H-1B Class Action

Legal Information

Unlawful Exceeding of H-1B Visa "Caps"

Displacement of American Workers

H1BNews.htm
6/28/2002
9 Out of Every 10 Computer/IT Jobs Went to H-1Bs

According to the American Electronics Association (AeA), a major
industry lobbyist that pushed Congress for increasing the H-1B quota,
new statistics show that 96,700 new jobs in computer IT were created in
2001. Since 163,000 H-1B visas were issued in 2001, and according to
the INS 53% of those visas are computer/IT jobs, 86,390 of the jobs in
2001 were taken by H-1Bs. 

In other words, 9 out of every 10 new computer/IT jobs in 2001 were
filled with H-1Bs. This happened despite the massive job losses
suffered by American high-tech workers.

  [These numbers are probably all understated.  Congressional testimony 
  shows the INS doesn't know how many visas they issue.  The
  alleged 163,000 "visas" were actually "petitions" (I-129) reported.
  The average petition requests 4 visas, 6 visas in FY2001.
  
  My 2001 LCA database from DOLETA shows:
  More than 268,361 Labor Condition Applications were filed with 
  the US Dept. of Labor in fiscal year 2001 (10/1/2000 - 9/30/2001).
  Of the 268,361 total LCAs, 229,107 were certified.
  Of the 229,107 LCAs certified, 1,234,275 visas were approved 
  across all job codes - 6 TIMES THE CAP OF 195,000.

  For IT occupations, 104,715 LCA's were certified for 792,139 H-1B
  visas in 2001.]
 

Still don't believe me?
INS H-1B 3rd Qtr FY2001 Report (pdf*)  (see page 5) 

Table 2. Number of H-1B Petitions Filed in Fiscal Year 2001 by Quarter
and Reason of Exemption from Fee as of June 30, 2001
Fiscal Year 2001:        Oct 00      Jan 01      Apr 01      Oct 00
                      to Dec 00   to Mar 01   to Jun 01   to Jun 01 
TOTAL PETITIONS FILED*  128,758      75,396      65,952     270,106
Without fee exemptions  119,493      66,778      54,476     240,747

   [240,747 paid $1,000 fees.  That's $240 million into the training 
   fund (in 9 months) that Bush is going to redirect to "fast track" 
   visa processing in the 2003 budget.  There is probably a $billion
   in the fund as 2001 was a slow year. Incidently, the cap on visas 
   was 195,000, but who's counting?]


4 MILLION H-1Bs Certified 1998 - 2001
Automation Matrix


Is this legal?  HELL NO!
INA Worker Protections


ITAA News

Despite Decline in IT Workforce, The Numbers Indicate Future Optimism
Harris Miller, President, Information Technology Association of America
May 31, 2002 

U.S. companies shed over 500,000 IT workers in the past year, 
according to Bouncing Back: Jobs, Skills and the Continuing Demand for
IT Workers, ITAA’s 2002 study of demand for high tech workers. The size
of the IT workforce dropped from 10.4 million to 9.9 million, with tech
workers at IT companies substantially more likely to receive a pink
slip than their counterparts working in non-IT companies. At the same
time, our study found estimated demand for IT workers in the next 12
months to be increased substantially over 2001. Hiring managers told
ITAA that they would seek to fill 1.1 million jobs in the next year.

  [These workforce numbers don't agree with National Science 
  Foundation estimates:]
  
NSF Sci&Eng Indicators 2002 (pdf*) 

NSF SESTAT 1999 estimates (in 2002 report)
workforce - 11 million science and engineering (including IT)
		+ 193,200 unemployed
		+ 1.86 million not in the workforce (?)
			(bridge people)
		
	+ 5 million have eng/sci degrees, but are not employed 
	            in eng/sci
		67.3% - in related fields
		32.7% - 1.6 million - (burger flippers)
		
		
Foreign Scientists and Engineers on Temporary Work Visas

Text table 3-25.
October 1999 to February 2000 S&E-related occupations 
on approved H-1b petitions
					Percentage of total
Occupation 			Number	petitions
Total ......................... 81,262 	100.0
Computer related .............. 42,563 	 53.5
Engineering and architecture .. 10,385   13.1
Education .....................  4,419    5.3
Medical .......................  3,246    4.1
Social sciences ...............  1,963    2.5
Life sciences .................  1,843    2.3
Mathematical and
physical sciences .............  1,453    1.8
Non–S&E-related
occupations ................... 15,390   18.9
SOURCE: Immigration and Naturalization Service administrative
data.
Science & Engineering Indicators – 2002

(Note: This data, like all reports from INS, DOL, BLS, DOC, 
 indicate  "petitions", not "visas".  The I-129 visa petition 
 has Supplement-1 form for multiple visas on one petition.
 LCAs also certify multiple aliens on one application.
 LCA analysis shows an average of 4 aliens to 1 application.
 For IT occupations, the average is 8 aliens per application.
 Our assumption, confirmed at DOL in DC, is that visas have
 been issued at 4 times the numbers presented in official
 statistics (6 times in FY2001).)


US BLS 09/2002
SEPTEMBER 2002 UNEMPLOYMENT DATA* 
          (U.S. BUREAU OF LABOR STATISTICS) 

OFFICIAL UNEMPLOYMENT:    5.6% 
White                     5.1% 
Black                     9.6% 
Hispanic                  7.4% 
Men 20 years and over     5.2% 
Women 20 years and over   4.9% 
Teen-agers (16-19 years) 15.7% 
Black teens              27.7% 
Officially unemployed 8.1 million workers 


HIDDEN UNEMPLOYMENT  
  Working part-time because can't find a full-time job:   4.2 million
  People who want jobs but are not counted in official statistics
  because not looking (of which more than 1 million searched for work
  during the prior 12 months and were available for work during the
  reference week.)  4.7 million
   
Total: 17.0 million (11.5% of the labor force)  


In addition, millions more were working full-time, year-round, yet
earned less than the official poverty level for a family of four. In
the latest year for which data are available, 2000, that number was
16.9 million, 16.8 percent of full-time workers (estimated from Money
Income in the United States, Bureau of the  Census, Sept. 2001).
Roughly one in four women and one in seven men who had full-time jobs
the year round earned less than the poverty level for a family of four.


The Immigration and Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101)
 
US Department of Labor H1-B Regulations 
H-1B Procedures
H-1B Enforcement

Subparts H and I issued under 8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(H)(i)(b), 1182(n), and 1184;
29 U.S.C. 49 et seq.; sec. 303(a)(8), Pub. L. 102-232. 105 Stat. 1733, 1748 
(8 U.S.C. 1182 note). 

Caps
Oct 3, 2000 House and Senate; Oct 17 and 30, Clinton
American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act 
Section 214(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act
2000 - 115,000
2001 - 195,000
2002 - 195,000
2003 - 195,000
2004 -  65,000

LCA Form (pdf*)
LCA Form ETA 9035
LCA Instructions (pdf*)
LCA Form ETA 9035 Cover Pages

I-129 Form
I-129 Petition Forms, Associated Files and Instructions
I-129 Instructions (pdf*)
Instructions for Completing Petition for a Nonimmigrant Worker Form I-129

LCA + I-129
[CITE: 20CFR655.705] LCA is attached to I-129 and must correspond.


Unfair immigration-related employment practices
TITLE 8--ALIENS AND NATIONALITY 
CHAPTER 12--IMMIGRATION AND NATIONALITY 
SUBCHAPTER II--IMMIGRATION 
                  Part VIII--General Penalty Provisions 
Sec. 1324b. Unfair immigration-related employment practices 
[CITE: 8USC1324b] 


6 Month Prior Employment
Pub. L. 107-125  Provide Work Authorization for Nonimmigrant Spouses 
of Intracompany Transferees 
107th Congress 
January 16, 2002 
H.R.2278  

SEC. 2.  REDUCTION OF REQUIRED PERIOD OF PRIOR CONTINUOUS EMPLOYMENT 
FOR CERTAIN INTRACOMPANY TRANSFEREES. 

(a) IN GENERAL- Section 214(c)(2)(A) of the Immigration and Nationality
Act (8 U.S.C. 1184(c)(2)(A)) is amended by adding at the end the 
following:
 
"In the case of an alien seeking admission under section 
1101(a)(15)(L), the 1-year period of continuous employment required 
under such section is deemed to be reduced to a 6-month period if the 
importing employer has filed a blanket petition under this subparagraph 
and met the requirements for expedited processing of aliens covered 
under such petition.". 
 
(b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT- Section 1101(a)(15)(L) of the Immigration and 
Nationality Act (8 U.S.C. 1101(a)(15)(L)) is amended by striking "an 
alien who," and inserting "subject to section 214(c)(2), an alien 
who,". 

L-1 Intracompany Nonimmigrant Transfer - no fee!
NO FEE! (pdf*)
Shusterman.com

Class Action
Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rule 23 - Class Action

Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964
CRA 1964 T VII

TITLE 42 - THE PUBLIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 
CHAPTER 21 - CIVIL RIGHTS 
SUBCHAPTER VI - EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITIES 
Equal Employment

The Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA)
ADEA

Employment Discrimination Overview