Crocuses, Daffodils and ....Bill Gates?

As part of the annual Rite of Spring, Bill Gates will be heading from the state of Washington to Washington, D.C. to beg for an increase in the number of foreign workers who will be allowed in the United States. As Patrick Thibodeau in his March 3rd ComputerWorld article points out:

The topic of the hearing is familiar ground for Gates on Capitol Hill. But what makes his scheduled appearance on March 12 potentially explosive is its timing, less than three weeks before the start of the annual application rush for H-1B visas.

April 1 is the first day that U.S. immigration authorities will begin accepting H-1B applications for the federal government's 2009 fiscal year, which begins in October. Last year, the government stopped taking applications after receiving about 150,000 in a single day — far more than enough to exhaust the annual cap of 65,000 regular visas and 20,000 set aside for foreign nationals who have advanced degrees from U.S. universities.

Like last year, Bill Gates will be expected to be the only person to appear before Congress to address this issue. He will testify that Americans are too simple-minded for technical work and that only foreign workers have the talent and ability to take on these jobs. Also like last year, people like Kim Berry from The Programmers Guild are expected to rebut each and every charge, and declare that the only shortages Microsoft, Cisco, and Oracle et al are facing is a shortage of Americans who will do the work at substandard wages.

For a look at the ideal employee Gates has in mind, watch this video taken at the Microsoft Canada Development Center in Vancouver. Remember, this is the development center Microsoft claims they were forced to open to skirt the limits on foreign workers allowed in our country.

I see their point. The United States is definitely lacking in young programmers who don't like to work particularly hard and are champion Foosball players.

Naturally, there are intriguing events leading up to the drama. Job Destruction's Rob Sanchez reported on the behind-the-scenes machinations staged by Nancy Pelosi to try to increase the cap on H-1B and other guest worker visas, in addition to trying to (of course) offer another amnesty for illegal aliens. Far away from the big players in Washington D.C., I reported on the suspicious timing of a job fair where Michigan recruiters are trying to (don't laugh - this is so quaint) match up engineering students with local venture capitalists and their startup firms.

Patrick Thibodeau, the hard-working staff member of Computerworld who I find myself linking to more and more, posted this story of how Senator Charles Grassley (R-Iowa) issued a letter describing even more abuses of the H-1B system:

"Everyday we're learning more and more, but it appears that most H-1B visas are going to foreign-based companies," said Grassley, in a statement. "U.S. businesses that need highly skilled workers are getting the short end of the stick."

In regard to the leasing of H-1B workers, Grassley, in his letter to Chertoff, charged that "hundreds" of foreign workers are "standing by, waiting for work" and are being offered for lease by their employers. The information about this practice came from a constituent in Iowa, not identified in the letter, who was being "bombarded" by these requests to lease H-1B workers, wrote Grassley.

"My constituent even said one company went so far to require him to sign a memorandum of understanding that helps the H-1B "factory firm" justify to the federal government that they have adequate business opportunity that requires additional visa holders," wrote Grassley. "It's a complete falsification of the market justification for additional H-1B workers."

I nominate this story for the annual March Surprise, where the important-sounding National Foundation for American Policy (which, according to Rob Sanchez, is merely a front for H-1B cheerleader Stuart Anderson), issued a report claiming that 5 to 7.5 jobs are created for Americans for every H-1B worker hired. I have some severe doubts as to the cause and effect of jobs magically appearing for Americans every time an H-1B visa is issued, and so does Rob Sanchez. He should have one of his Newsletters devoted to this issue showing up in his archives within the next few days.

In the meantime, MainStreamMedia and industry mouthpieces are dutifully running the story at InformationWeek, PCWorld, the Washington Post, InfoWorld, the National Association of Manufacturers Blog, and CNET News. Be sure look at the comments section on these sites, which are often more informative than the main articles.

(Cross-posted at Carrie's Nation.)

UPDATE: Here is the link announcing Bill Gates' appearance in front of the U.S. House of Representatives' Committee on Science and Technology.