http://www.zdnet.com/pcweek/stories/columns/0,4351,2306321,00.html


"Commentary"
"PCWeek Online"


Off the Cuff
H-1B redux
By Stephanie Neil
July 30, 1999 4:18 PM ET



Earlier this week, Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, proposed the "New Workers
for Economic Growth Act," which would increase the number of IT workers
allowed into the United States on a temporary basis. Participants in
this immigration program obtain an H-1B visa, and they must be sponsored
by a company before they're allowed in.


Currently, the H-1B cap is 115,000 visas for fiscal 1999 and 2000. The
cap is supposed to decrease to 107,500 in 2001 and then drop back to the
original 65,000 quota in 2002. Senator Gramm's proposal would increase
the H-1B visa cap to 200,000 through 2002.


I guess we all saw this coming when the 1999 cap was reached in June.
But when I reported a story back in April, in which officials from the
Department of Commerce and the Information Technology Association of
America pledged their devotion to the U.S.-based IT worker through
training and other corporate or industry programs, I really thought
progress was being made in the right direction.


And when I asked whether there was likely to be more lobbying to raise the
cap in the future, their answer was "probably not."


I guess I had my rose-colored glasses on that day, because I was duped. It's
three months later and the push is already on to get more people into this
country to fill all the open IT jobs.


These are people, not numbers


Now, I know someone who has been called to testify before the House
Judiciary Committee on Aug. 5 against any increase in the H-1B cap. His
argument will likely cover economic matters. But I'm more concerned
about the people issues.


What bothers me about H-1B is the total disregard for individuals, who
are only being represented by a number. See, we keep referring to "the
H-1Bs" and "the 200,000 allowed in." These are people with families,
aspirations and talents. Similarly, what about people in the United
States who are in the same situation--families to support, dreams to
fulfill, skills to put to work?


With that in mind, here's why increasing the H-1B cap won't solve anything:


First, companies don't want bodies, they want real people -- someone
they can trust, someone they know has the talent to do the job. Sure,
that someone could be a person with an H-1B visa. One of PC Week's
Corporate Partners said he was wining and dining a job candidate because
he was the right fit for the job. The candidate happened to be an H-1B
visa holder. But the recruitment efforts were based on a genuine need to
get the right person for the right job.


Second, there are plenty of competent people in the United States today.
I'm not sure I buy this whole IT labor shortage argument. It's has more
to do with investing in the people in your company than with finding the
person with exactly the right skill set. Look at it this way: I'm not a
technical person, I'm a journalist. But with the right motivation and
enough drive on my part, I could easily be trained and turned into a
database manager. Invest in the company's future--not a temporary
worker.


Third, at some point the body shops that are recruiting foreign IT
professionals in unethical and, sometimes, illegal ways will be put
under the microscope. These outfits are taking up all the H-1B visas
available to gain the upper hand in filling the jobs that are out there.
There is obvious corruption, and as soon as the Department of Labor gets
enough complaints, they'll be forced to take action (I hope).


The point is, upping the H-1B cap does nothing to help the United States
solve its IT skill-set deficit. What we really need to raise in this
country is the respect shown our fellow men and women.



Are you for or against raising the H-1B cap? Write me at
stephanie_neil@zd.com. Off the Cuff, an online exclusive column, appears
Monday, Wednesday and Friday.