I work for a high tech company, and at my company (and many others) their is huge abuse of the “H1″ Visa program. Many employers specifically TRY to hire folks on these visas because they know that they can pay them less money, and they know that these folks will never ask for a raise, complain, etc. until they get their Green Card. Employers are supposed to try to find an American to fill the position, but they do not do this.

I investigated this a bit and talked with someone from the U.S. Department of Labor to find out how this program is supposed to work. I really had an open mind when I called them. The representative that I spoke with told me that what I was seeing happens everywhere, and that the entire H1 Visa program is corrupt. He was quite upset and told me that if I saw all the abuse of the program that he sees everyday then I would be upset too. Also, he said the abuse isn’t just a few bad apples. The majority of hires are fraudulent in this program.

You said that an employer needs to be “sympathetic enough” to sponsor the applicant???? NO!!!!!! That is NOT the law! The law says that the the employer needs to do a legitimate, good faith search for an American to fill the position. Only after they can’t find an American to fill the position, can they apply to hire a foreigner on one of these Visas. It is not supposed to have anything to do with sympathy or charity!!!! Unfortunately, it is obvious that you are right that many people hire foreigners based on non-legitimate reasons such as sympathy, profit, or other reasons, to the obvious detriment of American Workers. (Where is the “sympathy” for American workers?!).