Toward a Wiser, More Equitable Policy on Visas for the

Professional High Tech Workforce

Proposal by the Programmers Guild to Representative Zoe Lofgren

About the Programmers Guild

• Founded in 1998

• The Programmers Guild promotes the interest of high tech workers in the USA

• Endorse candidates that are supportive of our goals

• Educate constituents of our local districts as to the effects of government programs that impact them financially

• See our site at http://www.programmersguild.org/american.htm for more information

Contacts

• Terry Oldberg (650) 941-0533

terry@oldberg.biz• Kris Moe (408) 374-1875

kemoe1966@yahoo.com• Claude Clark (408) 433-9242

clarkclaude@prodigy.net• Norm Matloff

matloff@laura.cs.ucdavis.edu

Background

• U.S. Code generally restricts the ability of employers to import non-immigrant workers from abroad

• Since 1998, employers have lobbied successfully for relaxation of these restrictions in relation to computer professionals

The market for professional labor has been inundated with non-

immigrant visa holders

The saturation of foreign high tech workers has negatively

impacted the domestic high tech work force

Professional Visas from 1986 to 2002

0

100

200

300

400

500

600

700

800

1986 1990 1994 1998 2002

Visas

*“Professional Visa” : an L-1, H-1B or TN visa Sources

•Visas: Nelson, G., http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/VisaGlut.PDF

•Degrees: National Science Foundation

Cumulative, Professional Visas vs. High Tech Jobs (millions)

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

1986 1990 1994 1998 2002

High Tech Jobs,2000

High Tech Jobs,2001

CumulativeProfessionalVisas Since 1985

Sources

•Visas: Nelson, G., http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/VisaGlut.PDF•Jobs: American Electronics Association

One out of five jobs in Santa Clara county has been lost since 2000

Source: San Jose Mercury News

Posted on Sat, Mar. 01, 2003

Valley of the grim191,500: JOBS LOST IN COUNTY SINCE HEIGHT OF THE BOOM, OR 1 IN 5By Margaret SteenMercury News

Updated state figures released Friday show just how devastating the downturn has been in Silicon Valley: Nearly one in five jobs in Santa Clara County has vanished since the height of the boom in December 2000.

The data also confirms what job-seekers have felt for months: The county's unemployment rate last year was worse than previously estimated, in some months almost a full percentage point higher. The revised rate was more than 8 percent for nearly all of 2002. In January, unemployment was 8.6 percent.

Jobs for Programmers Dropped 21% in Metropolitan San Jose between

2000 and 2001

0100002000030000400005000060000700008000090000

100000

2000 2001

Jobs, Computer& MathematicalOccupations(BLS data)

While the Government Handed Out Hundreds of Thousands of H-1B visas

0

20000

40000

60000

80000

100000

120000

140000

160000

180000

2000 2001

H-1B visas issued toprogrammers

Sources

Number of visas from Nelson, G., http://www.zazona.com/ShameH1B/VisaGlut.PDF Proportion of visas to programmers from INS

Economic Effects of the H-1B, L1 and TN visa programs

• Unemployed or under employed domestic workforce

• Lower average wages for professionals in the impacted industry

• Lost tax revenue for Federal, State and local agencies

• Financial ruin for many domestic workers and their families

Employers’ Arguments for Vast Numbers of Visas

• “Desperate shortage”

• Needed access to geniuses

Inconsistencies with “Shortage”

• Young, computer industry engineers make no more than young non-computer industry engineers (1998, UC Berkeley study)

• Old, computer industry engineers make less than old non-computer industry engineers (1998, UC Berkeley study)

Inconsistencies with “Shortage” (continued)

• Firms hire only a few percent of applicants for programming jobs (Matloff, “Debunking the Myth…”

• Less than 50% of computer science majors find professional-level jobs at graduation (Matloff, “Debunking the Myth…”

• 20 years after graduation, 81% of computer science majors have dropped out of their profession (Matloff, “Debunking the Myth…”

Inconsistency with “Genius”

• Number of graduate degrees in Computer Science awarded to foreign nationals: 3000 per year

• Cap on new, H-1B visas for industry: 195,000 per year

• Cap on H-1B visas for academia: none• Cap on L-1 visas: none• Cap on TN visas: none

Current Law Rejected by Citizens

• In 1998, 82 percent of a sample of adults opposed a bill "allowing U.S. companies to sponsor 190,000 additional foreign technical workers, as temporary employees for up to six years." 16 percent were in favor, while 2 percent were unsure. (Harris Poll)

Current Law Rejected by Citizens (continued)

• In 2000, 67% of a sample of residents of Southeastern Michigan opposed a bill to increase the cap on H-1B visas by 297,500 over the next 3 years. 22% supported the legislation and 11% had no opinion (Sarpolus poll)

Principles underlying a wiser, more equitable policy on visas for

programmers

• Visa programs should not negatively impact the finances of the domestic workforce

• Equal treatment of domestic workforce and visa holders

Principles (continued)

• Ability of high tech companies to hire true geniuses

• Maximization of the economic benefits, given the constraints

Proposed Law

• Visas for programmers shall be replaced by licenses to employ foreign programmers

• The government shall sell the licenses at auction to the highest bidders

• The licenses may be traded among employers at prices set by a free market

• Eliminate exemption for educational institutions

Proposal

• The Programmers Guild shall assist Representative Lofgren’s staff in drafting a law along the lines presented

• Representative Lofgren shall propose passage of this law to the U.S. House of Representatives