A growing number of American I.T pros are being forced to expand their job searches far beyond their homes. Recently, I myself had to fly from Orange County up to Sacramento to interview for a contract at of all places, Modesto. This was earlier this year, and the market had dried up. I was prepared to live in a motel for several months, separated from my family.

JUST LIKE AN H-1B.

Is this the future of I.T. in this globalist gladiator pit? Everyone forced to go where the work is, because all the local positions have been taken by visa workers? It was ridiculous to see H-1Bs walking to work (they are easy to spot - Indians leaving their extended stay motels, laptops slung over their shoulders, walking in pairs) in the office buildings near John Wayne Airport, as I prepared to fly across the state, desperate for work, anywhere.

But a Daily Kos Diarist called "Phil In Denver" had a more gut wrenching story:

"...So after a tearful farewell, I left my family and headed out on a solo road trip to Washington, DC in the hopes that I would at last find the employment that would be my family’s salvation...

...Now, those who have kept up with my diaries here may recall that a few weeks ago I wrote about the fact that I had been displaced by an H1B worker, or more accurately, when faced with a downsizing decision, the company I was working for chose to retain an H1b worker of inferior skills and experience to mine and terminated my contract instead. This no doubt due to the fact that as an H1b worker, he is working for well below the prevailing wage whereas I as an American citizen had been working at the prevailing wage...

...Ironically, the contractor I am now working for hires primarily H1b workers. I seem to be the only American on staff. Well, as they say, only Nixon could go to China, so I find myself completely surrounded by H1B workers...

...They are not directly using H1b workers in quantity, rather, they are using contractors and subcontractors who hire almost exclusively H1b workers. I am one of only three American citizens on this rather large project of dozens of developers across several contractors and sub-contractors. Virtually all others are H1b workers from India...

...Additionally, India is by far the largest recipient of remittances in the world meaning that not only are we importing these workers from overseas to work for lower wages, but much of what they do earn does not even stay in this economy. Instead of stimulating our own economy, which is currently in recession, we are stimulating the economy of one of the few countries in the world who's economy is still enjoying a healthy growth rate which while down slightly from it's 2008 peak of 9%, is still at a very healthy 7%.

As I was introduced around the office on my first day, the project managers were visibly relieved to see that unlike most of the 20 and 30 somethings that are most of the IT H1b workers, I clearly had “been around the block” a few times, and both of them had commented to that effect. They were clearly suffering from what I call "H1b fatigue".

One of the issues with IT H1bs is that many, if not most are fresh out of college or still fairly new in their careers. One of the dangers of over reliance on H1bs is a fundamental lack of real world experience, as well as a lack of familiarity with any but the very latest development techniques.

...This can severely jeopordize any project that is highly dependent on legacy systems as many federal government systems are, including the one to which I have been assigned.

So, although I'm certainly both relieved and grateful at having been offered employment even by a company that normally only hires H1b workers, I am also living proof that this program is in fact driving wages down. It's time not only to re-examine this program, but to hold our own government's feet to the fire. I worked my ass off to elect Barack Obama, I've heard him say that our focus should be on "fair" trade not just free trade. I want to believe in him, but it's hard to grant him much credibility with this kind of thing going on right under his nose. Then again, on the other hand, I was hired by someone who normally only hires H1bs, so maybe that's not by accident. At the moment I have no way of knowing, I only know that I am the only domestic employee on
staff.

But what is happening here is much more insidious, we are actually importing workers from overseas to perform the same tasks done by American workers but at much lower wages. Does it even matter that the work is being done here? It's
still being done by foreign labor and the fruits of that labor are being remitted back home instead being spent here in our own economy. It's still trade, just masked behind euphemisms like H1b, instead of being called what it really is, using foreign labor to do our work right here on our own soil.

Currently there is no longer a tech shortage in this country. I'm living proof of that. I'm having to uproot my family and move them 2/3rds of the way across the country in order to survive. Right here on Dkos, I've seen numerous similar stories from other IT professionals all over this country as well has heard the personal stories of many more back in Denver."

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2009/3/29/714393/-Kossack-Finds-Job-in-Washington,-DC