Even stucco laborers qualify

Date: Wednesday, February 02, 2005 9:47 AM

JOB DESTRUCTION NEWSLETTER

by Rob Sanchez
February 02, 2005 No. 1189

Individual H-1B applications are no longer reviewed by people - they
are stored in a computer database at the Dept.of Labor and then scanned
for gross errors. The H-1B visas for stucco workers were probably
denied because the employer had a blatant mistake that triggered the
DOL computer checker. Mistakes that the computer checks for include
things such as dates that are filled in wrong or prevailing salary
figures that are below a threshold value.

Mark Larson's article is quite good and may shock people that are just
learning about H-1B. Unfortunately he perpetuates the myth that
companies must assert that no Americans are available for a job before
they hire an H-1B. It's not any more true for stucco workers than
programmers.

+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

http://www.bizjournals.com/industries/real_estate/construction/2005/01/31/sacramento_story6.html

Sacramento Business Journal

From the January 31, 2005 print edition

Even stucco laborers qualify

Temporary H-1B visas for foreign workers are in hot demand by
technology companies, universities and staffing agencies.

But construction companies? A kebob restaurant?

A review of federal H-1B applications filed by local companies with the
U.S. Department of Labor over the past three years turned up plenty of
engineers, researchers and nurses, but also some nontraditional
applicants.

Take JTS Communities, the high-end Sacramento-based homebuilder. In
2002, records show, the company submitted 56 H-1B applications for jobs
in stucco, lath work, construction labor, framing, carpentry, and
cement or concrete work.

In seeking visas for foreign workers to fill these jobs, companies
assert that no Americans are available to take them. The Department of
Labor, however, disagreed -- at least on most of the JTS applications.

Out of JTS's 56 applications, 44 were denied and 12 were certified for
further scrutiny by immigration officials. The 12 approved were for a
construction laborer, four lathing workers, a stucco person of
unidentified rank, somebody skilled in both stucco and lath work, a
stucco "lead-man," two stucco laborers and two stucco helpers.

Rejection hit more stucco workers, lathers, construction laborers,
framers, roofers, carpenters and cement/concrete workers.

Then there were the 2003 visa applications by Kabob n Curry in Folsom
seeking to hire two people -- an Indian cook and a spice blender. The
feds certified them and sent the applications on to immigration for
consideration.

And in Sacramento, Thai Basil apparently had spice-blending covered;
the restaurant's single H-1B visa application last year, for a market
research analyst, made it past the first round of federal scrutiny.

It's unclear how many applications that won first-round certifications
ended up with visas.

-- by Mark Larson

www.ZaZona.com
Support this Newsletter and ZaZona.com by donating:
www.zazona.com/Donations.htm

To Subscribe, Unsubscribe or to view the Archive go to:
http://www.zazona.com/shameh1b/JobDestructionNews.htm

Back to archives