Hearing on whether to keep the increased cap on yearly number of foreign visas for IT workers, H-1B, is going on.  I am for sliding back the number from 115,000 to original 65,000 and utilizing that number more effectively.

I have seen companies with large number of foreign workers doing mundane tasks that could easily have been done by US workers albeit at higher cost.  If you can afford the higher price, then find ways to do without, increasing productivity and encouraging innovation in the process.  If you have work that can be outsourced, by all means outsource the task where you can find cheaper labor.  If the local labor is too expensive, thanks to higher living cost, relocate your company.

I have also seen really good engineers from overseas waiting for ages to get H-1B visas.  Guess why?  The pipeline is filled with mediocre engineers and IT workers with mundane skills by greedy immigrant lawyers.

I believe that current paradox of increased unemployment and apparent lack of workers with unique and difficult-to-find skills is due to inefficiencies.  Increasing the number just hides the problem of cheap foreign workers with common skills keeping legitimate candidates of the H-1B program out and stealing jobs from US workers.

People with concerns about the rising unemployment or difficulties of finding workers with the right skills are actually on the same side and should work together.  Only real proponents of increasing H1-B numbers are immigrant lawyers and companies who wants to use cheaper workers shipped in from oversea to kill off those trying to preserve the original intent of the H-1B program.

The H-1B program needs to be overhauled instead of being expanded.

It's issues like this that makes me itch to get into politics.  Why can't politicians see straight?  Why can't they try earnestly to find a good solution instead of taking up positions and eyeballing halfway points to compromise on?  It must be the water.