problem with the H-1B programme is that it is being used outside the scope it was intended. Instead of providing foreign workers who complement the American workforce, employers are bringing in workers who substitute for Americans. Employers can do this because of loopholes in the programme that allow foreign workers to be paid below-market wages.

When the cap was announced, many companies had asked for the numbers to be increased, but now there are very few takers. Has the H-1B visa lost attraction?

More: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/nri/visa-and-immigration/h-1b-visa-programme-hurts-america-ron-hira/articleshow/8323435.cms

[ChromeFoundry]

1. Doesn't really take a genius level IQ to understand this concept.

but still, so many people are blind and feel that there is an actual need for this program.

[Populist_Prole]

2. The only ones in the US who feel a need for this program is either

1) US companies who like the fact it puts downward pressure on wages here.

Or

2) Those here who more or less overcompensate in an attempt not to appear racist or xenophobic