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  • October 30, 2009 11:29 AM EDT by Liz Claman

    U.S. anti-foreign worker policy "Brain Dead" says Cal Prof

    You guys know I've been out to Silicon Valley countless times to talk to all the hot start-ups and huge tech companies. They all say the same thing:

    If the U.S. is to stay competitive, we've got to keep open the channels that funnel skilled foreign workers here through the H1-B visa program.  Same actually goes for Wall Street. If they can't find American workers for big jobs in finance and I.T., they jump to hire smart, skilled foreign workers who can kick major tail in these gigs.

    Guess what? Not anymore. There's a plethora of these H1-B visas available now but according to UC Berkeley professor Vivek Wadhwa who talked with us yesterday on Fox Business, the visas are sitting unspoken for.

    Why? There's apparently a quiet but forceful U.S. policy in place that pressures companies that have taken TARP money to avoid hiring foreigners.

    On the surface this may look good for American workers but it smells of outright Protectionism which *never* works in the end.   Witness Smoot-Hawley, the Protectionist trade measure put into place in the 1920's that many say caused the Great Depression.

    Listen to Professor Wadhwa's case on this and let me know what you think.

    --Liz

     

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Marie

Sorry, it's a lie. Yes, H1-B visas take jobs from US Citizens. There ARE very smart, hard working, people who are out of work, and need those jobs. At the company where I work, H-1B visa people with degrees from unknown places get jobs, while US citizens are expected to have MIT or Harvard or name school. And if you're going to come to this country, at least learn the language. I am very tired of being told that the person is educated, then the person cannot understand directions.

November 1, 2009 at 8:13 pm

Volomike

C'mon. What evidence do you have that TARP is the reason for the decline in H1Bs? Plus, TARP has strings attached to it that most businesses I know despise.

November 1, 2009 at 2:45 pm
(1 Reply)

Ernie Hoffman

I am not convinced. I've lived in Silicon Valley for 30 yrs and work (when employed) in the hi-tech industry. I believe that despite what companies often say in public, H1B is not about a shortage of domestic engineers, it is about age discrimination and getting cheap foreign labor. If the H1Bs are not getting filled it is because there are no jobs. I don't believe there is any connection with TARP money (which hi-tech company's got TARP$?) nor any govt pressure not to hire foreign engineers.

October 31, 2009 at 12:19 pm

Extropico

The notion that companies look to hire Americans first is really naive. Many internationalists who want America's borders and sovereignty eviscerated look first to hire foreigners. They use illegal antitrust violating oligopolistic means to flood America with workers in order to deny people bargaining rights on salaries. Prefering foreign engineers assists in displacing domestic production of people who produce and invent things, causing long term disequilibria on trade and budget deficits.

October 30, 2009 at 9:33 pm

JP

Guess what? I like the policy. I'll take my chances that our graduates will fill the vacanies.

October 30, 2009 at 6:44 pm

about this blog

  • Liz Claman joined FOX Business Network (FBN) as an anchor in October 2007. Her debut included an exclusive interview with Berkshire Hathaway CEO and legendary investor Warren Buffett.

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