Reflective Cover Letter

Rocki Passano

Eng 102-2315

Professor Devon Adams

Dear Eng 102-2315 Class and Professor Adams:

The “Course Outcomes” did not include several areas critical to this course for this student; organization, time-management and technology. These were the first challenges to be addressed which were totally unexpected. These issues force one to come to terms with technology skill deficiencies, learn new tools, new software, and basically overcome any internet or technological phobias that might exist. The internet has always been a scientific source of information and data but has evolved into something much more, which is a little scary. The demands of this class along with other classes, professional, and personal commitments will require maximum efficient utilization of time. Organizational skills must be honed and refined; finally personal commitment and patience will be necessary in order to achieve success in this class. Establishing a daily schedule and discussing the schedule with family and or significant others was necessary because outside influences can distract from accomplishing goals set for the semester.

In an attempt to keep my personal bias out of my document, I relinquished my own confidence in my writing skills. I wanted to keep the writing concise and succinct. Additionally, I placed importance on presenting the facts in a non biased manner, so much so that I lost my own perspective on the purpose of writing this document.

I prepared for the writing process by creating a research log. I took advantage of the help offered in The Bedford Researcher and the BedfordResearcher.com tools and activities as well as the websites provided by the instructor to began work exploring, choosing, and narrowing a topic. Next, I collected, transcribed, and organized all my notes and recordings; next, I began browsing the internet and talking to friends about potential topics, always taking notes. The Bedford Research Narrow Topic Research Plan was utilized to refine the topic, and make it obvious that the topics I had chosen were too broad and required additional attention. Answering those nine questions assist in narrowing the focus of the topic and also in defining the research question for the topic. Another important area vital to the process of writing a research paper includes evaluating articles or documents for a research paper with a questioning attitude and a sense of detective work. Developing an ability to identify an articles relevance to the topic and not spending too much time evaluating documents, articles, data bases, blogs, and web sites are vital and important to this process. Prior to this class it was easy to spend lots of time searching the web reading unusable information and basically wasting valuable time.

It was important to be constantly aware of the chosen topic and the research question; being vigilant for information that potentially can be useful. Specific emphasis was placed on collecting information from each perspective of the research question and topic, because information can come from many media. Identifying the personal perspective, making a decision on additional or optional avenues of gaining data such as taking a survey, or interviewing people in the area of expertise for the topic and developing appropriate questions for the survey or scripts can also provide useful information. Creating a Thesis Plan and remembering to read and evaluate for relevance, credibility and accuracy are important tasks in the writing process. Assembling all the notes, conversations, documents, articles, recordings etc. together to create a cohesive research document at first appears to be a monumental, but approaching it using the tools available through The Bradford Researcher helps to easily facilitate organizing data, by creating a cluster or an old fashion outline. With the results of exercises using these tools I began to write a rough draft. The writing process continues with the definition, refinement, revision, and review process which can include multiple cycles of these processes before producing a final document. I found it surprising that I so thoroughly enjoyed the research and investigative aspects of the process, maybe there is a research career in my future. It is important that we do not simply accept as truth information in newspapers, on television, in magazines, on the web as the whole truth. So much of our lives is out of our control and requires that we obtain as much information as possible in order to form sound judgments, especially when we go to the election booth to vote.

The area that was most difficult for me is the MLA style formatting and MLA style for citing sources. Large data tables available from credible and authentic websites should have been designed more efficiently prior to being inserted into the document. Another area where I experience confusion was the way a website is displayed in a document. In most software programs, when typing web addresses, the program will “correctly format” the address. When I would type a web address, with the <>, http:, //, www, name, @, site name, and domain my software automatically converts the type into a linkable address usually without “<>, http:, and //”, which I think most software does today. The solution may simply be I need to immediately update edition of the MLA Handbook, reread the latest version and if I still have problems, consult an expert.

Other area that I experience difficulty was my personal investment in the topic which could be viewed as biased so I attempted to temper the opposition rather than expressing my true feelings. Objectivity in all writing is necessary as is in my opinion, passion, however too much of anything can exhibit bias in either the pro or con aspect of a topic. Therefore balance is a necessary commodity in writing of any kind. This is an area that is identifiable in the refinement, revision, and review process but should always be monitored as I have a tendency to get carried away.

An area in which I think my writing improved was in linking everything together into a cohesive document; from the opening statement to the conclusion, I feel I was able to tie the ending sentence of a paragraph to the opening sentence in the next paragraph. Hopefully, my final grade will evidence that I did accomplish all of the outcomes of this course.

My Final Portfolio contains comments and suggestions at the beginning of each graded final writing project. I hope by using this process I have met the requirements of this assignment.

I wish to than each of my classmates and professor for taking the time to review my submissions and provide me with comments.

Good Luck in your future endeavors and Happy Holidays!

Rocki Passano

Final WP#3 w/Suggestions for Rvision

Rocki Passano

Eng 12-2315

Professor Devon Adams

5 December 2007

WP#3 Final with Revision and Suggestions –

I made stupid mistakes in this writing that should not have occurred. I lost the focus of my thesis in the first part of the paper. I should have included the following paragraph as the second part of the opening of this paper. The course outcome associated is – “Organize writing to support a central idea through unity, coherence and logical development appropriate to a specific writing context”.

“Do we absolutely need to increase the H-1B Visa Program at this time, with so many U.S. high technology workers unemployed? The high technology corporations have become acquainted with the benefits afforded them by employing H-1B Visa applicants, including a reduction in overhead cost in the non-profit cost centers in fiscal budgets, but more importantly corporations are generating higher profits as a result. Until very recently the main reasoning utilized by high tech corporations to justify the cry for an increase in H-1B Visa Program quotas has been a lack of educated Americans to fill the vacant positions. But Americans are producing undergraduate degree graduates in record numbers in the technology field many who are unable to gain jobs in the areas of their degrees. Now, high technology corporations are using the reasoning that these educated Americans do not possess the necessary skills sets required to fill the vacancies in the organizations. Yet Americans are expected to believe that H-1B Visa applicants are more qualified with the specific skill sets required to fill these positions than Americans who have been in the work force in these same positions who can not find work in their fields today.”

I felt it was important to be specific about the Y2K problem because it had a large impact on the need for additional high technology workers. Technically, I am very handicapped and I took a short cut I shouldn’t have. However, my husband was an expert on Y2K issues, though not published on this issue, so I should not have used him as a source, which I forgot to cite. I intended to show that even though Y2K was an issue that created an inflated yet temporary demand for an increase in the H-1B Visa quotas. I lost my focus again and questioned my own writing ability.

The information regarding my personal experiences and those my friends Ron and Jacqui Catterall, I felt was vital to this document to show that H-1B Visa Program was flawed. I should have handled it more like an interview with no personal pronouns just first names. This deduction is related to course outcome – Use appropriate conventions in writing, including consistent voice, tone, diction, grammar, and mechanics.

Rocki Passano
Professor Devon C. Adams
Eng 102-2513
15 November 2007
H-1B Visa Program -- Are Increases Necessary?

High technology corporations, special interest groups, Representatives, Senators and Governors are all calling for increases in the H-1B Visa Program quotas on the basis that sufficiently educated, highly skilled Americans are not available to fill their vacancies. good introductory to your paper .. mature control of language. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:07 PMU.S. after graduation. Foreign companies that have opened offices in the U.S.
During the 1990s, the high technology industry was evolving and invading every aspect of daily life from personal computers to e-mail; to intelligent computer chips in household items, automobiles, and washing machines. Sweeping changes in high technology trade programs as well as changes in telecommunications monopolies (i.e., telephone television, cable, satellite) were in progress. Public school classrooms across the country were being wired for internet access during weekend volunteer programs. Venture capital money freely flowed into Silicon Valley enticing entrepreneurs to begin internet start-up companies that would become Yahoo and Google. This great unplanned success overwhelmed the existing technology workforce creating a demand for qualified skilled high technology workers in both the software and hardware fields. During this same time, Congress had undertaken a major reform of the nations Immigration Act.Not sure where your thesis is in here. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:07 PM

The H-1B non-immigrant visa program was established with the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990 to assist U.S. employers in temporarily filling certain positions with highly-skilled foreign workers (GAO). Congress had limited the number of H-1B visas to 65,000 each year with an additional exemption of 20,000 for foreign workers who had graduated from a U.S. college or university with an advanced degree, making the actual total of H-1B visa applicants 85,000 each year.
The Y2K problem created a major demand for additional highly skilled software programmers. The Y2K problem is in three parts, according to A. Passanoaccording to your husband? I realize it affects him, but that's not to say he's a qualified, published expert. There's not even a citation below -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:07 PM. 1.) Software and databases calculate on or were written with dates with two-digit years; 2.) every year divisible by 4 is a leap year. 2000 is divisible by 4, which make it a leap year. Except years ending in 00 aren’t leap years. However, years divisible by 400 are leap years, which finally makes the year 2000 a leap year; and 3.) That means that following February 28, 2000, software that does not know that the year 2000 is a leap year will use the Julian date (numbers of the day in the year) wrong for the rest of the year, and will get the day of the week wrong forever. There are other problems with dates, but this represents the major Y2K Problem. All this meant that every piece of hardware, every software package and program, every embedded system and every data set could be affected. This paragraph is mostly a single definition that could be paraphrased more succinctly. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:08 PM

With the Y2K Problem looming the need arose for Congress to temporarily increase the H-1B visa quota for 1999 and 2000 to 115,000 when it passed the American Competitiveness and Workforce Improvement Act of 1999. Congress again increased the H-1B visa quota to 195,000 for three years (2001, 2002, and 2003) with the passage of the American Competitiveness in the Twenty-First Century Act in 2000, reverting back in 2004 to a cap of 65,000 H-1B visa applicants each year (GAO).More of your own commentary here. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:09 PM

The pressure to increase the H-1B visa quotas has been consistent since 2003. And today, it is stronger than ever. Corporations, several Governors and Senators (Letter) and special interest groups advocate a desperate need to increase current quotas again, citing a lack of qualified skilled Americans to fill their vacancies. Over 125,000 applications were filed for the 65,000 openings by the second day of accepting applications in 2007. By July, 2007 Department of Homeland Security decided not to accept anymore applications for the 2008 fiscal year because they had more than enough applicants (NumbersUSA). During a vote in July 2007, Comprehensive Immigration Reform (including H-1Bs) was defeated; forcing Microsoft’s CEO Bill Gates to plan the opening of a new development center in Vancouver Canada, “…allows the company to recruit and retain highly skilled people affected by immigration issues in the U.S.” (Broache and Fried). Additionally, Department of Labor records indicate Sun Microsystems has applied for a steadily increasing number of H-1B visas: 751 in 1999; 1870 in 2000: 5179 in 2001. Why do we care? -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:09 PM

Many advocates for an increase in the H-1B Visa Program feel America is losing its edge in technology and science; pointing to the erosion of science and math education in U.S. high schools as a key issue. “High school students in the U.S. are consistently outperformed by those from Asian and some European countries on international assessments of math and science (USDE). President Bush decided to do something about the educational situation in our public schools with the “No Child Left Behind” policy in an effort to improve testing scores in public schools. High school drop out rates are on a steady increase over the last several years. This presents a problem because approximately 9% of the fastest-growing jobs of the future will require some post-secondary education or training (USDOL). Between 1989-1990 and 2003 and 2004, of the top five most popular degree fields to decline was engineering and engineering technologies by 5% (USDE).great information, but I need more of your own analysis and commentary built around your facts. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:10 PM

The high technology industry has continued its evolution; new companies opened, some failed, some succeeded, and some were merged or acquired. High technology stocks hit record highs then record lows. A majority of the high tech companies from the 1980s and early 1990s do not exist anymore. As the technology revolution slowed its growth, first there was outsourcing then large lay-offs or reductions in force and has lead to an estimate of approximately 100,000 American software engineers currently unemployed (NumbersUSA). These numbers change depending on the data presented. The Department of Labor does not separate the high technology industry into a specific category making it difficult to obtain precise accurate data thus creating the illusion that there is a shortage of workers, see Table #1.

Dr. Norman Matloff, professor of computer science at the University of California-Davis is against H-1B Visa Program. He believes the failure of the current immigration reform bill only delays a predictable increase in the number of H-1B visas and green cards allowing an opportunity for high tech companies to exploit the system. “There’s no shortage of American workers for these jobs,” Matloff says, “I don’t like being lied to and the tech industry is lying to us. They simply want access to cheap labor” (Matloff).type here -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:11 PM

Federal auditors in a 2006 GAO audit determined that some H-1B workers are underpaid. GAO found approximately 3200 petitions for H-1B visa workers have gained approval even though the employers involved didn’t commit to paying wages at the prevailing rate (GAO).
It has also been suggested that most of the H-1B visas are going to Indian companies that are taking advantage of the situation in order to not hire American workers. Lou Dobbs of CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight reported recently that U.S. lawyers were giving advice to companies seeking foreign tech workers to circumvent regulations requiring Americans be given first shot at jobs that go to H-1B visa holders (NumbersUSA). On the video, it is clear that corporations are looking for any means to avoid hiring U.S. workers for these jobs. One example is the use of head hunters to give the appearance of interviewing U.S. applicants, but never hiring them for the positions. Some head hunting firms have said they receive over one hundred thousand resumes for one position. These resumes are eliminated for lack of degrees, age, or lack of a very specific skill set. Salaries for technology workers have been flat for the past eight years and many U.S. tech workers feel that H-1B Visa Program is partially responsible for the salary situation.
Several Business Week articles point out that the starting salaries for new bachelor’s degree graduates in computer science and electrical engineering, adjusted for inflation, have been flat or falling in recent years. This belies the industry’s claim of a labor shortage. Additional analysis at the master’s degree level shows the same trend, flat wages – contradicting the industry’s claim that workers at the postgraduate level are in especially short supply (Matloff).
Recently, the Programmers Guild, which represents 1,500 technical and professional workers, has drafted its own letter to congressional leaders, warning that the policy called for by Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE) and Semiconductor Industry Association (SIA) in their October 11, 2007 letter, would further disadvantage American workers. The October 11 letter calls for any foreign student with at least a bachelor’s degree in technology or science be granted permanent residency if they get a job offer (Herbst).
I do understand your own personal experience with this issue, albeit I expressed that the final WP#3 should include no personal pronouns. -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:11 PM
Several years ago, my husband and I both worked in the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley, California. I worked for a technology based trade show company, Interop, that had grown from a weekend bake-off at someone’s home in Monterrey to the top trade show company in the world. Interop was sold to Ziff-Davis after three successful years. Just before this sale became official and public knowledge, Ron and Jacqui Catterall of London, England were persuaded to sell their London based Internet Service Provider Company to Ziff Davis and become part of the ZD organization through the H-1B Visa Program. The Catteralls sold their business and home, packed and shipped their belongings to the U.S. Immediately upon arrival they began working at Ziff Davis; Ron as my immediate Director and Jacqui as my subordinate. They lived in a hotel in Sunnyvale, CA for six months while having a home built in Sunnyvale, CA. Ron, Jacqui, my husband and I became friends and often socialized together. Two and one half years later, during a dinner party entertaining friends, Immigration and Naturalization Service arrived at their door. INS declared the Catteralls were illegally in the United States and had thirty days to leave the country for good. Ron and Jacqui were under the impression that Ziff Davis was processing the paper work to obtain their green cards for them in accordance with their agreement of employment and the sale of their IP Company. ZD failed to notify Ron and Jacqui they would not be applying for their green card; or that ZD would be terminating their employment immediately the next day. ZD had contacted INS prior to advising the Catteralls of the change in their status or of their pending termination. The Catteralls moved to MexicoU.S. It was all very strange as Ziff Davis had assisted when the Catteralls needed social security numbers so they could pay SSI and all associated income taxes and disability. Ziff Davis eventually sold Interop+Networld (the trade show company) to a Korean/Japanese conglomerate and I left the company. My husband became employed with RedBack, Inc. and we moved to Arizona.
At RedBack, Inc. my husband traveled ninety percent of the time, mostly to Europe, Asia, throughout the U.S. and Canada and occasionally to New Zealand and Australia. When not flying all over the world, he was a technical instructor, training customer engineers on RedBack’s equipment. Shortly after the high tech stock bubble burst, mergers and acquisitions and then corporate downsizing, my husband is training hundreds of H-1Bs to do (what my husband was doing) installations and training. Six months later my husband and several hundred of his co-workers were laid off in a reduction in force. This had been a start up company when my husband started with RedBack. After these employees helped to bring the RedBack to the top of its field and to become a top competitor for Cisco, the company just let them go. It took my husband five years with out of pocket expenses to keep his skill set competitive and leading edge to find another job in the technology field as a contractor with no benefits. During the five years, my husband sent out thousands of resumes and went to hundreds of interviews. But of course he is well over 36 (the industry nondiscriminatory age cap – the high technology industry has stated that younger (under age 40) employees are more desirable ) and he was never hired. Two or three H-1Bs could be hired instead of my husband for less than he would cost.
I don’t like being lied to in much the same way as Norman Matloff, I want to know the real reason behind this push for more foreign labor into the U.S. and I don’t think I am alone. Corporations have a fiduciary right to keep cost down and profits up for their shareholders which in some ways seems to justify their need for H-1B workers. If the motivation for an increase of H-1B Visas is strictly financial, then tell the truth. Amazingly, Americans can adapt, improvise and overcome should the need present itself (i.e., the Space Race), but we don’t like being lied to.
The H-1B Visa Program does not just affect the labor sector or the high tech industry; it has a tendency to set policy. As corporations are able to keep overhead cost down (labor cost, benefits, building and maintenance, etc) and profits up; if successful it becomes a model for conducting a successful business. Filtering into all levels like a domino effect. Eventually, a majority of the companies in the area are following the model; next local companies and local government; then state and federal governments are following the model as well. “Economists, of course, will tell you there's no such thing as a labor shortage. From a worker's viewpoint, many so-called shortages could quickly be solved if employers were to offer more money. And worldwide, millions of people still can't find jobs. The strongest evidence that there's no general shortage today is that overall worker pay has barely outpaced inflation. In the U.S., the share of national income going to corporate profit, rather than, say, labor, is hovering around a 50-year high. With so many people newly available for work in China, India, and the former Soviet Union, the only thing that could cause a real shortage would be "a global pandemic that kills millions of people," Harvard University economist Richard B. Freeman wrote in a research paper in September” (News & Insights). Obviously changes are needed in the H-1B Visa Program as well as in the administration of the program. There are many facets to the dilemma facing U.S. high technology workers, foreigners who want to work in the U.S., and corporations. Congress must have all the facts and the ability to investigate the entire picture prior to making any logical decisions. Real determinations must be assessed for where the need for exceptional high tech workers exist, mechanisms to ensure that there are no qualified Americans and finally issuing visas for those positions that are vitally necessary. Verifying that those workers are being fairly treated would be required to ensure fair and equitable treatment. Additionally, those that abuse and misuse the program should be penalized and/or punished. Anything less will not eliminate the problem or resolve the issue to meet the needs of all involved.
I would think a more balanced approach between the positivities and negativities of this topic would have made for a stronger developed paper. Now, the tables were what occluded you from uploading the file. I think the tables were actually too much, and they should be at the end of your paper rather than in the middle. You have some wonderful information and your structure is done well, albeit I needed more persuasion and analysis. 90% -Devoncadams 12/2/07 3:12 PM

Works Cited

Broache, Anne and Fried, Ina. “Microsoft sings ‘O Canada’ amid Immigration challenges”. C/NETNews.com. 5 Jul 2007, San Francisco, CA CNET Networks, Inc. Business Source Premier, Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ 28 Sep 2007

Daniels, M., Doyle, J., Freudenthal, D., Gibbons, J., Gregoire, C., Napolitano, J., Patrick, D., Pawlenty, T., Perry, R., Ritter, B., Schwarzenegger, S., Sebelius, K., Spitzer, E. “Letter to H. Reid, M. McConnell, N. Pelosi, J. Boehner”. 11 Sep 2007 U.S. House & U.S. Senate Washington, D.C.

Herbst, Moira. “The Great Tech Worker Divide”. Business Week – Technology. 10 Oct 2007. EBSCOHOST Mesa Community College Mesa, AZ, 28 Oct 2007.

Matloff, Norman. “Should the U.S. increase its H-1B visa program? CON: Wages belie claims of a labor shortage”. San Francisco Chronicle. 7 Dec 2006 EBSCOHost, Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ 28 Oct 2007

News & Insights “Where Are All The Workers Gone”. Business Week – Technology. 09 Apr 2007, New York, NY, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Business Source Premier, Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ 28 Sept 2007.

NumbersUSA.com. Ed. Roy Beck. 28 Jul 2006 (Updated 30 Oct 2007). EBSCOHost, MesaCommunity College, Mesa, AZ 13 Sep 2007.

United States. Congress House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Committee on Judiciary. H-1B Visa Program: More Oversight by Labor Can Improve Compliance with Program Requirements. Statement of Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director Education Workforce, and Income. Washington: GAO 06-901T, 2006

--. Department of Education. Report on the State of American Schools Shows High School Students Challenged by Math and Science. By Mike Bowler and David Thomas. Jun 2006. 28 Sep 2007

--. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics “Tomorrows Jobs”. Occupational Outlook Handbook 2006 – 2007 Ed. 28 Sep 2007

Final WP#2 w Suggestions for Revision

Rocki Passano

Eng 102-2315

Professor Devon Adams

5 December 2007

Suggestions for Revision and WP#2 --

As you can see in this document I am still having MLA citing problems, which I did finally gain a better understanding thus completing outcome – Generate, format, and edit writing using appropriate technologies. Additionally, I did make the changes suggested by Professor Adams including a concluding paragraph below.

Obviously, there is quite a bit of controversy surrounding the H-1B Visa Program both for and against. My research brought me to the conclusion that there is no correct answer or easy solution to the question -- do we need to increase the H-1B quotas? My research did show that corporations are not being totally honest. Corporations have changed there approach to accomplishing their goal of increasing H-1B Visa quotas, they are no longer saying “there are no educated Americans to fill the vacancies” instead they are saying there are “no Americans with the right skill sets to fill the vacancies”. America now graduates sufficient bachelor degreed computer science graduates to force this change. What is not being said is that there are plenty of qualified, educated, and skilled Americans to fill these positions -- the men and women who helped pioneer the high tech industry in the 80s; but were laid off in the 90s; the same men and women who want a living wage for the work efforts. CEO’s, CFO’s, CIO’s, and corporate presidents have no problem receiving very large salaries and/or compensation packages mostly based on efforts of their employees. Additionally, there could be a need for highly educated specifically skilled workers that cannot be found in the U.S. so there should be a vehicle for obtaining such talent. And that talent should be paid a fair market wage no matter who fills the position. In order to find equitable solutions for the issues, we need to know the true facts regarding the motivations of the corporations.

Rocki Passano

Professor Devon C. Adams

English 102 – 2315

24 October 2007

Don't need a huge gap here before the paper begins -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:29 AM

ANNOTATED BIBLIOGRAPHY H1-B Visa Program

Barrett, Larry. “H-1B Bump: Not Dead Yet”. CIO Insight — Ziff-Davis Media; July 2, 2007, Google Database Search; Mesa, AZ, 30 August abbreviate months -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:29 AM 2007.

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_zdcis/is_200707/ai_n19426846

This article reflects a fair and balanced look at the H-1B Visa Program following the defeat of the Senate’s Immigration Reform bill. The article provides a post mortem quote from high-tech lobbyists (pro increase), trade associations (pro increase), advocacy organizations (anti increase), and Norman Matloff a professor at UC Davis (anti increase). just use his last name -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:29 AM Mr. Barrett offers brief statistical information regarding the amendment proposed by Sen. J. Kyle (R-AZ), and Maria Cantwell (D-Wash) who hoped to double the amount of H-1B Visa cap by 2008, with additional increases thereafter. I was able to confirm from the HS/ICE web site website is one word now -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:30 AM that in 2004, Congress increased the H-1B Visa cap by adding 20,000 exemption visas available each year for foreign students with advanced degrees from US universities making the current number 85,000 H-1B Visa applications granted each year in the US. The additional 20,000 exemption visas were a result of Congressional approval as part of a larger spending bill. I could find no bias in the article, just information both pro and con. Because I was previously employed by Ziff Davis, I know that unless the Corporation had a vested interest in the perception of the end result of an article, the company insisted writing published in any of the Media under the corporate umbrella be non-biased, factual, and accurate with the same print space for both sides of the issue. Therefore I trust the information in the article and the author.

Beck, Roy Howard. “The case against immigration: the moral, economic, social, and environmental reasons for reducing U.S. immigration back to traditional levels”. New York: W.W. Norton, c1996. CNJV6471.B43 1996 Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ 20 October 2007

I have not had an opportunity to review Mr. Beck’s book, but it is the only book I could find that might touch on my topic. Mr. Beck is he typo here. did you mean 'the"-Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:31 AM Chairman of the NumbersUSA Group which advocates against increasing the H-1B Visa Program. So I would probably use him as a source. I would prefer to read the book for myself before I decide to use it as a source. This was part of the requirement for the class assignment. I would develop this more here. -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:31 AM

Broache, Anne. “Some H-1B workers underpaid, federal auditors say”. C/NETNews.com. San Francisco, CA CNET Networks, Inc., MCC Business Source Premier, Mesa, AZ 13 September 2007. http://news.com.com/Some+H-1B+workers+underpaid%2C+federal+auditors+say/2100-1022_3-6087367.html

This article reports on one of the problems associated with the H-1B Visa Program, the ability of Corporations to manipulate the system to the financial advantage of the Corporation. The article discusses the over 3200 petitions by H-1B workers have field against technology companies that did not commit to paying wages at prevailing rates. According to the article, the GAO found 5% of the total 65,000 approved applications were inaccurate but had been approved. Many H-1B workers are so grateful for their positions they may not complain because they fear having their visas revoked. The number of underpaid H-1B workers in the U.S. who are inaccurately paid is totally unknown. The article discusses that the problems and constraints which prevent conducting detail examinations of the applications but are just excuses. People start applying for these openings as soon as possible, the Department of Labor needs to do a better job of ensuring the applications are accurate and complete.

Gibson, Stan. “The H1-B Visa Bill: Here’s My Vote”. PC Week. Business Source Premier, EBSCO Host Research Databases; Mesa Community College; Mesa, AZ, 30 August 2007.http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu

Mr. Gibson attempts to gain the reader’s attention by identifying some of the issues that make the H-1B Visa Program controversial. “It’s got it all: xenophobia, class struggle, age discrimination”, he states in his opening sentence. This is a factual statement. He goes on to define this 1998 bill as a 50,000 increase of the H-1B Visa cap of 65,000. Mr. Gibson’s article goes on to present am abbreviated and opinionated version of the arguments both for and against this bill. In his argument for, Mr. Gibson states, “If there are people willing to take jobs and the wages that employers are willing to offer them, they should.” This statement would work if it applied to all people – not just H-1B visa applicants. U.S. technology industry workers had been doing these jobs, but the longer they work in the industry, the higher the salary goes; technology constantly changes, working with new products equals education and eventually expertise. Corporations should be honest and admit it’s the salaries and overhead driving their desire for an increase in H-1B visas applications. In his argument against eh bill, Mr. Gibson states, “It’s attempt to dilute the labor poor and depress programmers wages, particularly of older workers”. I don’t know about diluting the labor pool, but I do know that high tech wages are being depressed. In 1997 network engineers who had been in the industry for five to ten years were making $75,000 to $100,000 plus benefits and incentives. Today with twenty years experience, if lucky, a contract position at fifty dollars per hour might be available. That’s a loss of pay because contractors do not receive benefits. Further the H1-B Program is not limited to programmer positions. The high cost of health care is a factor that is never addressed by either side of this argument. However, this one factor could in my opinion, be the largest reason Corporations desire H1-B Visa workers. But this issue is left unaddressed in this article, or for that matter any real justification for the increase in H-1B visa cap increases.

Hayes, Frank. “H-1Bs and Students”. Computerworld: April 9, 2007, Volume 41 Issue 15, page 54-54 abbreviated and formatted differently -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:32 AM. Academic Search Premier; EBSCOHost Research Database; Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ 30 August 2007 http://web.ebscohost.com.ezp.mc.maricopa.edu

This article delves into the statistics behind the assertion that there are not enough qualified degreed graduates available in the U.S. to fill the open positions within their organizations. Mr. Hayes quotes data from the Higher Education Research Institute at UCLS, the National Science Foundation and the Computing Research Association giving additional credibility and reliability to the article and the argument. Mr. Hayes uses data to demonstrate the popularity of Computer Science majors in the U.S. show a direct correlation to the boom-bust economy surrounding the high tech industry. “What about the actual number of CS degrees?.. Those numbers were flat at about 25,000 college CS degrees per year until 1998 – exactly four years after interest in CS majors started to climb. And did they ever climb. Undergrad CS degrees peaked at a spectacular 57,400 in 2004 – exactly four years after the top of the “CS and dot-com” bubbles”, states Mr. Hayes. Consider the U.S. produced approximately 40,000 (approximate average) degreed CS undergrads for approximately four years. During this same time, corporations demanded and received a temporary increase in the H-1B visa caps to 115, 000. Mr. Hayes also points out that since the bottom has fallen out – college CS degrees are down thirty percent, but was expected. Additionally, students that were interested in CS kept choosing IT majors until the dot com bust, when they stopped. “…Ph.D. students – the high IT types who compete most directly with H-1B applicants?” It is my understanding from checking Department of Labor and Homeland Security immigration educational requirements for H-1B Visa applicants is the equivalent of a U.S. Undergrad Bachelor’s Degree. This statement implies that in order to compete against an H-1B visa applicant and U.S. worker has to hold a Ph.D. This statement points to another loophole that Corporations use to justify their demand for foreign workers. This is probably why my husband has had such a hard time qualifying for and being hired for IT positions in corporations to this day. I felt comfortable using this document for my paper because Mr. Hayes presents a unique approach of viewing the problems surrounding the lack of interest in CS degrees in the U.S. today and the statistical analysis. According to Mr. Hayes, “…so much for the idea that college students aren’t interested in IT. Of course they are. They just need something like the dot-com revolution to fire their imaginations and convince them there’s something worth doing in this business.” In many ways I agree, challenges do ignite the imaginations and motivate Americans into action. Great information -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:36 AM

Matloff, Norman. “Debunking the Myth of a Desperate Software Labor Shortage. Testimony to the U.S. House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration, 21 April 1998 updated 9 December 2002. http://heather.cs.ucdavis.edu/itaa.real.html the formatting of this between the URL and dates was an issue. What happened? :) -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:36 AM

Dr. Matloff provides his testimony to the Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration which reveals the hidden agenda behind the public relations campaign to influence Congress to increase yearly quota of H-1B work visas. He provides a comprehensive outlined document which delves into the facts and myths surrounding this controversy. Dr. Matloff focuses his argument against increases in the H-1B work visas on Software Engineers specifically because as noted he found the majority of H-1B visas were awarded to software developers and programmers 15 to 1 ratio versus hardware related visas awarded. Dr. Matloff is a tenured professor of Computer Science at UC Davis, received several honors, and is well published. I feel his work is reliable, factual and will be helpful in a research paper on H1-B Visas. This subject and document are relevant as the H1-B Visa Increase is being brought back into the forefront of the immigration issue, this congressional session and will probably be relevant in the upcoming Presidential election.We need a carriage return here -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:37 AM

---. “The Adverse Impact of Work Visa Programs on Older U.S. Engineers and Programmers”. California Labor and Employment Law Review, Volume 20 No.4 August, 2006. State Bar of California. EBSCOHost Research Database, Mesa Community College, Mesa, AZ 18 October 2007period here -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:37 AM

In this article written for the State Bar of California, Dr. Matloff delves into the much ignored problem of high tech workers being discriminated against because of their age when applying for high technology employment. A company or corporation will never admit to this, but the facts prove the problem exists. In a study conducted by Dr. Matloff he found 57% of computer science graduates were working as programmers; at 15 years the number had dropped to 34% and by 20 years, the number was down to 19%. By contrast, Dr. Matloff found six years after graduation 61% of civil engineer graduates were working in the field and 20 years after graduation, 52% were still working in this field. Further evidence to support the existence of this problem was provided when a study conducted by the national Research Council (NRC) commissioned by Congress proved what U.S. Technical workers had been claiming all along. In an effort to refute their claims that we don’t have enough educated engineers in this country, lobbyists for corporations in favor of H-1B visa increases switched their claims to the workers in the U.S. are not skilled enough. This should have proved to Congress that the corporations were lying and there is no need for increases.

United States. Cong. House of Representatives Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Committee on Judiciary. H-1B Visa Program: More Oversight by Labor Can Improve Compliance with Program Requirements. Statement of Sigurd R. Nilsen, Director Education Workforce, and Income. Washington: GAO 06-901T, 2006your font shifts in this source -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:37 AM

The document is the testimony given to the Subcommittee on Immigration, et al, regarding misuse of the H-1B Visa Program Employer compliance with the prevailing wage rate. There had been several complaints to the Department of Labor that employers were not paying the prevailing wage they had agreed to for the position and in order to get the application approved. The GAO investigation results called for more oversight by the Department of Labor and Homeland Security – Immigration Compliance Enforcement, in reviewing applications completely for inaccuracies made by the submitting company. The Department of Labor claims that it is limited by law to checking for missing information or obvious inaccuracies and does this through automated data checks. GAO found several hundred certified applications that contained erroneous employer identification numbers. Employers appear to be constantly finding ingenious ways to beat the system and this study points out some of the ways to successfully accomplish this task. Further it appears to me that government agencies tasked with keeping the H-1B Visa Program honest aren’t doing their jobs to ensure that H-1B workers are being fairly treated and paid.

I am looking for a conlusionary paragraph here. Other than that and little formatting problems, good word. You really have passion about your topic and that shines through. 92% -Devoncadams 10/31/07 9:38 AM

Final WP#1 w/Suggestions for Revision

Rocki Passano

Eng 102-2315

Professor Devon Adams

5 December 2007

Suggestions for Revision and WP#1 –

At first I had problems understanding the requirements for this assignment. The first most noticeable area I had difficulties with was the MLA citing for this assignment. I still have some confusion in this area and my solution to this problem is to buy a more recent edition of the MLA Handbook for Writers of Research Papers. I was able to gain a better understanding of the MLA citing procedure by WP#3.

A stronger opening for this writing assignment is necessary to have more of an initial impact on the audience for this paper. More focus needs to be placed on the purpose as well as my role as a writer for this paper. Additionally I don’t need to be so cautious about my own ideas and ideas that I inhibit my writing abilities to generate a sound and reasonable thesis for my paper.

Had I accomplished the above I would have achieve the following outcomes –

· Generate, format, and edit writing using appropriate technologies.

· Identify, select and use an appropriate documentation style to maintain academic integrity.

· Integrate sources through summarizing, paraphrasing and quotation from sources to develop and support one’s own ideas.

Rocki Passano

English 102-2513

Deadline #6

HW#2 – WP#1

Thursday, September 27, 2007

rocki, WE DISCUSSED THIS ONLINE, SO I KNOW YOU ARE BACK ON TRACK :) -Devoncadams 10/17/07 7:52 PM

H-1B Visa Program

During the 1990s, the high technology industry was evolving and invading every aspect of daily life from personal computers to e-mail; to intelligent computer chips in automobiles and washing machines. Sweeping changes in high technology trade programs and as well as changes in telecommunication monopolies (i.e., telephone, television, cable, satellite) were in progress. Classrooms across the country were being wired for internet access during weekend volunteer programs. Venture capital money freely flowed into Silicon Valley enticing entrepreneurs to begin internet start-up companies that would become Yahoo and Google. This great unplanned success overwhelmed the existing technology workforce creating a demand for qualified skilled high technology workers in both the software and hardware fields. During this same time Congress had undertaken a major reform of the nation’s Immigration Act.

The H-1B nonimmigrant visa program was established with the U.S. Immigration Act of 1990 to assist U.S. employers in temporarily filling certain positions with highly-skilled foreign workers¹. Currently Congress has limited the number of H-1B visas to 65,000 each year, with exemptions. Now, in the early twenty first century, corporations and special interest groups advocate a desperate need to increase the current cap again, citing a lack of qualified skilled Americans to fill their vacancies.

There are also groups and individuals who thoroughly discredit the need for an increase in the H-1B Visa program and advocate the program be shut down. Although it is clear that the number of applicants for H-1B visa consistently exceeds the 65,000 total available in the US each year, is an increase in this program necessary?

High technology has continued its evolution; new companies opened, failed, succeeded, merged or were acquired. High technology stocks hit record highs then record lows. A majority of the high tech companies from the 1980s and early 1990s do not exist anymore. The technology revolution slowed in its normal progression, it is estimated that approximately 100,000 American software engineers are currently unemployed².

Special interests groups AILA (American Immigrations Lawyers Association)³, ITAA (Information Technology Association of America)⁴, and several U.S. Senators and Governors⁵ are appealing to Congress to increase the current H-1B Visa Program limits, insisting that there is a shortage of qualified skilled U.S. employees to fill vacant positions. High tech companies like Microsoft, Oracle and Sun Microsystems have lobbied Congress heavily since 1998 for increases in the H-1B Visa program. Department of Labor records show Sun Microsystems has applied for a steadily increasing number of H-1B visas: 751 in 1999; 1870 in 2000; 5179 in 2001. The total number of Sun Microsystems worldwide employees in 2002 was 58,000⁶.

According to Normal Matloff, professor of computer science at the University of California-Davis, the failure of the current immigration reform bill only delays a predictable increase in the number of H-1B visas and green cards allowing an opportunity for high tech companies to exploit the system. “There’s no shortage of American workers for these jobs,” Mattloff says. “I don’t like being lied to and the tech industry is lying to us. They simply want access to cheap labor⁷”. Federal auditors in a 2006 GAO audit determined that some H-1B workers are underpaid. GAO found approximately 3200 petitions for H-1B visa workers have gained approval even though the employers involved didn’t commit to paying wages at the prevailing rate⁸. It is estimated that there are approximately 450,000 H-1B Visa workers in the U.S. today.

Further Lou Dobbs of CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight reported recently that U.S. Lawyers were giving advice to companies seeking foreign tech workers to circumvent regulations requiring Americans be given first shot at jobs that go to H-1B visa holders. ⁹ On the video, it is clear that corporations are looking for any means to avoid hiring U.S. workers for these jobs. One example is the use of head hunters to give the appearance of interviewing U.S. workers but never hiring them for the positions. Some head hunting firms have said they receive over one hundred thousand resumes for one position. These resumes are eliminated for lack of degrees, age, or lack of very specific skill set. Salaries for technology workers have been flat for the past eight years and many U.S. tech workers feel the H-1B Visa Program is partially responsible for the salary situation.

Several years ago, my husband and I both worked in the high-tech industry in Silicon Valley, California. I worked for a technology based trade show company, Interop, that had grown from a weekend bake-off at someone’s home in Monterrey to the top trade show company in the world. Interop was sold to Ziff-Davis after three successful years. Just before this sale became official and public knowledge, Ron and Jacqui Catterall of London England were persuaded to sell their London based IP Company to Ziff Davis and become part of the ZD organization through the H-1B Visa program. The Catteralls sold their business and home, packed and shipped their personal belongings and moved to the US. Immediately upon arrival they began working at Ziff Davis; Ron as my immediate Director and Jacqui as my subordinate. They lived in a hotel in Sunnyvale, Ca for six months while having a home built. Ron, Jacqui, my husband and I became friends and often socialized together. Two and one half years later during a dinner party entertaining friends, Immigration and Naturalization Service arrived at their door. INS declared the Catteralls were illegally in the United States and had thirty days to leave the country for good. Ron and Jacqui were under the impression that Ziff Davis was processing the paper work to obtain green cards for that in accordance with their agreement of employment and the sale of their IP Company. ZD failed to notify Ron and Jacqui they would not be applying for their green card; or that because Ron and Jacqui did not have green cards their H-1B status would expire; or that ZD would be terminating their employment immediately the next day. ZD had contacted INS prior to advising the Catteralls of the change in their status or of their pending termination. The Catteralls moved to Mexico where they currently reside, but to this day still have problems visiting the U.S. It was all very strange as Ziff Davis had assisted when the Catteralls needed social security numbers so they could pay SSI and all associated income taxes and disability. Ziff Davis eventually sold Interop+Networld (the trade show company) to a Korean/Japanese Conglomerate and I left the company. My husband became employed with RedBack, Inc. and we moved to Arizona.

At RedBack, Inc. my husband traveled ninety percent of the time, mostly to Europe, Asia, throughout the U.S. and Canada and occasionally to New Zealand and Australia. When not flying all over the world, he was a technical instructor, training customer engineers on RedBack’s equipment. Shortly after the high tech stock bubble burst, mergers and acquisitions and then corporate downsizing, the next thing we knew my husband is training hundreds of H-1Bs to do installations and training. Six months later my husband and several hundred of his co-workers were laid off in a reduction in force. It took my husband five years with out of pocket expenses to keep his skill set competitive and leading edge to find another job in the technology field as a contractor with no benefits. During the five years, my husband sent out thousands of resumes and went to hundreds of interviews. But of course he is well over 35 (the industry nondiscriminatory age cap) and he was never hired. Two or three H-1Bs could be hired instead of my husband for less than he would cost.

I don’t like being lied to in much the same way as Norman Matloff, I want to know the real reason behind this push for more foreign labor into the U.S. and I don’t think I am alone. Corporations have a fiduciary right to keep cost down and profits up for their shareholders which in many ways justifies their need for H-1B workers. If the motivation for an increase of H-1B Visas is strictly financial, than tell the truth. Amazingly, Americans can adapt, improvise and overcome should the need present itself (i.e., the Space Race), but we don’t like being lied to.

Works Cited

1 United States Government Accountability Office Testimony – Before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives; “H-1B Visa Program – More Oversight by Labor Can Improve Compliance with Program Requirements”; Statement of Sigurd R. Nielsen, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security – GAO -06-901T, June 22, 20006

2 NumbersUSA

3 AILA – http://www.aila.org/content/default.aspx?docid=1021

“The American Immigration Lawyers Association (AILA) is the national association of over 10,000 attorneys and law professors who practice and teach immigration law. AILA Member attorneys represent tens of thousands of U.S. families who have applied for permanent residence for their spouses, children, and other close relatives to lawfully enter and reside in the United States. AILA Members also represent thousands of U.S. businesses and industries who sponsor highly skilled foreign workers seeking to enter the United States in a temporary or --having proven the unavailability of U.S. workers -- permanent basis. AILA Members also represent foreign students, entertainers, athletes, and asylum seekers, often on a pro bono basis. Founded in 1946, AILA is a nonpartisan, not-for-profit organization that provides its Members with continuing legal education, information, professional services, and expertise through its 35 chapters and over 50 national committees. AILA is an Affiliated Organization of the American Bar Association and is represented in the ABA House of Delegates.”

4 ITAA -- http://www.itaa.org/index.cfm

Unable to locate a definitive mission statement for this organization

5 Letter from Governors to House & Senate -- Letter from 13 U.S. Governors Urging Congressional Action to Increase Availability of H1-B and Permanent Resident Visas

6 January 17, 2002; http://www.sun.com/smi/Press/sunflash/2002-01/sunflash.20020117.2.xml?printFriendly=true

7 Barrett, Larry; “H-1B Bump: Not Dead Yet” July 2, 2007; CIO Insight

8 United States Government Accountability Office Testimony – Before the Subcommittee on Immigration, Border Security and Claims, Committee on the Judiciary, House of Representatives; “H-1B Visa Program – More Oversight by Labor Can Improve Compliance with Program Requirements”; Statement of Sigurd R. Nielsen, Director Education, Workforce, and Income Security – GAO -06-901T, June 22, 20006

9 CNN Lou Dobbs Tonight; “U.S. Lawyers Intentionally Cripple America’s High-Tech Workers (video)