Clinton: It's 'heartbreaking' when IT workers must train H-1B replacements

So, I used to work as an electronics technician at micro motion in Boulder Colorado. Same shit they were bringing Chinese in for the electronics part of the manufacturing and Mexicans in to be trained by the welders to take their jobs. Also we had this Vice President named Kristi urquidi... Just like Hillary, sugarcoats everything talks a lot and says nothing. I went that day after my shift and applied as a journeyman electrical apprentice. Got the job, told Micro Motion to shove it in their ass and haven't looked back. Now I'm a Master Electrician. Try shipping that off to China, bitches.

Great Point, I concur.

H1-B and other immigration topics are far more complex than candidates and campaigns give credit in their pandering messages.

The fact is that H1-B visas are capped annually at 65,000 for regular and an additional 20,000 for applicants having (and positions requiring) a masters degree or higher.

Here is where it gets fun.

Every year, USCIS opens filing on April 1, so from the date the previous year's cap is met until April 1 of the following year nobody can even submit an H1-B petition. Also, there are extensive rules regarding the job opening including proving that no American citizens or aliens already possessing work authorization are available with the required skills for the job. The job must also be certified by the Department of Labor with a minimum pay scale that matches the prevailing wage for the region, education and experience level of US workers in similar jobs. Those prevailing wages are at the high end, on purpose to encourage the hiring of US workers.

Here is the reality. Every year, roughly 130,000 H1-B petitions are received on the VERY FIRST DAY or April 1. USCIS is very generous in recognizing irregularities with the post office and counts the first four days as though filed on day one, which adds roughly an additional 10,000 petitions (we immigration lawyers are smart enough to use priority overnight the morning before). So how does USCIS decide who get the 65,000 standard and 20,000 masters or higher cap visas available? They hold a lottery, and those 85,000 lucky applicants get processed and the rest get rejected. While the applicant at least gets their filing fees back, they don't get their legal fees back and those fees average $10,000 to $15,000 depending on the experience level of the attorney and complexity of the labor certification for that particular job.

There is no rush of cheap immigrants stealing Americans' jobs on H1-B visas and those who are lucky enough to win the "lottery" are paid slightly higher than the average US worker. The reason for these visas is that we have shortages of skilled workers in many advanced fields, and that is why senators and congressmen in both parties with knowledge and understanding of labor, immigration and economic issues are constantly trying, in bipartisan fashion, to raise the cap to the estimated 250,000 visas our industry needs.