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Oracle ACE’s speak out against Foreign Visa Experts

The H1-B and O-1 Visa programs were created to help American companies find workers with skills that are not available in the Unites States.  Sadly, this is not the case in the American Oracle industry, as highly-qualified American Oracle professionals go unemployed while corporations hire cheap overseas Visa workers. 

In a 2008 Business week article titled It's True- There's Fraud in the H1-B Visa Program, Oracle Vice President Robert Hoffman notes that Visa fraud hurts corporations like Oracle, who follow the rules:

"U.S. employers who play by the rules of the H-1B visa program are hurt when visas go to employers who don't,"

It should be noted that while Oracle Corporation hires H1-B Visa workers, they only recruit their product developers from the most highly competitive American universities:

"Unless you're coming out of MIT, Stanford or another of a handful of brand-name tech universities, you're very likely out of luck. Better go try MySQL or IBM instead.

Oracle recruits "top candidates" for product development from MIT, Stanford, CMU (likely Carnegie Mellon University), Princeton, Wisconsin, Yale, Dartmouth, Brown, Caltech, Berkeley, Harvard and Cornell."

The latest Oracle visa abusers are self-proclaimed foreign Oracle experts, coming to America to work by exaggerating their science qualifications to get fraudulent O-1 scientist visas.  Scott Adams talks about European computer impostors in his strip  Dilbert where he talks about posers from the fictional European country of Elbonia:

With Oracle unemployment at record highs, Oracle's 2009 salary survey still indicates that the average experienced American Oracle DBA earns over $100,000 per year.

These salaries are very tempting for unqualified posers from developing nation who suffer from much higher unemployment and earn about half the salary of their American counterparts:

2009 Oracle salaries by global region:  Source: Oracle Corporation

The Oracle ACE Community has been quite vocal on this issue of cheap foreign Oracle experts in America.

Oracle ACE's speak out

Oracle ACE Lewis Cunningham notes that he is opposed to the Visa programs because he feels that they impose unfair competition from foreign Oracle experts, many of whom work for less than their American counterparts.  In his article H1-B pay draws down salaries he notes that foreign Oracle workers drive-down American salaries:

“I am opposed to multi-nationals using that program to drive down wages.

I don't buy the argument that the companies can't find qualified employees, they just can't find qualified employees willing to work for less than what the job is worth.  Bringing in cheap labor makes the job worth less.

The H-1B program, is by law, a backup system where employers can find employees, whom they must pay fairly (at prevailing wages), when they cannot find US citizens at the same, fair rate.

Companies ARE abusing that. They are abusing it by paying the people who are here as H-1Bs lower wages. That means that some employers will break the law (by falsely filing an LCA claiming they are paying prevailing wages) and abuse foreigners to save a few bucks.

By doing that, they are using the H-1B program as their primary source of employees and are generally lowering the wages of others in that industry.

 The program either needs to be fixed (by penalizing the abusers) or scrapped. "

Oracle ACE Ben Prusinski agrees that H1-B Visa workers routinely fake their real work experience and he notes that many foreign Oracle workers are exploited by American employers:

"I agree with the other folks on H-1B visas that cram to pass OCP exams and lack real experience and communication skills. . .

To me, the H-1B visa program has been severely abused by employers for cheap labor."

Oracle ACE, Dr. Daniel Morgan, (who claims to be a professor at the University of Washington and hold a Ph.D. from Stanford University), published these comments about American Visa Fraud in a forum titled Resume fraud in IT.  Morgan notes that foreign nationals have issues with poor communications skills and many fail to comprehend basic business processes:

"Speaking as one who has interviewed many hundreds in the U.S. there is no question that fraud exists ... both with nationals and foreign nationals. And both with respect to resumes, references, and education.

My feeling about references can be summed up as follows: "Anyone that can't find three friends to lie for him or her is a pathetic soul. My feeling with respect to resumes and education claims doesn't deviate far from that mark.  . .

The one problem that does profoundly affect many foreign developers (from any country) is their understanding not just of the language but of how business rules are created, used, and built into software. And that is something you just can not learn in a programming class."

Let's take a closer look at Visa abuse by alien Oracle professionals in America.

Inside the O-1 Visa scam

While it's estimated that upwards of 20% of all H1-B Visa workers use fraudulent credentials and qualifications to obtain their Visas, one of the greatest Visa fraud in the Oracle industry is the O-1 Visa program, a Visa designed exclusively for “Aliens with Extraordinary Ability”.

Aliens with extraordinary ability are quite rare

The O-1 program is is a widely-abused Visa that was designed exclusively for exceptional scientists whose skills are not available in the United States. 

The criteria for the O-1 Visa specifically mentions Nobel Prize winners, but it might also include Rhodes Scholars and internally-known computer scientists, famous folks like Linus Torvalds (the inventor of Linux) and Bjarne Stroustrup (the scientist who created C++).

It’s easy to spot an O-1 impostor working with Oracle in America:

• Phony credentials:  Many O-1 impostors will purchase vanity accolades from the International Biographical Centre in England or the American Biographical Institute in Raleigh, where they can purchase the “Noble Prize” (That’s “Noble”, not “Nobel”), and the ever-popular “Genius Laureate” award.

• Obsession with Science:  The O-1 Visa is exclusively for distinguished scientists, so the O-1 impostors will try to convince people that Oracle is a science!  They will sometimes come-up with ridiculous titles like “Oracle Scientist”.

• Hidden qualifications: All real Oracle experts are proud of their accomplishments and they proudly display their resume.  In contrast, a poser will take great pains to hide their true qualifications and credentials, lest they be exposed.

Visa fraud is a serious crime, punishable by up to 10 years in prison and a fine of $250,000.  If you suspect that a foreign Oracle professional has misrepresented their qualifications and credentials to obtain a Visa fraudulently, you can report any suspected O-1 Visa fraud to this address:

Criminal Investigative Division, Visa Fraud
U.S. Department of State
2201 C Street NW
Washington, DC 20520