The H1B issue: Yes, American workers, YOU DO QUALIFY FOR THAT JOB.

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25. Prevailing wage is the one published by the DOL and freely available online

at www.flcdatacenter.com. It is based on the job title and geographical location. DOL and USCIS have the power to question your usage of the prevailing wage and to request that you change your job description if the PW and job duties don't match.

Please note the H-1B visa is a 'specialty occupation' visa. H-1Bs are only for those positions that require the knowledge acquired by possessing at least a U.S. bachelor's degree or above (or their foreign equivalents). The job must be a professional job and the person must possess the required academic credentials. You cannot apply for an H-1B visa for a secretarial position, nor can you apply if you only possess a high school diploma without any experience or further academic work.

Academic credentials not obtained in the U.S. must be evaluated by USCIS-approved third-party credential evaluation agencies who review the transcripts and verify that the schools actually exist. They also have reference books on all worldwide schools, universities and colleges and can make a determination on the equivalence.

Certain universities in India, for instance, grant a bachelor's degree that is not recognized as equivalent to a U.S. bachelor's degree.
Certain high schools in Europe, for instance, grant a diploma that is actually equivalent to two years of college in the U.S., whereas European technical institute diplomas are often equivalent to U.S. bachelor's degrees.

Moreover, USCIS has an 'experience' rule that can also be used where it decrees that three years of verifiable full-time experience are equivalent to one year of undergraduate studies (this rule has been changed a few times - it used to be 2 years of experience for 1 year of undergrad).