This is a do-nothing policy by the @USDOL that has been an utter failure in the past. It implies that there's a "labor shortage", so a portion of the fees collected from filed H-1B petitions will be used to fund programs that "train American workers". law360.com/articles/13139…
It's the perfect cheap labor funneling scheme:
"There's a shortage of skilled workers so let's keep bringing in more H-1Bs who in turn will help facilitate the training of our own domestic workforce so we won't need the H-1B workers in the future."
What's laughable about this "H-1B One Workforce Grant Program" asides the horrible name is that it seeks to help train Americans WITHOUT college degrees for the jobs that H-1Bs are occupying. So H-1B workers are occupying jobs that don't require a Bachelor's degree? You don't say
If you want to understand how the law lets employers legally pay H‑1B workers less than market wages and how that harms American workers, our latest Substack explains it.
🧵 THREAD:
At the heart of this is the Labor Condition Application (LCA), a brief form employers submit to @USDOL before hiring H‑1B workers.
It’s meant to protect local wage standards and keep Americans from being undercut. In practice, it’s a rubber‑stamp process with no real scrutiny.
The system relies on employers to truthfully select wage levels based on an H‑1B worker’s skills and experience. But because the DOL can’t verify that information, employers exploit this asymmetry, labeling skilled roles as entry‑level to pay lower wages:
1/ While American engineering graduates struggle with stagnant wages and limited job opportunities, they face an additional challenge that receives insufficient attention: intense competition from foreign guest workers who are systematically imported to fill engineering positions.
The scope of this competition is staggering. In 2023, while America graduated 137,237 citizen engineers with bachelor's or master's degrees, the federal government simultaneously approved at least 33,836 foreign guest workers with engineering backgrounds through just three major guest worker programs.
NYT: “… tariffs reduce trade by making goods more expensive; they don’t affect services or offshoring, the practice of hiring workers overseas… Indian workers are doing the kind of jobs that Americans workers envy — for American companies.”
Major American tech companies, along with leading American banks, proudly highlight their large offices in India and remain unconcerned about Trump’s tariffs. They believe his focus is mainly on the $46 billion trade deficit, rather than on the offshoring of professional jobs.
Why are American companies offshoring to India? It’s for cheap labor of course, which corporate admits saves costs. But that doesn’t stop reporter @travelli from pushing the debunked “labor shortage” propaganda. Imagine claiming this amid mass tech layoffs in the U.S. right now.
🧵You thought the H-1B visa was bad? Wait until you hear about the largest guest worker program killing jobs for new American college grads—the Optional Practical Training (OPT):
• No caps
• Employers get payroll tax exemptions
• No wage requirements
@NumbersUSA explains:
OPT was originally a 1-year work permit for international students graduating from U.S. colleges to gain U.S. work experience to take back to their home countries. It was never meant as a permanent immigration pathway, but rather a short-term opportunity for skill development
OPT was intended as a short-term work permit, but it evolved into a tool to secure U.S. jobs and a pathway to for securing long-term work visas like the H-1B. Employers saw OPT workers as desperate, willing to do anything for H-1B sponsorship before their permit expired.
A federal investigation is underway after a senior official from @GovKathyHochul’s office flagged fraud involving dozens of state-contracted programming "consultants" who falsified their educational credentials.
The suspects: H-1B visa workers from India hired by outsourcing firms.
A tech recruiter claims Indian students are falsifying bank statements and transcripts to get visas, with some paying others to attend job interviews for them. Once hired, they have someone in India do all the work because they are incapable of doing the work themselves.
An Indian citizen charged for receiving kickbacks for hiring fraudsters is pleading with U.S. authorities for his Green Card petition to proceed while his criminal case is pending in court. This highlights the massive fraud contributing to the Green Card backlog for Indians.