HireAmericansFirst.org

"New organization http://www.hireamericansfirst.org/ is gearing up to oppose Industry efforts to increase the H-1b visa cap in 2008, and to educate Congress on the harm caused by the H-1b program. Please join us."

This is a very interesting data collection experiment by the ProgrammersGuild. The lobbying agency CompeteAmerica (AKA trade-association) continues to press Congress for additional high-tech guest worker visas. So far, CompeteAmerica refuses to publish these "jobs" in a central location – to prove the existence and prove that these are not multiple instances (head hunter listings) of the same position.

HireAmericansFirst.org allows American workers to display their qualifications and talent anonymously so that the stigma of "anti-immigrant" is not attached to the activist’s name. One place HireAmericansFirst.org might look for membership is the pool of recent College graduates.
Employment prospects for America’s brightest and best continue to be bleak. (click on image to enlarge)

So far, I’ve been unable to determine if the surplus in American college graduates is a condition of new graduates unable to find work, or new graduates and guest workers displacing current workers.

One of the problems with the L-1 and H-1B temporary worker programs is that the Department of Labor is not required to advertise these open positions to American workers during the six month approval process (Apr. 1 to Oct. 1).

Instead of increasing the cap on guest workers, American should be more careful of the visas that are granted. Examination of Senator Grassley’s "Top 20 H-1B Employers" show the trend that the majority of highly-skilled guest workers are in the business of offshoring American jobs.

Top 20 H-1B Employer list 2006:
2006 H-1B and L-1 visas in Top 20 list -- Total visas = 48,159
Business Process Outsourcing Specialists (12) = 73.43%
Accounting Services (2) = 6.19%
Producers of Tangible Goods (6) = 20.38%

(sum may not total due to rounding)
The H-1B and L-1 Offshoring Visa

In effect, these positions are reserved for guest workers, there is no requirement that the "job" advertised to the American work-force prior to applying for, nor prior to the guest worker approval/employment unless the employer is H-1B dependant, or a willful violator.

On January 21, 2008, I received a newsletter from Immigration Weekly.

"The immigration community is bracing itself for a historical and unprecedented
exhaustion of the H-1B cap. Employers can petition H-1B workers for the October
1, 2008 start date beginning April 1, 2008."

"Because the filing date is approaching, and the quota is expected to be reached in the opening day of availability, H-1B petition preparation should start now. Those people looking for petitioners should intensify their job search right now to ensure sufficient time for an H-1B petition to be prepared for filing by the first day of April."
http://www.rreeves.com/news_article.asp?aid=497

Looking for petitioners? Shouldn't that read, "those with chronically unfilled positions..."

Here is a good overview of H-1B dependent employer requirements -- employers who are required to attest that they couldn't find a qualified American candidate.
http://www.usabal.com/visas/Detail_%20SummaryDOLregs.html