According to an Associated Press investigation, the top banks receiving TARP funds are bringing in talent from abroad, even as they are laying off thousands of American employees:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090201/ap_on_bi_ge/b…
Apparently this has been going on for some time, but the efforts to recruit foreign talent spiked as the bubble burst last year.
As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in fiscal 2007 to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.
The article suggests that the banks are doing this because they can pay foreign employees less, but I'm not sure that's true. However, the banks would have much greater leverage over those employees because with an H-1B visa they can't defect to a competing bank and they can be fired and sent home at the drop of a hat.
Anyone have a problem with this practice, or is it just business as usual?
I'm sorry but this article is very misleading. In order for the USCIS to issue an H1B, companies need to show that they are paying the same amount in wage (they can't pay less than the prevailing wage for a US worker).
Additionally, the increase in Visa application in 2008 is reflective of the hiring needs in 2007 and recruiting was predominantly done in 2006.
Foreign workers under the H1b can work for any employer once the H1b is obtained. H1b is transferable to any US companies willing to sponsor the worker, as most banks sponsor Visa transfers.
I've got a buddy on an H1b Visa (in a non-banking field) and he is absolutely restricted to who he can work for. If he loses his job with the sponsoring company, he has to go back to England, do not pass go, do not collect $200. He definitely cannot accept a job with another company. Oddly enough, he also has to leave the country every year and have his passport stamped in another country, which usually amounts to a vacation in Cancun every year.
Then why do they do it?
The article is very misleading, and it essentially contradicts itself.
Firstly, approval for a H1-B requires that the company pays wages equal to what they'll pay for a US citizen/PR.
Secondly, within the article, it mentioned "The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households." Later on in the article, it had the wisdom to state "Foreigners are attractive hires because companies have found ways to pay them less than American workers." So the writers are complaining that banks pay on average twice the median wage of American households, but they are also underpaying them. This is made at the same time that they are complaining about excessive compensation in banks.
The article actually does not contradict itself with the quote you provided. It only used poor wording which confuses the point.
The article is/was implying that foreigners on H1-B visas are underpaid when compared to their American colleagues for the amount of work and responsibility they handle, although the work does pay them almost twice the median of the entire American household's income.
http://thematurationofshane.wordpress.com
you require a sponsor at all times to remain in the US under h1b. nevertheless, you may switch sponsors (employer) while on h1b. the problem edmundo pointed out comes from when an h1b does not have a sponsor.
Or maybe he is using a cap-exempt h1b, such as those provided by non-profit organizations, which is not transferrable
The whole purpose of H1B "Special Skilled Labor" is to fill in the work force gap that is being created due to excessive demand and not enough supply. Come on now, do you truly believe that we have more jobs than the available human resources? Americans are walking down wall street with their resumes hanging around their necks!!
I believe it is pretty shameful that our economy is looking worst than a urinal at Grand Central, yet most of the corporations are more concerned and focused on "in-sourcing." To address Edmundo's question, it surly is business as usual! What a pity!
There is some confusion going on in this thread. So I am going to try and explain the visa deal in a simple, hopefully non-intrusive, and insensitive manner, without insulting too many people. Do you remember the IB analyst from Europe, Asia etc., or the trader from India, South America etc., your classmate from Spain/Germany/UK at Harvard/Wharton/NYU that went to GS, MS etc., the associate from B-School who had a deep Eastern European accent and got an offer from Banc of America/UBS/DB? Guess what they are all foreigners and they all had to go on an H-1B visa to work in the States, as the fact that they graduate in the US does not give them any right to work (for more than one year), and no they can’t just get a green card – they don’t give those out like candy. Now think about the back office guy and your IT support at Citi/MS/GS that have thick accents, yea most likely they are foreigners that went to US school XYZ and all they got was a back office job that pays $50K/year and yes they are also on an H-1B. So now you take your associate from Poland and your back office IT from Malaysia and average those two salaries are you getting closer to that $90, 721? Were any of them underpaid? Now let’s switch the scenario as I have been around this website long enough I can recall a good number of Americans studying in Europe and trying to get a job with banks in Europe. I am pretty sure Edmundo is not French by birth or citizenship how is he working in Europe? He probably got a visa and eventually is going to get an “EU green card”, or maybe he married a European? In any case what should Europeans say to all these Americans that are taking jobs here in Europe – Oh I am sorry you know we are also in a recession and have a sky rocket unemployment so NO there is no job for you here, go back to America. Or oh no way I don’t care you graduated with 1st degree form Cambridge/LBS you are being underpaid and taking European jobs. Maybe we should ask Deutsche Bank, Credit Suisse, Barclays, HSBC, UBS, Lazard, Rothschild etc. why the hell they are displacing Europeans with Americans – shame on them! Does all this sound ridiculous to you? Do you view yourself as lowly skilled American taking European jobs just because you went to INSEAD/LBS/IMD? Different countries have different immigration laws, in the US the only way to work legally if you are a foreigner (on an F-1, J-1, M-1 visa, excluding Canadians & Mexicans (TN visa is available for them), Australians (E-1 visa is available for them))graduating a US university is by obtaining an H-1B visa, which is sponsored by the employer and is tied to the job and sponsoring employer. If the visa is from the allotted cap it is transferable to all employers (willing to file a transfer), if it is a cap-exempt(non-profit, NGO etc.) you can only transfer to another cap-exempt employer.
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