Congress Eliminates Fee Paid by H-1B Outsourcing Companies, Making it Cheaper to Take American Jobs

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IEEE-USA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

Oct 01, 2015, 03:10 ET

WASHINGTON, Oct. 1, 2015 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Congress allowed a fee intended to discourage outsourcing by companies that rely on H-1B visas to replace U.S. workers to expire Wednesday night.

"Congress watched employers discriminate against Americans in hiring and firing, and then ship American jobs overseas. Congress promised to do something about these pernicious practices -- and it did. It made them cheaper," IEEE-USA President Jim Jefferies said.

The $2,000 outsourcing fee (along with a $2,150 fee on L-1 visas) applies only to firms with more than 50 percent of their workforce on H-1B or L-1 visas, a small percentage of tech employers, including the top outsourcing companies who have come to dominate the H-1B program. Originally used to fund border security in 2010, the fee was extended to help pay the cost for 9/11 first responders health care, but it expired at midnight on September 30.

"Congress should be looking for ways to discourage outsourcing, not make it more profitable," Jefferies said.

Tens of thousands of U.S. citizens per year working as IT professionals, accountants and engineers have been fired and replaced by H-1B workers employed by outsourcing companies. The new employees make far less than the people they are replacing, and the fired employees are often required to train their replacements.

"The fee isn't enough, of course. Do the math -- the going rate for the kind of work being done at Disney and Southern California Edison was in the $100,000 to $120,000 annual salary range," Jefferies said. "Congress allows H-1B outsources to pay as little as $60,000 for this work. So paying $2,000 for each H-1B to replace a middle class American worker is embarrassing."

IEEE-USA would like to see a federal investigation into this practice of discriminating against U.S. citizens in favor of H-1B workers, a clear violation of the 1986 law that protects Americans from discrimination based on citizenship.

IEEE-USA serves the public good and promotes the careers and public policy interests of nearly 200,000 engineering, computing and technology professionals who are U.S. members of IEEE.

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SOURCE IEEE-USA (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)