Debating H-1B visas: A ruse exposed [View All]

[OhioChick]

An ingenious new analysis exposing the myriad of myths about foreign engineers and scientists -- and the supposed labor tech shortage -- is another reason for a temporary moratorium on immigration.
Norman Matloff, computer science professor at the University of California, Davis, had a simple premise: Follow the money. If foreign workers truly are the outstanding talents that some American employers insist they are, they would be paid accordingly.

But by computing the ratio of salary to prevailing wage stated by the employer, Mr. Matloff discovered that the alien worker typically is just of average talent.

Most foreign workers work at or near entry level (described by the Department of Labor as something like an apprenticeship), countering industry claims that key innovators are being hired, the study indicated.

This is crucial, since unscrupulous companies are pressuring Congress to expand the H-1B work visa and employment-based green card programs.
The study, "H-1Bs: Still Not the Best and the Brightest," is available online, thanks to the Center for Immigration Studies in Washington, D.C.

In this less-than-ideal economy, it's an ideal time to have a cooling-off period for foreign workers so the best and the brightest Americans can determine fact from fiction about the mythical powers of entry-level aliens entering the U.S.

http://www.pittsburghlive.com/x/pittsburghtrib/opinion/archive/s_565513.html