Knowledge Work

When a Sunnyvale tech company laid off the manager and most of his colleagues in its reliability testing group a year and a half ago, the manager said a few employees were spared — younger, foreign workers on H-1B visas.

The laid-off manager was infuriated that as an American citizen, he wasn’t given priority over the H-1B employees. The H-1B visa program allows employers to hire skilled foreign workers when there’s a shortage of available American workers.

“The law does not protect American workers at all,'’ said Frank, a 45-year-old Chinese-American who was out of work for five months, and who insisted his last name and the name of his former company not be published because he fears repercussions from potential employers. “It only helps American businesses and technology companies keep their costs low while sacrificing American workforce. That’s not right.'’

MercuryNews.com | 04/07/2006 | H-1B visa law criticized