SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Major U.S. banks sought government permission to bring thousands of foreign workers into the country for high-paying jobs even as the system was melting down last year and Americans were getting laid off, according to an Associated Press review of visa applications.
The dozen banks now receiving the biggest rescue packages, totaling more than $150 billion, requested visas for more than 21,800 foreign workers over the past six years for positions that included senior vice presidents, corporate lawyers, junior investment analysts and human resources specialists. The average annual salary for those jobs was $90,721, nearly twice the median income for all American households.
As the economic collapse worsened last year — with huge numbers of bank employees laid off — the numbers of visas sought by the dozen banks in AP's analysis increased by nearly one-third, from 3,258 in the 2007 budget year to 4,163 in fiscal 2008.
The AP reviewed visa applications the banks filed with the Labor Department under the H-1B visa program, which allows temporary employment of foreign workers in specialized-skill and advanced-degree positions. Such visas are most often associated with high-tech workers.
It is unclear how many foreign workers the banks actually hired; the government does not release those details. The actual number is likely a fraction of the 21,800 foreign workers the banks sought to hire because the government only grants 85,000 such visas each year among all U.S. employers.
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First Americans complained that foreign workers get paid less thereby taking American positions for less money. Now Americans complain that foreign workers make twice as much. Can you already make up your mind? Yet, illegals get all kinds of subsidies here and nobody complains, people who never worked in their lives get paid, nobody complains either. Stop complaining, do something.
ReplyDeleteMaybe it gets down to nobody here is interested in working. The unions make it difficult when they insist on striking, better pay, better working environment, more retirement funds needed, safer working conditions..why not get a foreigner to work under NO CONDITIONS? Damned if you do damned if you don't.
ReplyDeleteHey, I don't mind if foreigners work here, if Americans are allowed to work in their countries.
ReplyDeleteOh, but we aren't. Ever try to get a work visa in Canada, the UK, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, China or Australia? They have closed, protected markets with huge restrictions keeping US workers out -- while demanding concessions to the US that keep us hiring their nationals.