[CI News – Things have slowed down on the CI website as you know, due to my extremely packed schedule. But I will get back in the saddle at some point. We’ve launched the ITIndependents.com website and there is a lively list discussion going on with other webmasters putting together similar independents sites in other states.

If you have any suggestions about how to improve the coloradoindependents website, please feel free to reply to this newsletter with them. The next big thing to go up on the site, when it finally does, will be a big list of agents and agencies.

I’m killing 2 birds with one stone on this newsletter. I wrote the following for a website I’ve taken to visiting while on contract: www.angrycoder.com. In fact I’ve written a few articles for them but thought this might be if particular interest for the independents newsletter. You can follow the responses some are making to this article by visiting the angrycoder website. Perhaps you might want to try your hand as a writer there too. They received close to 100,000 page visits last month.]

INVASION OF THE H1-BEES

I can hear the wailing and gnashing of teeth already. If you are in IT, especially with a larger firm, you've probably come face-to-face with H1-B visa holders.

There are some individuals here in America, filled with rancor, who say the H1-B's take away "our" jobs. Like snarling dogs approaching a fire hydrant, these "Born in the USA" patriots seem immune to the big picture view of the world and the universe around them.

Swathed in "flag-talk", these defenders of the empire, happy to consume a lifestyle fueled by dollar-a-day working children from say, China, are now trumpeting the dark song: "Us Versus Them". And now that the economy has downshifted, expect the pitch of that song to become shrill.

A very few, fortunately, of my associates and friends "hurt my ears "when their other, more vitriolic side lets loose on "those damn [insert plural H1-B country origin]". It's unbelievable to hear this coming from the well educated!

Let's not confuse H1-B's with refugee's fleeing a bad situation - then draining the resources of sympathetic host countries. That's a separate and serious issue that does not bear on the H1-B issue.

Most folks don't have any idea what it takes to get into the USA on an H1-B visa, not that the challenges mean anything to those acting from emotional prejudice. Here is a summary:

(1) The visa enables the foreign worker to enter the United States to work temporarily in a professional capacity, with the emphasis on "temporarily".

(2) The U.S. government requires at least five agencies to certify a foreign employee for work in the States. And all of the paperwork goes through one under-funded key player in the certification process; The State Economic Security Department. Doesn't that name send chills down your back? Can you say "hurry up and wait"?

(3) To qualify for an H1-B, foreign workers must fit into a category of "priority workers" that include: workers with advanced degrees or exceptional ability, professionals (Bachelor's Degree or equivalent), and skilled workers.

(4) Foreign workers must demonstrate that the occupation sought is of a special nature that cannot be easily filled with the workforce available in the United States. Demonstrating the special nature of a position typically requires a statement by the sponsoring employer.

(5) The H1-B visa is linked to a particular employer sponsoring the foreign worker. Not only must the worker have a sponsoring employer to apply, but the H1-B cannot be transferred for employment with any other employer.

(6) Generally, the H1-B visa is valid for three years. However, it may be extended for an additional three years, resulting in a six-year maximum. Seeking a second H1-B because of changed employers does not extend the visa. The absolute maximum duration for a visa under the "H" category is six years. The visa holder must then leave the country for at least a year, and can then re-apply for another visa.

To the foreign worker, one of the greatest advantages to the H1-B visa is that it allows the professional to seek permanent residency, or a "Green Card" for themselves and their entire nuclear family while in the United States.

I, for one, am glad that our H1-B guests are here. Like us, they seek to improve their lives and standard of living. Most have undergone (and continue to undergo) immense challenges to be here, including local enmity. The values foreign guests bring, and the values they return home, go far toward providing the kind of dialogue the world needs - the kind that the U.S. government can't provide. And if the H1-B guest manages, ultimately, to become a permanent US resident, I say welcome, lets go fly-fishing.

[Disclaimer: I have worked several years both in the United Kingdom and Holland as an American foreign guest visa worker.]

Regards,

Clint Lewis
CI Editor
719 442 0926
http://www.coloradoindependents.com
clint@32u.com

Photo by Todd Powell Photography
http://www.toddpowell.com