Dubious companies and bench-time

Seeing the complaints that Programmers Guild filed against certain companies for advertising jobs only to visa holders and the media coverage that it received, I thought about informing the talented folks who may be looking for an opportunity to work in the U.S. about two issues that are important to consider if you are a visa seeker.

Cost
Never pay anyone for sponsoring an H1-B. It is illegal and more importantly the employer itself is probably dubious and doesn't have any work for you. They are making money off your visa sponsorship, if they did have any real work for you, then it should easily cover the cost of visa sponsorship (which is now over $2,000 excluding legal fees - another story). I know the desire that many foreign job seekers have to come to the U.S. to earn a decent living for the betterment of their family and their future, but do not fall into this trap. These type of employers are preying on your desire to immigrate to the U.S. and they may tempt you to pay BIG money in return for visa sponsorship. Did I mention that it is illegal too?

Bench-time
Back in the days I used to hear about bench-time, the period between projects. Many times companies would not pay the consultants when they're out of project. It is common place in the U.S. for companies to do this to permanent residents or U.S. citizens. Its illegal for companies to not pay salary to visa holders during bench-time, it is OK to be unpaid if you are a permanent resident or a U.S. citizen. Infact if a permanent resident or U.S. citizen gets laid off, they can claim unemployment benefits while they look for another job. So its not surprising and also makes economic sense that you don't see them on bench, they're just laid off so that they can get those benefits. Visa holders on the other hand cannot get any unemployment benefits and if they're laid off they have to leave the country. This is one of the many discriminatory rules against job seekers who are on visas. Another reason why the H1 visa should not be tied to any company but to an individual. This will prevent many of the visa abuses that parties like the Programmer's Guild often cite.

The H1 visa program enables talented, amibitious hard-working people from all around the world to pursue the American dream. The U.S. in return gets these highly trained and skilled brains for no cost at all. It is really sad to see some dubious companies preying on the needs of ambitious youngsters who only want to work and earn a living. Its even more sad to see organized groups use the devious schemes as examples to bad mouth the H1 visa program. Do they ever thank the thousands of folks who have contributed immensely to the economy? Considering a 5% unemployment rate, 65,000 is less than 0.45% of the total unemployed. What the U.S. should be worried about is not the few jobs that go to these brilliant foreign talent but the day when these people do not wish to come to the U.S. anymore!