Lots of stories and speculations are circulating about India’s crackdown on business visas. In many cases H-1B activists are incorrectly concluding that this is an example of India’s restrictive policies on employment visas, and then drawing parallels to our generous H-1B program. A closer examination of India’s nonimmigrant visa programs indicates that the current issue has more to do with illegal immigration of Chinese into India.

The controversy in India began when violence broke out between Chinese contractors working in India (more…)

Noor Faleh Almaleki died Monday of injuries she suffered when her own father ran over her October 20 in a parking lot in a Phoenix suburb of Peoria, Arizona.

Noor was killed by her father because in his words, she was “too Westernized“.

Daddy sure solved that problem! Now he has another. ABC 15 video report

Faleh Hassan Almaleki, 48 fled to Mexico after he ran over Noor. His escape was aided by family members who undoubtedly approved of his actions. Not surprisingly nobody seems to know how he got across the border without being detected. He got all the way to London before he was apprehended. Faleh is back in Arizona, thanks to British police who seemed to be more on the ball than our border patrol.

Faleh has been charged for two cases of aggravated assault. The other charge was for hitting  the mother of Noor’s boyfriend, Amal Khalaf with his Jeep Cherokee as he was running over his daughter. Amal is expected to live but is in serious condition.

Faleh is being held on Phoenix on $5 million bail.

I have yet to find out for sure, but I suspect that Faleh Almaleki came to Arizona as an Iraqi war refugee. President Bush dumped hundreds of them in Arizona. Read the Washington Post article titled: “Iraqi Refugees in Arizona, Many Families Find Adjustment Tough, Even Though the Southwest Reminds Them of Home.” That subtitle from the 2007 article seems very ironic now.

An immigration attorney named Kelly Einstein Darwin Giles and two others were arrested on suspicion of selling dozens of fake H-1B visas for $6,000 to $50,000. According to the LA Times and Law.com they laundered the profits by buying vacant burial plots. The two co-conspirators are Joseph Wai-man Wu and his wife May Yin-man Wu.

Surprisingly the website for the Law Offices of Kelly Giles hasn’t died yet. Besides fraud, they specialize in immigration to the U.S. and Canada. Email them.

Yesterday I went on the Chuck Wilder talk radio show as planned. Much to my surprise, Rep. Gabrielle Giffords answered my challenge to go on the radio show with me so that she could explain why she should would sponsor a bill that would triple the H-1B cap.

Giffords didn’t actually call in, but her press secretary CJ Karamargin called before the show started. He declined to go on the air but he assured Chuck Wilder that there is no truth to the “rumor” that Giffords has re-introduced her “Innovation Employment Act” of 2008.

That very good news greeted me when I went on the show, and Wilder and I talked about what it really all means. After the show I decided to call Karamargin to confirm what Wilder heard. In short, this is what I found out:

• Giffords will not introduce a bill to the 111th Congress to increase the H-1B cap.
• There was no guarantee about the 112th Congress which begins January of 2011.
• Karamargin wouldn’t confirm or deny that the bill was sent to the Judiciary Committee.
• No explanation was given why the three staffers I talked to in the Washington DC office all confirmed to me that the bill was sent to the Judiciary and will be introduced very soon.

I found it surprising that the press secretary was in Tucson, Arizona this time of year, and it was somewhat troubling that the two offices had such different versions of the status of the bill because conflicting stories often mean trouble.

Karamargin mentioned that there is a huge “buzz” in the blogosphere over this story and thought that I could help dampen the rumors. I explained to him that the firestorm that occurred should be a strong warning to Giffords that the public isn’t going to tolerate an increase of H-1B. We very much disagreed on the merits of the H-1B program.

Chuck Wilder concluded the show by saying this:

Rob, my position is this: is that I’m going to believe what they told me that it’s not in the judiciary, and you and are are just going to sit back and see, and if they lied to us, then heaven help them if they did lie!

I agree with Wilder. Considering the fact that Karamargin is Rep. Giffords’ official spokesman, we can be somewhat safe to assume that Giffords hasn’t introduced a bill to raise the H-1B cap and doesn’t intend on doing so anytime soon. If Giffords introduces an H-1B increase bill then we can use this incident as a talking point to pressure her.

My theory, for whatever it’s worth is that Giffords felt a lot of heat over the bill and told the Judiciary to table it. Of course it could be a matter of the left foot not knowing where the right is going. There is a possibility that the Washington DC office was as confused as Computerworld — the magazine that printed a 2008 article by Grant Gross but dated it 2009. Since the controversy began, Computerworld, CIO, and several other publications corrected their date. If you see the same article with a 2009 date it is a mistake!

I seriously doubt Giffords would introduce a new bill for the 112th Congress. That’s an election year, and even though she panders to Bill Gates and the high tech industry, she still needs to get elected. Not even a liberal globalist like Giffords is going to gamble an election away to expand the H-1B program.

Listen to a podcast of that radio show.

The Caddo Parish school district in Louisiana didn’t read the fine print when they hired H-1B teachers from the Philippines — and that big mistake that will cost them some big money.

Based on my latest research for VDARE.com the Recovery School District saves about $6,300 a year by hiring the Filipinos over American teachers. The cost per “unit of labor” sounded like a good deal for Caddo but what they didn’t realize is that there were hidden costs, like for instance, Caddo charged each Filipino teacher $1,660 for their visa (some stories say that the bodyshop, Universal Placement International, charged the Filipinos). H-1B regulations require the employer to pay the visa fees, not the foreign worker. So, now that Caddo is in trouble with the feds, they are going to have to pay the teachers back. That still gives the Filipinos a per unit $4,640 price advantage over American teachers — which is quite a cost savings considering they hired at least 43 H-1Bs.

What the school board of Caddo Parish didn’t understand is that cheap labor can get very expensive when the hidden costs are factored in to the equation.

Icess Fernandez at the Shreveport Times published a new article that sheds some light on those hidden costs. The Big Kahuna is a $400,000 reimbursement fund that the immigration attorney on Caddo’s payroll advised them to set up so that Caddo can pay claims that are won by the Pinoy teachers.
To see the immigration attorney’s website click this link, and for more on the firm Fernandez wrote an Oct 12 article.

Make no mistake about it, that $400,000 fund is to be used to pay retribution for the money that RSD and the Caddo Parish ripped off from the Filipino teachers. Perhaps the payments will save the RSD and the bodyshop Universal Placement International (UPI) from having to endure costly lawsuits if the the Filipino teachers who have solid cases are willing to settle out of court.

Federal investigations will probably not be deterred, and any violations of immigration laws may be prosecuted. Ironically though, the potential civil penalties brought about by the Filipinos are more worrisome for Caddo and the UPI than anything the feds might do, because most of the regulations are so full of loopholes that defense lawyers will be able to get most charges reduced to mere pittances.

The $400,000 throws a new twist into the calculations used to compare the cost of American teachers versus the Pinoys. Most likely the entire sum won’t have to be paid out, but using that sum and dividing it by the 43 Filipino teachers in the district would mean that each one of those H-1Bs would cost another $9,300. Subtracting that number from the price advantage per American would mean that each Pinoy teacher would cost $4,640 more than his or her American competitor.

Coming out $4,640 in the hole just for hiring Filipino teachers sounds bad for the Caddo Parish, but the situation isn’t as bad as it sounds because it’s just a one time expense. Forty three H-1B teachers saves the district almost $200,000 per year (benefits not included), so assuming the teachers stay there for a three year visa the district still comes out ahead. There is no reason the teachers will leave after three years, and there is also good reason to believe they won’t get pay raises like most teachers do.

There is at least anecdotal evidence that, absent a collective bargaining agreement or law or policy, some school districts pay their nonimmigrant employees as new teachers, regardless of their experience and qualifications.
– Randy Barber, NEA, 2003

Caddo Parish and the Recovery School District still come out ahead although they will get some bad publicity from the entire episode. That’s assuming the feds don’t come down to heavy on them — sometimes employers are barred from hiring H-1Bs for a year or two, which is the ultimate punishment for employers who get too greedy.

Unmentioned in any of the articles are the other set of victims — the American teachers who were not hired because they were considered too expensive and/or too old. Jobless RSD teachers won’t get their jobs back and unless they file a risky class action lawsuit to complain about their replacement by H-1Bs they won’t get monetary compensation. It’s an all around screw job for Americans.

The Caddo story could become just another example why it’s not going to help American workers if H-1B laws are enforced better — the rules of the game are still not fair.

I will be on the Chuck Wilder talk-radio show on Wednesday October 28th 1:34 PM PST. I will be on until the top of the hour.

Wilder’s show is available online in streaming audio which can be listened to at the CRN website:

There is a toll free call-in telephone number if you want to chat with us:

1-800-336-2225

This is the show schedule:

CRN1 12-2pm PT (live)

CRN6 8-10pm PT (replay)

To listen to the show, click the box where it says “now playing, listen live” “CRN1″.

<<<<>>>>

We will talk about Rep. Giffords (D-AZ) bill to triple the H-1B cap. I emailed this invitation to her website.

Dear Rep. Gabrielle Giffords,

I will be on the Chuck Wilder radio show to discuss your new bill to the 111th Congress that will triple the cap on H-1B visas. I cordially invite you or one of your staff to call the radio show in order to explain why you want to guarantee that during the next economic recovery Americans will not reap the benefits by getting the jobs that they not only deserve but are qualified for. I’m also curious why you think that replacing more American workers during this time of severe unemployment will help this nation.

I will be on the show at 12:35 PST on Wednesday October 28. You can call toll free at 1-800-336-2225. Chuck’s producer will be notified to give your people a priority call because I think he is also curious why you are considering such a destructive bill.

Listen to the show online at this link:

http://www.crntalk.com/

My most recent articles can be read here:

VDARE.com’s Exclusive Breaking Story on H-1B

Rep. Giffords’ Bill To Triple H-1B Visa Cap

U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk met with Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma for the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in India. One of India’s top agenda items was to get more H-1B visas, but all they got was lip service.

This is what Kirk had to say about the meeting:

Remarks of United States Trade Representative Ron Kirk at the Trade Policy Forum Press Conference

Let me begin once again by expressing my gratitude on behalf of our entire United States delegation to Minister of Commerce and Industry Anand Sharma, and Commerce Secretary Khullar for their extraordinary hospitality in helping to host and welcome us for what has been a wonderfully productive sixth U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum.

So, India gave our trade representatives the Taj Motel red carpet service. Kirk’s statement was the typical boilerplate that follows international meetings. By “productive” Kirk probably means that they didn’t throw spicy curry in each others face.

According to India’s Economic Times:

On the issue of a more liberal visa regime for Indian professionals, the US assured India that it would take up the issue with the US immigration department and see what changes could be made. “We have made a note of India’s concerns and are going to certainly discuss it with our colleagues (in the immigration department),” Mr Kirk said.

Kirk is giving them a skillful bureaucratic answer that commits the U.S. to nothing. The Indians probably didn’t realize that there is no “immigration department” in the U.S., although we do have the USCIS. Of course the only ones that can actually do anything about immigration are our Congress, which Kirk forgot to mention (tsk! tsk!). Hopefully the Indians don’t figure this out before Prime Minister Manmohan Singh visits the US next month (don’t worry — none of those guys read my writings). LOL!

From the sounds of things, there wasn’t as much cooperation as everyone is claiming:

‘In the much talked about example, we open up our agricultural market to Indian mangos. These freely flow into our country. In return, we had hoped to export pistachios, which are very strong staple of your diet, not grown domestically and high-end motorcycles. Today, not one Harley Davidson motorcycle has been sold in India,’ he added.

Here is a family of 5 on Motorcycle in India that could use a Harley. There is no shortage of superbikes in India, just not any from the U.S. So much for free trade!

The mango controversy never seems to die. First it was mangos for nukes and H-1Bs, now it’s mangos for pistachios and motorcycles. In my opinion that’s a very big improvement! If you don’t know what I’m talking about then you probably haven’t seen my world renowned video: “Mangos that Glow in the Dark”.

I want to thank VDARE.com for featuring my breaking story on the bill to triple the H-1B cap. This is an exclusive story that was reported on VDARE.com first. No other news agency picked it up because I’m the one who did the research to uncover the story.

I discovered this information by calling Giffords’ Washington DC office, and verified it by talking to at least three staffers.

Giffords’s staff told me the new bill to the 111th Congress will go by the same name as her 2008 bill, but it will have a different number. It is now working its way through the Judiciary committee. They wouldn’t discuss specifics but did tell me that the bill will be very similar to HR 5630.

Read my blog “Rep. Giffords’ Bill To Triple H-1B Visa Cap” for more details.

H-1B legislation has been quiet for awhile, but it looks like that is going to change.

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords introduced legislation to Congress that would double the H-1B cap, and in some circumstances triple it. The way it would work is that the yearly cap of 65,000 would be raised to 130,000 but if 130,000 H-1Bs were actually used, the cap would go up to 180,000 the following year.

The Giffords bill will guarantee that during the next economic recovery Americans will not get the jobs. It would be far more accurate to call this the “Jobless Recovery Act” instead of “Innovation Employment Act”. Bill Gates praised the new bill so it is officially Microsoft certified junkware.

The Giffords bill is not on Thomas.gov yet. I called her office to ask what the status of the bill is, and they said it is in the Judiciary Committee for review. Since it is not formally introduced to Congress we cannot see it yet. The staffer was vague on dates but said it may be several days to a week before the bill is formally introduced, and he hinted that there may be some modifications to the text of the bill while it’s in the Judiciary. The staffer said that portions of the bill may still be in the writing stage. I was told that the bill will be almost the same as her 2008 bill.

There is an article written by Grant Gross in the internet magazines Computerworld and CIO which are causing confusion. His article was originally published in 2008 to discuss Giffords’ previous bill. A lot of people are getting confused because several internet sites have reprinted his article with a date of October 29, 2009. Coincidentally, since the bill is to remain basically the same, Gross’ article is mostly correct about the new bill. The title of his article [Bill would double cap on H-1B visas] is misleading because it says the cap would be doubled, but it could actually triple. Keep in mind that authors rarely get to choose titles so it was probably chosen by editors. Both of those articles have comments that are worth reading, and some recent ones are being posted.

The Gross article had some strangeness coming from the Giffords office to justify this bill. Giffords and her PR secretary have been saying similar things since 2008, so I believe the quote is accurate:

Giffords sees the importance of H-1Bs because Southern Arizona has been growing as a hub for tech companies, Karamargin added. “There’s a need to stay competitive and keep the momentum growing,” he added. “That means making sure the talent is available to drive the local and national tech economy.”

Folks, I’m here in Arizona and I have been to Southern Arizona many times. I live in the Phoenix area which is considered central Arizona. The only hubs you are going to see are from the wheels of the jeeps and trucks the coyotes use to smuggle illegal aliens and drugs across the border. The city of Tucson has been shedding what few high tech jobs it had, and there is nothing between there and Mexico besides a few cowboy bars and junk food restaurants. If you head out towards Tombstone or Naco you might be able to find a few technician jobs installing the virtual border fence, but don’t expect to find engineering jobs since most of the equipment will probably come from China.

Arizona doesn’t need more tech workers — we have enough of them drawing unemployment. The jobless techies in California would fill the needs of Arizona about 1000 times over so Karamargin’s claim that Arizona needs to import techies from foreign countries is downright wacky.

Giffords’ connections with Indian special interests make me believe that the timing of this bill has something to do with the India Trade Policy Forum meeting that will take place in India on October 26 where India will be requesting an H-1B increase. We know India will be asking for more H-1Bs and this bill will give them what they want. It wouldn’t surprise me at all if Giffords goes to that meeting in New Delhi, but so far her website doesn’t list it on her agenda. She signed a letter which makes me very suspicious: “Building a Strategic Partnership: U.S.-India Relations in the Wake of Mumbai”.

Giffords seems to curry favors (sorry about the pun) from Indians. For example, the “Taste of India” restaurant gave her campaign about $1,600 in contributions. On a more serious note, she voted YES for the India Nuclear Agreement.

The sleaziness doesn’t stop with curry however. Make no mistake about it — Giffords is a Bill Gates girl. She attended his sham hearing on March 2008 before the House Science and Technology Committee and she asked softball questions about his desire to have unlimited H-1Bs. Giffords isn’t just a Gates groupie though — Gates makes sure that she gets paid handsomely. AmeriPAC gave her $10,000 and AmeriPAC gets funding from Microsoft.

To follow the crooked money trail, use these links:

Top 20 Contributors Congressman Gabrielle Giffords 2007 - 2008

AmeriPAC cycle 2008

The Giffords bill is a significant threat to large segments of the American workforce. Take it very seriously! If you wish to contact Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s office be sure to ask for an immigration or economic staffer because the front line staffers are clueless college kids.

The EconomicTimes of India announced that India will ask for the yearly H-1B cap to be raised. India seems hell bent on pushing for more H-1B visas, even though the cap still hasn’t been met for 2010. The last update given by the UCIS as of 9/25/09 announced that 46,700 petitions towards the cap have been accepted and all 20,000 for advanced degree exemptions.

At the time of this writing there seems to be nothing about this meeting in the U.S. media or at the USTR website. The Indian press is a whole different story — you won’t have any problem finding articles in their media touting the meeting.

In order to get verification of this meeting outside of the Indian media I resorted to using a Communist Chinese press release. The Chinese got their jab at the end of the article by reminding us that the U.S. trade deficit with India was 8 billion dollars in 2008, which seems like chump change compared to our $268 billion deficit with China.

So, here is the news: U.S Trade Representative Ron Kirk will meet with Indian Commerce Minister Anand Sharma for the U.S.-India Trade Policy Forum (TPF) meeting in India scheduled for Oct. 26. According to Wikipedia Kirk is a NAFTA supporter, so it’s probably fair to say that he will get a receptive audience in India.