Chicago, IL (PRWEB) September 18, 2007 --
One of the nation's largest county government bodies is expected to vote on September 18, 2007, to open the H-1b visa-hiring program to US citizens and legal residents - in opposition to 13 governors who last week urged Congress to expand the program, without ever requiring employers to seek local talent for top-dollar, white-collar jobs.
The Cook County Board of Commissioners (IL) will vote on a resolution co-sponsored by Commissioners Larry Suffredin and Roberto Maldonado to support U.S. Senate bill 1035 that would, for the first time, require employers to seek local talent before securing Department of Labor (DOL) permits to hire citizens from abroad. The bi-partisan bill pending in congress, "H-1B and L-1 Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007", introduced by U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Chuck Grassley (R-IA), would overhaul these visa hiring programs by giving priority to American professionals and crack down on unscrupulous employers who deprive qualified Americans of jobs and then exploit citizens from abroad.
The resolution urges the United States Congress to pass the bill and urges President Bush to sign it. In addition, copies of the resolution will be sent to President George Bush, President of the Senate Richard Cheney, Senator Harry Reid, Majority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell, Minority Leader, Representative Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the House, Representative John Boehner, and Minority Leader of the House.
These members representing Cook County will also receive a copy of the resolution: Senator Richard Durbin (D-IL), Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), Representative Judy Biggert (R-IL),Representative Rahm Emanuel (D-IL), Representative Jerry Costello (R-IL), Representative Melissa Bean (D-IL), Representative Danny K. Davis (D-IL), Representative Luis Gutierrez (D-IL), Representative Jesse L. Jackson Jr. (D-IL), Representative Mark Kirk (R-IL), Representative William O. Lipinski (D-IL), Representative Bobby L. Rush (D-IL),Representative Jan Schakowsky(D-IL) Representative Jerry Weller (R-IL), and Representative Peter Roskam (R-IL).
Since the program's inception 17 years ago, employers have been legally permitted to bypass qualified and willing U.S. citizens and green-card holders (permanent legal U.S. residents) and even displace U.S. workers. According to the U.S. DOL's Strategic Plan, Fiscal Years 2006-2011 (pg. 35) : "...H-1B workers may be hired even when a qualified U.S. worker wants the job, and a U.S. worker can be displaced from the job in favor of the foreign worker."
Board members will hear testimony Tuesday about the loss of 9,000 information technology (IT) jobs from the Chicago metropolitan area in 2006, along with testimony from displaced technical professionals. The County Board is expected to pass the resolution urging Congress to pass the Durbin-Grassley visa reform bill.
"As an Hispanic-American, I know too well the impact of being bypassed for good jobs," said Cook County Commissioner Roberto Maldonado, a co-sponsor. "Because of discrimination, my career as a public servant has been dedicated to expanding equality and opportunity for my constituents and my community."
"The H-1B and L-1 programs aren't fundamentally about immigration. These programs allow the exploitation and mistreatment of guest workers while denying U.S. workers and permanent legal residents the opportunity to compete for jobs. We should not allow companies to gain an unfair advantage with these programs and drive out small businesses. Finally, we should reform these programs so that companies don't outsource jobs using these programs."
Commissioner Larry Suffredin, introduced the resolution saying, "The purpose of the bill is to ensure that American-university trained computer experts are given an opportunity before we call in university-trained experts from overseas."
"I'm proud to be represented by a county board that understands that the heart of America is opportunity and the promise of America is to extend that opportunity to all of its citizens and legal residents - period," said Donna Conroy, former technology professional, who founded and directs a grassroots campaign to counteract claims that Americans are not qualified for science and technology jobs. Her organization, Brightfuturejobs.org, has long lobbied to reform the H-1B visa program so that U.S. citizens and green-card holders can compete for good-paying jobs.
"The H-1B visa-hiring program is a trap. It traps the US workforce by excluding them from job competition. It traps citizens from abroad into visa swindles and exploitation. It traps the American public into believing there is a shortage of technical talent, when in fact, both American and H-1B's technical professionals face continuing unemployment," said Conroy.
The H-1b visa program was signed into law in 1990. Congressional members were assured by technology industry lobbyists that this program would only be used when "no qualified Americans were available". Brightfuturejobs.org broke through the confusion and helped congressional members realize that the law never required companies to recruit Americans or legal residents before receiving government permits to hire citizens from abroad.
for more information contact:
Donna Conroy
773-764-5865
773-678-0627 (cell)
Commissioner Roberto Maldonado
Kathleen Oskandy, Chief of Staff
312-603-6410
Commissioner Larry Suffredin
Mike Gwinn, Chief of Staff
312-603-6383
PROPOSED RESOLUTION
SPONSORED BY
THE HONORABLE LARRY SUFFREDIN AND ROBERTO MALDONADO
COOK COUNTY COMMISSIONERS
RESOLUTION SUPPORTING THE H-1B AND L-1B VISA
FRAUD AND ABUSE PREVENTION ACT OF 2007
WHEREAS, the federal H-1B program was created to provide companies and universities access to foreign workers in areas determined to be a "specialty occupation" by the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, but, instead, has become abused by employers as a de-facto outsourcing program; and
WHEREAS, through the H-1B program, employers are not required to seek local talent, thus blocking local white collar workers, including administrative and professional positions, from competing for these job openings; and
WHEREAS, thousands of American white collar workers have been laid off and their jobs offered to H-1B visa holders, many in the technology sector, the backbone of the new information economy; and
WHEREAS, the Information Technology ("IT") sector has lost hundreds of thousands of jobs since the recession of 2001 and not only has failed to replace those jobs, but also continues to severely under-represent women and minorities; and
WHEREAS, more than half of the IT jobs filled under the FY 2005 H-1B program were designated as entry-level white collar positions; and
WHEREAS, the H-1B program further accelerates the race to the bottom for white collar workers by allowing employers to offer lower wages and impose other unfair labor practices by making the H-1B visa holder beholden to their employer and holding the threat of deportation over his or her head; and
WHEREAS, in Cook County, between 2001 and 2005 over 180,000 white collar jobs were put at risk, because of the H-1B program; and
WHEREAS, Senators Dick Durbin and Charles Grassley have introduced S. 1035, the H-1B and L-1B Visa Fraud and Abuse Prevention Act of 2007 to reform the H-1B hiring program by requiring employers to recruit from the US workforce first, attest that the H-1B visa holder will not displace an American worker and require that companies advertise job openings for 30 days on the Department of Labor website before resorting to the H-1B program;
THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Cook County Board of Commissioners does hereby support S. 1035 and urges the United States Congress to pass the measure and President Bush to sign it; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that suitable copies of the Resolution be delivered to the President of the United States, the President of the United States Senate, the Majority Leader of the Senate, the Minority Leader of the Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the Minority Leader of the House of Representatives and all members of Congress representing Cook County.
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I VISAS: Foreign Media, Press and Radio
A citizen of a foreign country, who wishes to enter the United States, generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The type of visa you must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel. The "media (I)" visa is a nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily who are representatives of the foreign media traveling to the United States, engaging in their profession, having the home office in a foreign country. Some procedures and fees under immigration law, relate to policies of the travelers home country, and in turn, the U.S. follows a similar practice, which we call “reciprocity”. Procedures ...
C VISAS: Transit Visas
The "C" visa is intended for those individuals whose travel takes them through the U.S., without intending to actually enter the U.S.
G VISAS: Employees of International Organizations and NATO
A citizen of a foreign country, who wishes to enter the United States, generally must first obtain a visa, either a nonimmigrant visa for temporary stay, or an immigrant visa for permanent residence. The type of visa you must have is defined by immigration law, and relates to the purpose of your travel.
A visa allows a foreign citizen to travel to a United States port-of-entry, and request permission of the U.S. immigration inspector to enter the U.S. A visa does not guarantee entry into the U.S.
A VISAS: Foreign Government or Diplomatic Visas
Diplomatic visas are used by diplomats and other government officials for travel to the United States.
B VISAS: Visitor Visas for Business or Pleasure
The "visitor" visa is a nonimmigrant visa for persons desiring to enter the United States temporarily for business (B-1) and for pleasure or medical treatment (B-2).
E VISAS: Treaty Traders and Treaty Investors
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides nonimmigrant visa status for a national of a country with which the United States maintains a treaty of commerce and navigation who is coming to the United States to carry on substantial trade, including trade in services or technology, principally between the United States and the treaty country, or to develop and direct the operations of an enterprise in which the national has invested, or is in the process of investing a substantial amount of capital.
H VISAS: Temporary Workers
The Immigration and Nationality Act provides several categories of nonimmigrant visas for a person who wishes to work temporarily in the United States. There are annual numerical limits on some classifications which are shown in parentheses.
J VISAS: Exchange Visitors
The Exchange Visitor Program is carried out under the provisions of the Mutual Educational and Cultural Exchange Act of 1961, as amended. The purpose of the Act is to increase mutual understanding between the people of the United States and the people of other countries by means of educational and cultural exchanges. International educational and cultural exchanges are one of the most effective means of developing lasting and meaningful relationships. They provide an extremely valuable opportunity to experience the United States and our way of life. Foreign nationals come to the United States to participate in a wide variety of educational and cultural exchange programs.
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