The problem with H1-B is not the limit; the main problem is its abuse. Indian body shops like TCS, Infosys, and Wipro etc. continue to abuse H1-B visas. These companies work like a huge recruitment and immigration agency.
There are thousands of employees of these companies sitting idle in India with a H1-B visa in hand. They won’t go to work in US anytime soon because their Indian employer doesn’t need them move to US. These companies blindly apply for thousands of visas even when they don’t need it, just in case they get a new client.
These body shops waste most of the H1-B quota and create a block for genuine recruits by companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft.
The worst offenders are the downright fraudulent organizations like http://www.ebsolutionsinc.com . Does it look like a company who needs to import thousands of IT workers every year? This company alone accounts of thousands of H1-B visas every year, and there are thousands of shell companies like these. These companies are not only abusing the system, but what they are doing is downright illegal.
This is how they work:
They hold immigration seminars all over India and assure people a job in US and H1-B visa. They recruit thousands of candidates in India and charge them a fee of $8,000 to $20,000 upfront. These candidates are not only engineers; they are IT workers (who can’t code), teachers, accountants and nurses. Most of these candidates are not qualified enough, many have fake degrees and most can’t speak even speak English.
Their visas are sponsored by their shell recruitment agencies in US (supported with fake documents). These candidates do not even have a real job offer yet; the recruitment agency produces a fake job offer and keeps them on their own payroll.
Upon approval of H1-B visa, these candidates arrive in US with no clue about what comes next. Their recruiters throw them in dorms with miserable living conditions. The recruitment agency trains them some English and Interview 101 and arranges several interviews in US companies.
The American companies contract these workers from the recruitment agents, usually at 50% of the market salary. These workers start working for the American corporations, but they stay on the payroll of their recruiters. Their recruitment agents usually take a cut of 30%-50% from their salary every month.
[Edit]
One of my friend runs a body shop in US and imports around 400 workers every year.
I live in India, and I have been approached by these agents multiple times.
Some of my friends have taken this route to go to US. Yes, they can not code and can't even speak English. Fake resume and experience letters helped them get through.
If you can't speak English, these agents can even arrange someone else to do an IELTS test for you, and use it to represent your English skills.
Newspapers & streets in India (specially in Punjab) are full with ads like: "Get a Job and Visa in USA / Canada / Australia"
Wow! I didn't know that this was indeed the real situation. Sounds terrible. Is there a credible source that you can share? I'm wondering how someone can get away with fake documents all through.
Not exactly camps, probably dorms where 4 to 6 people live in a single room.
> If these workers don't know English and can't code, how are they able hold jobs at American corporations?
They are not exactly doing high-tech jobs, they just used a high-tech resume to get visa. Many of these H1-B candidates are working jobs like data entry, IT support or call center (if they can speak English).
These people can read and write English, but can't speak English well. The recruitment agency helps them to pick up some English speaking skills. They also receive a technical training relevant to their job either by the recruitment agency or by their employer.
There are thousands of employees of these companies sitting idle in India with a H1-B visa in hand. They won’t go to work in US anytime soon because their Indian employer doesn’t need them move to US. These companies blindly apply for thousands of visas even when they don’t need it, just in case they get a new client.
These body shops waste most of the H1-B quota and create a block for genuine recruits by companies like Google, Apple and Microsoft.
The worst offenders are the downright fraudulent organizations like http://www.ebsolutionsinc.com . Does it look like a company who needs to import thousands of IT workers every year? This company alone accounts of thousands of H1-B visas every year, and there are thousands of shell companies like these. These companies are not only abusing the system, but what they are doing is downright illegal.
This is how they work:
They hold immigration seminars all over India and assure people a job in US and H1-B visa. They recruit thousands of candidates in India and charge them a fee of $8,000 to $20,000 upfront. These candidates are not only engineers; they are IT workers (who can’t code), teachers, accountants and nurses. Most of these candidates are not qualified enough, many have fake degrees and most can’t speak even speak English.
Their visas are sponsored by their shell recruitment agencies in US (supported with fake documents). These candidates do not even have a real job offer yet; the recruitment agency produces a fake job offer and keeps them on their own payroll. Upon approval of H1-B visa, these candidates arrive in US with no clue about what comes next. Their recruiters throw them in dorms with miserable living conditions. The recruitment agency trains them some English and Interview 101 and arranges several interviews in US companies.
The American companies contract these workers from the recruitment agents, usually at 50% of the market salary. These workers start working for the American corporations, but they stay on the payroll of their recruiters. Their recruitment agents usually take a cut of 30%-50% from their salary every month.
[Edit]
One of my friend runs a body shop in US and imports around 400 workers every year.
Word 'camps' changed to 'dorms'.
Related links:
http://em.gmnews.com/news/2008-06-18/front_page/008.html
http://bhartiads.co.in/wp-content/uploads/2012/02/Medical-Ou...