 (Draft #1 - 4/27/2005 - Programmers Guild) Specialty Worker Protection Act of 2005A Bill for the 109th CongressTo amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to apply the recruitment of U.S. workers and non-displacement of U.S. workers protections to all H-1B (specialty occupations) employers. Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, SECTION 1. APPLY H-1B DEPENDENT PROVISIONS TO ALL H-1B VISAS (a) In General - Sections 655.738 and 655.739 of CFR Title 20
are amended to apply to all employers, for all LCAs granted, rather than
just to "H-1B Dependent" employers. Statute ReferencesThe 2004 CFR is here. (The 2005 revision does not seem to be online yet.) (Issue: Are there USC codes matching these CFR codes? Are these statutes part of the Immigration and Nationality Act?) Summary of ArgumentFor over a decade employers have abused the H-1B visa as a tool to displace U.S. workers with foreign workers, sometimes forcing the U.S. workers to first train their replacements, and often paying the nonimmigrant workers substantially less. The visa has spawned the "foreign worker bodyshop" industry, where foreign entities such as TATA Consulting can legally hire exclusively foreign workers and aggressively market them against U.S. workers. The U.S. should not be granting visas which assist foreign companies in undermining U.S. companies on our own soil. The visa is also being abused as a means of facilitating the transfer of U.S. jobs and technology overseas. While Congress has provided protection from displacement and a requirement to first recruit U.S. workers, these provisions currently apply only to "H-1B Dependent" employers, which comprise only about one percent of H-1B users. ("DOL states that only 50 out of the 50,000 estimated H-1B employers will meet the standard"): Congress mandates that DOL rubber-stamp 99% of LCAs without regard for the impact on U.S. workers. There is substantial evidence that many positions being filled by H-1B workers do not require exceptional skills, pay below market wages, and could easily provide needed employment for U.S. workers. Under current legislation, DOL is granting LCAs for wages under $7 per hour, such as for "dental assistant trainee." Certainly there are Americans qualified to fill this job. There is substantial evidence that employers are abusing the H-1B visa.
There is substantial evidence that U.S. workers are being harmed by this visa, often driven from their profession. According to BLS, 25% of U.S. computer programmers have been displaced from their profession since 2000. While many U.S. specialty workers are over age 40, employers are using the H-1B to violate age discrimination statutes, as nearly every H-1B worker is under age 35. TCS, for example, an Indian consulting company using thousands of H-1B workers, had stated on their website their age profile - now removed but still archived. Statistically they are excluding highly experienced U.S. workers over age 40: http://web.archive.org/web/20041010223626/www.tcs-america.com/careers/whyjoin.html Age Profile 20-25 years — 50% This link reveals that they pay their highly degreed and qualified H-1B workers as little as $25k/year salary. (Sort by "wage" to get a better perspective) The provisions of this act would entail only a minor inconvenience to employers that have specialized needs for which no U.S. worker is available. But it would provide U.S. workers a minimum threshold of protection of their Constitutional liberty interests to pursue their chosen profession. Congress should pass this bill. Related BillsHR2849 (108th Congress) To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act with respect to the H-1B and L-1 visa programs to prevent unintended United States job losses, to increase the monitoring and enforcement authority of the Secretary of Labor over such programs, and for other purposes. (29 cosponsors). HR2849 proposed a similar modification to H-1B as this instant bill does. HR 5413 (108th Congress) Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr.: To amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to provide greater protections to domestic and foreign workers under the H-1B nonimmigrant worker program. (Introduced in House) Foreigners drafted U.S. Immigration LawIncredibly, H-1B workers - citizens of other countries - assisted in drafting their own H-1B legislation in October 2000, which increased the H-1B limit to nearly 600,000 over a three year period:
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