Out of Status Visas are "Good For Business"

Date: Friday, August 09, 2002 12:42 PM

*** H-1B NEWSLETTER ***

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This quote earned immigration attorney Edward Litwin a place on my Quotes
page. The key thing he said is that H-1Bs stay here when their visa is out
of status and there is no enforcement of the law. Then he has the nerve to
say this is good for business!

Immigration Attorney Edward Litwin said, "If their job [H-1B] is terminated
and they're laid off, according to the Immigration Service they are
immediately out of status and are supposed to leave the United States" But
Litwin says U.S. law is not specific about when they have to leave the
country, and there's virtually no enforcement. So many stay as long as they
can, hope to find work, and then try to get new H1Bs. And yes, they do
compete against Americans for work, but Litwin says that's good for
business.

http://beta.kpix.com/news/local/2002/08/07/High_Tech_Employees_Losing_More_Than_Just_Their_Jobs.html
High Tech Employees Losing More Than Just Their Jobs

Len Ramirez
During the high tech boom, qualified workers had their pick of jobs.

Companies desperate for good help even recruited overseas, but now
immigrants who came to Silicon Valley with worker visas are being treated
much differently. Laid off software engineer Mukesh Phadtare has a familiar
story.

"I was working with one of the start up companies, and the company just ran
out of funds, and I got laid off," Phadtare said.

Phadtare came to Silicon Valley three years ago from India on an H1B
temporary worker visa. But now, as he wanders through a high tech job fair
in the South Bay, the place that once welcomed him with open arms has gone
cold.

"Most of the companies are asking for U.S. citizens or a green card, so I
have to look for very few companies here," Phadtare said.

And it's not just the companies. Fueled by these tough times, some of the
people he's competing against for jobs aren't hiding their feelings about
foreign workers.

"Americans should have first right to jobs in America," unemployed engineer
Doug Quigley said

The pressure of being out of work, the glut of engineers, and the scarcity
of jobs mean push has come to shove in Silicon Valley. American-born workers
say H1B's -- most of who are from India or Taiwan -- should go home once
they're laid off. Sounds xenophobic, but that is what's supposed to happen.

"If their job is terminated and they're laid off, according to the
Immigration Service they are immediately out of status and are supposed to
leave the United States," Immigration Attorney Edward Litwin said.

But Litwin says U.S. law is not specific about when they have to leave the
country, and there's virtually no enforcement. So many stay as long as they
can, hope to find work, and then try to get new H1Bs. And yes, they do
compete against Americans for work, but Litwin says that's good for
business.

"We're a great Silicon Valley because we hire the best. And if the best is
an American, companies will hire an American. If the best is from outside
the United States, they're hire someone from outside the United States,"
Litwin said.

When the economy was going full bore in the mid-1990's, 65,000 H1B visas
were issued per year. High tech companies lobbied and got it increased to
195,000 a year by 2000.

"That's the reason there's so much unemployment. They brought in way, way
too many H1B's," unemployed engineer Dave Chapman said.

It's estimated at least 300,000 H1B's are still living in the Bay Area and
many are now like Phadtare -- out of work, with savings and time running
out.

"I don't have enough funds to survive here, so I'll stay here two to three
months, and then go back to my country," Phadtare said.

And as the cycles of boom and bust play out, there may be a time when he's
needed again.

ť 08-07-2002

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