The Senate passed immigration bill has provisions to increase the H1-B visas to 115,000 per year and exempt certain U.S. Master's degree holders from the cap. What may come as a surprise to most of you is IEEE-USA is strongly opposed to allowing foreign high-tech workers. They say they're concerned about the "alleged" abuse of the H1-B and the L1 visa programs and the system needs to be fixed before it is expanded.I remember during my college days when applicants to U.S. universities would pay money and take up membership with the IEEE. Little did they know that their own money would go to advocacy against their ability to work in the USA.
While their passion to oppose the H1-B program is understandable, their opposition to legal high-skilled immigration is truly appalling and both a disservice and a misrepresentation to all the aspiring immigrants who were or are members of the organization. Why is a professional enhancement organization getting into politics?
Unemployment rate in IT is at 2% compared to the 5% overall U.S. unemployment rate. That's practically full employment. Sure the economic recession of 2002 drove out a large part of the IT work force into other fields but they're now free to come back to IT. If they can, then why is the unemployment rate so low? What IEEE-USA members are interested in is to raise their wages to higher levels by allowing the work force shortage to continue. That's their goal and they will swoop to any levels to achieve it.
2 comments:
Damn! IEEE of all organizations is opposing it? Are they out of their mind. You just can't trust anyone these days. Am I glad that I never bothered to renew my membership over the last 2 years!
~Manoj~
They have alliances to groups like Zazona, CIS, H1bInfo. If you visit the websites of any of these groups, you will see how they want immigration "reform" - politically correct term for anti-immigration.
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