{"id":17521,"date":"2018-08-22T16:26:29","date_gmt":"2018-08-22T20:26:29","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/live-immigrationreform.pantheonsite.io\/?p=17521"},"modified":"2018-12-28T10:08:05","modified_gmt":"2018-12-28T15:08:05","slug":"cisco-favors-foreign-workers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.immigrationreform.com\/2018\/08\/22\/cisco-favors-foreign-workers\/","title":{"rendered":"Cisco Really, Really Likes Foreign Workers"},"content":{"rendered":"
There was good news for Cisco investors last week when the company\u00a0reported earnings of 70 cents per share<\/a>, which led to shares rising more than 6 percent. The news is not so good, however, if you happen to be an American looking to work at the networking hardware firm.<\/p>\n According to Bloomberg Law<\/a>, a Department of Labor (DOL) investigation just concluded that Cisco has been passing on native-born workers in favor of foreigners holding work visas. During a routine audit required for all government contractors, the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs reportedly found evidence the firm had been securing visas for foreign workers (whom they paid at a lower rate), rather than hiring U.S. citizens for certain jobs.<\/p>\n While Cisco has denied some of the allegations, it is noteworthy that almost exactly one year ago Cisco\u2019s Executive Chairman John Chambers was confessing to reporters at a conference in India that it was a \u201cmistake\u201d to use H-1B visas to replace American workers.<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to be careful not to misstep. You cannot go in and take a whole bunch of H1-B visas and displace 500 American workers because you can do it at lower costs. That was just a mistake. I think we have to focus on investment,\u201d said<\/a> Chambers, who also is the head of the US-India Strategic Partnership Forum (USISPF).<\/p>\n U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS)\u00a0data show<\/a>\u00a0Cisco had\u00a01,587 new and renewed H-1B visa holders in 2017, with an average salary of $128,389.<\/p>\n