Is Hillary's Silence on H1 Visas Golden?

[RiverLover]

Economic Times

Is Hillary's Silence on H1 Visas Golden?
May 1, 2016

By Cyrus D Mehta

(The writer is an immigration lawyer at Wall Street, New York, and adjunct associate professor of law at Brooklyn Law School. In other words, a man who has no problem with H1 Visas stealing American tech jobs.)


....The H-1B visa has become controversial since 2015 after the media reported about US workers being laid off upon American companies contracting with India-based IT firms to take over their IT functions. If Clinton does support an increase in H-1B visa numbers and understands the benefit that the H-1B programme brings to US companies and to the consumer, perhaps it is strategic of her to not say anything at this point.

In the past, Clinton has spoken in support of increasing H-1B visas, like in a 2007 speech to Silicon Valley executives where she said, "I am reaffirming my commitment to the H-1B visa and increasing the current cap. Foreign skilled workers contribute greatly to what we have to do in being innovators." When Clinton was a senator from New York in 2003, she inaugurated the offices of TCS in Buffalo. However, when America was in its worst recession in 2009, she said while visiting India,.. "Outsourcing is a concern for many communities and businesses in my country."

…..Clinton's silence on H-1B visas is a good sign when the visa programme has become so poisoned in recent times. However, if she is pushed by Trump in the general election campaign, she may sound tougher on H-1B visas, although this may all be part of campaign rhetoric.

Her past statements in support of H-1B visas, and her silence in this campaign even when Bernie Sanders criticised her for her past support of H-1B visas, mean that she will probably support the H-1B visa programme if she is elected president, and will push Congress in the direction of expanding rather than curtailing the H-1B visa.

Read more at:
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/articleshow/52057165.cms?utm_source=contentofinterest&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=cppst

Wall Street has their fingers & toes crossed for her to be our next president. So many reasons, so much profit to make with Globalization of Low Wages spread in the US & throughout the world! Massive Profits for the top .05% 2016!!! GO Hillary!

[yourpaljoey]

1. Hillary 2016: Think of the PROFITS!!!

[djean111]

2. As someone who has lost a couple of tech jobs to H-1B visas, and seen many many friends put out of

work - this is another quite unalterable reason I will not vote for Hillary.

Oh, and anyone who slings "racist" shit at me - we all would have just as devastated and unemployed if our jobs had been taken by Norwegians or Peruvians. That is a stupid stupid word to use.

[RiverLover]

4. You're so right, the word misused is stupid, manipulative, deflective, lessens its meaning.

Much like Clinton.

But they have to reach for something when its clear that Hillary is more republican than many republicans.

[lumberjack_jeff]

10. In this primary, racism and misogyny are now functionally equivalent to "Is so! Times a million!"

It's the trump card that enables the user to silence debate while maintaining the illusion of moral superiority.

[Ino]

3. Has this even been brought up at a debate or townhall?

Hillary Clinton (D-Punjab)'s Personal Financial and Political Ties to India

http://graphics8.nytimes.com/packages/pdf/politics/memo1.pdf

The Clintons have reaped significant financial rewards from their relationship with the Indian community, both in their personal finances and Hillary's campaign fundraising. Hillary Clinton, who is the co-chair of the Senate India Caucus, has drawn criticism from anti-offshoring groups for her vocal support of Indian business and unwillingness to protect American jobs. Bill Clinton has invested tens of thousands of dollars in an Indian bill payment company, while Hillary Clinton has taken tens of thousands from companies that outsource jobs to India. Workers who have been laid off in upstate New York might not think that her recent joke that she could be elected to the Senate seat in Punjab is that funny.

(more at link)

[RiverLover]

5. I don't think so. I wish it had. Wow! Their corruption is just unending.

Thanks for the info. Its just so devastating that this is what we'll most likely get. And she'll be calling herself a Democrat. The damage to the US coming our way is beyond frightening.

[Kip Humphrey]

6. So reality of H-1B visas is: Domestic engineer $150,000+; H-1B Indian engineer: $78,000.

I witnessed this personally over and over and over. There is but ONE REASON corporations crave H-1B visas: lower labor costs.

edited to add:
That H-1B Indian engineer typically see much less than $78,000 because they must pay their Indian H-1B visa headhunter shop for their health insurance and placement fee such that their personal income is actually $53,000-58,000.

[MisterP]

8. AND remittances--the point is that labor doesn't get to profit from its effort

SF has a bad habit of doing this ever since the 1840s

[Sunlei]

7. They're both silent on HB visas, using 13th amendment for prison slavery, DOD half of Federal spendi

spending, cannabis as a class1 drug, prison sentences 1000X for crack vs the powder. 10,000 percent profits on medicines..... we need to make a longer list.

[Retrograde]

9. Controversial since 2015?

Where was the author for the previous 20 years? It's been an issue in Silicon Valley since the late 90s, when we started to notice large groups of foreign - usually Indian engineers - no more qualified than their US counterparts being brought in to replace the more expensive native workers. And as senator in the early 2000s Clinton was a big advocate.