A reader emails:

Southern (possibly) Poverty (of thought?) Law (!?) Center (?):

http://www.splcenter.org/blog/2008/07/25/extremist-steve-salier-is-source-for-cnns-black-in-america-series/

In this case, two technical positions were advertised on an IEEE publication. The ads are facades used by HP to hire foreign workers and to provide legal cover if qualified Americans are available.

Applicants would normally have the expectation that their resumes will be received by an HR person or a hiring manager. That’s not the case here, but there is no way to tell by reading the ads.

Resumes were to be sent to an HP location in California, that much is true, but MS 4206 belongs to one of HP’s immigration specialists. This specialist, who is probably a paralegal, works closely with the immigration law firm of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP.

IEEE isn’t the only web site that runs phony job ads for HP. The ads shown below are being used as two examples, but similar ads appear in many other places.

The evidence linking this game of deceit by HP is presented as four items (scroll further to read them). Unraveling connections such as this requires time consuming research and determination. Thanks to Kim Berry of the Programmer’s Guild for doing the arduous research to put the pieces of this puzzle together.

Be sure to see this Cisco job ad for another example.

Item #1. HP job ads in IEEE magazine

It’s important to note the address to send resumes to: “Hewlett-Packard Company, 19483 Pruneridge Ave., MS 4206″.

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY has an opportunity for the following position in Bridgewater, NJ. Technology Consultant. Exp. in dev. & designing in at least one of these: Database, ETL & Bi design & build in one or more of the following areas: bus. intellig., reporting, bus. perform. mgt. & data warehousing. Exp. w/ at least one of the following tools: Ab Initio, Informatica, Datastage, Ascential, Bus. Objects, Cognos, or other info. mgt. tools & disciplines. Employer will accept any suitable combination of edu., training or exp. Extensive travel req. to various unanticipated worksites. Reqs. incl. Bachelor’s degree or foreign equiv. in CS, Eng., Elect. Eng. or related field of study & 5 yrs. of related exp. Send resume & refer to job #BRIYE. Please send resumes with job number to Hewlett-Packard Company, 19483 Pruneridge Ave., MS 4206, Cupertino, CA 95014. No phone calls please. Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.

HEWLETT-PACKARD COMPANY has an opportunity for the following position in Pleasanton, CA. Support Engineer. Reqs. exp. with Technical escalation mgmt, particularly with Engineering & QA; In-depth technical knowledge, the IM portfolio & the environments they are found in; Ability to create knowledge mgmt documents. Proof of concepts and complex installations. Knowledge of support processes, policies, systems & services. Project mgmt skills; Broad technical knowledge on Linux & Java. Afterhours/ pager support rotation. Reqs. Incl. Bachelors degree or foreign equiv. In CIS, Engrng or related & 5 yrs. Exp. Send resume & refer to Job # PLEMLO. Please send resumes with job number to Hewlett-Packard Company, 19483 Pruneridge Ave., MS 4206, Cupertino, CA 95014. No phone calls please. Must be legally authorized to work in the U.S. without sponsorship. EOE.[PDF]

Item #2. HP Labor Condition Application Data

The LCA data spreadsheet on the following web page is a rather typical ETA Department of Labor release, although the DOL no longer allows us to see the contact names. The DOL redacted the names from their newest database citing privacy as the reason. Unfortunately this means that connecting the dots by using newer data won’t be possible.

The important piece of evidence is that several LCAs are signed by Susan Lampedecchio. Here is one of those data items:

Hewlett Packard Company Engineering Program Manager 1266 Kifer Road Sunnyvale CA 10/01/2004 Certified 74466 Roseville I-04112-1061789 Susan Lampedecchio Immigration Specialist

Item #3. Copy of an original HP Labor Condition Application

This LCA was originally posted on the HP website. Employers are required by law to make their LCAs public. H-1B regulations specify that posting the information on websites or a public place is an acceptable means of disclosure. Go to this link to learn more details on public access files for LCAs.

Susan Lampedecchio’s name appears once again, along with a mailing address of MS 4206. Remember that address? That’s the address in Item #1 where the resumes are being mailed to. So, resumes that are mailed to MS4206 are first reviewed by an immigration specialist instead of an HR person or a hiring manager. Lampedecchio’s job is probably to find reasons to reject resumes from qualified Americans.

Another name comes up on the form: Michael Boshnaick

Hewlett-Packard Company 19483 Pruneridge Avenue Mail Stop #4206 Cupertino, CA 95014

First Name of Hiring or Other Designated Official SUSAN

Last Name of Hiring or Other Designated Official LAMPEDECCHIO

Hiring or Other Designated Official Title IMMIGRATION SPECIALIST

Contact information

Contact First Name MICHAEL

Contact Last Name Boshnaick

Item #4. Fragomen Web page crediting Boshnaick as a partner

In Item #3 we saw the name Michael Boshnaick but there was nothing to indicate his job title or who he was. Fortunately the law firm of Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy LLP reveals who he is! Boshnaick is a full fledged partner of the law firm.

That platform is nothing if not a springboard for the firm’s colleagues - all of whom say the sky’s the limit at Fragomen. “There are no roadblocks to success here,” says new partner Carmita Alonso. “Our career paths go as high as we can take them.” Indeed, diversity, from the paralegal level to partner level, is simply a part of Fragomen’s cultural DNA - and thus is something its workforce as a whole rarely, if ever, thinks about. “It is such a non-issue here,” says partner Michael Boshnaick, who didn’t think twice about being the only male in an otherwise female partner class. “I think what it boils down to is that a lot of other firms talk the talk, but we walk the walk.”

SUMMARY

• HP has an H-1B on the payroll who has been promised a green card. An alternate explanation is that HP wants to hire someone in a foreign country and wants to bring him/her into the U.S. by using the EB green card program. Either way, HP has no intention of hiring people that respond to the job ads.
• As required by law, HP posted a job ad to pretend that they looked for qualified Americans.
• Resumes were sent to Susan Lampedecchio, who worked closely with Michael Boshnaick (Fragomen partner) to reject applications from qualified Americans. By this stage of the certification process the foreign worker has already been chosen or is already on the payroll, so no American that applies will get the job. The game is so fixed they would probably even ignore a resume by another foreign national.

Gabriel Sherman’s article “End of the Affair“ in The New Republic recounts a lot of gripes reporters have with the arrogance and secrecy of the Obama campaign. Most of it is the usual dull whining, but this is interesting:

“Reporters who have covered Obama’s biography or his problems with certain voter blocs have been challenged the most aggressively. “They’re terrified of people poking around Obama’s life,” one reporter says. “The whole Obama narrative is built around this narrative that Obama and David Axelrod built, and, like all stories, it’s not entirely true. So they have to be protective of the crown jewels.” Another reporter notes that, during the last year, Obama’s old friends and Harvard classmates were requested not to talk to the press without permission.”

Better late than never, I suppose …

By the way, can you imagine being asked not to talk to the press about some guy you went to school with without his permission?

So many bad articles about outsourcing and H-1B are published it’s not easy to choose the worst ones. Article #5 may be the most insulting, but it’s probably not the worst. Article #8 is so stupid it’s actually sort of funny.

Article 1: Long wait for scarce visas

Shibu Jose has placed ad after ad in area newspapers and on Web sites seeking tech-savvy workers for his Ellicott City software consulting company. But the resumes he receives are thin. Too often, applicants lack fluency in the complex software-speak he needs to keep his business competitive. For Jose, the H-1B debate is a question of simple business competition. Without the visas, his company cannot thrive, he said.

Article 2: EDS says offshoring great for profitability, promises to continue ”

If you can find high-quality talent at a third of the price, it’s not too hard to see why you’d do this,” says EDS chairman Ron Rittenmeyer.

Article 3: McCain Resumes Talk of Comprehesive Immigration Reform

Surrounded by high-tech entrepreneurs, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) said this morning he would expand visas for immigrants at the same time he would propose legislation cracking down on illegal immigration.

Article 4: Immigrants not taking our jobs

Misconception: Immigrants are taking American jobs. So, why don’t immigrants take American jobs?

Article 5: Failing grade: U.S. losing its science edge

The Oklahoman Editorial A few years ago, Intel Corp. chief Craig Barrett began speaking with clear urgency about how the United States needs to do a much better job of preparing students for careers in math and science. Barrett said his company would do just fine if it never hired another American because the talent pool elsewhere in the world was plentiful. Turns out, that’s even more true today.

Article 6: America cannot afford to drive away talent

Once again, the arbitrary cap on H-1B visas, part of our strident national debate over immigration policy, has played a cruel joke on US competitiveness by needlessly penalising some of our highest-growth industries. Paralysis on immigration policy has created a classic lose-lose situation for our economy. Tens of thousands of talented graduates from all over the world have been “capped out” of the opportunity to work in the US, while American employers are denied access to legions of bright and motivated candidates for employment. It would be difficult to imagine a less rational system.

Article 7: Valuable H-1B Workers Alberta-Bound As Congress Fiddles

Lawmakers in the Canadian province of Alberta are cashing in on the United States’ failure to enact a rational immigration policy for skilled workers — they’re recruiting H-1B visa holders whose permits are about to expire. Here’s what Congress should do to right this ridiculous situation. H-1B workers who have been employed productively in the U.S. for six consecutive years, and who have broken no laws, should be eligible to become permanent residents.

Article 8: Talent Blueprint Project promotes bringing in foreign-born business talent

Benarjie exemplifies more of what Northeast Ohio needs – foreign-born business talent to seed its struggling economy and fill job shortages, says an influential band of Clevelanders. The group of civic leaders and pro-immigration stalwarts seek cash and support for its “Talent Blueprint Project,” a multipronged strategy to attract more foreign students, workers and entrepreneurs. … Santo wants to establish an “H1B City” to lure these workers from tech hot spots like Silicon Valley in California, the Research Triangle in North Carolina and Austin, Texas.