Homeland Security Probes L-1 Visa Abuses

Discussion in 'IT and Computer-Related Degrees' started by jimnagrom, Mar 22, 2006.

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  1. jimnagrom

    jimnagrom New Member

    HOMELAND SECURITY PROBES L-1 VISA ABUSES

    The Inspector General's report published in January of this year by
    the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), titled "Review of
    Vulnerabilities and Potential Abuses of the L-1 Visa Program."

    First, some background on what the L-1 visa program is. The program
    allows a foreign worker employed by a company overseas for at least one
    year to enter the United States temporarily, "in order to continue to
    render his services to the same employer or a subsidiary or affiliate
    ... in a capacity that is managerial, executive, or involves specialized
    knowledge."

    According to Frank Robinson, CFO at Darwin Partners, insurance companies
    are bringing in foreign workers under L-1, providing food and lodging,
    but are paying the guest workers at the salary they were getting back
    home. If a typical programmer in the United States makes $60,000 to
    $80,000 per year, these workers are being paid as little as one-quarter
    of that. And they can stay as long as five to seven years.

    These workers may be employees of the insurance company; or worse, they
    could be employees of IT services companies, known as "body shops," who
    hire them out for a fee.

    Using foreign workers and paying them below American scale is only one
    abuse. A second is bringing in workers for training. In this case, there
    is no way to pretend that these workers have skills that the company
    needs.

    http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=117696E:1F498CB
     
  2. spmoran

    spmoran Member

    My last job was with an insurance carrier and they used an army of these TCS folks from India on L1 visas. They got up to 7 years on the job and got paid a pittance. With the exception of one of them, they didn't do a very good job and when I came in I had a lot of clean-up to do on the initiatives they started. It was a minor disaster.
     

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