Tuesday, September 26, 2006
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SOUTH PORTLAND - Wright Express employs 650 people, and five of them are foreign workers.
In theory, that's the way the skilled foreign labor system is supposed to work. The H1B visa program allows U.S. companies to fill gaps in their work forces by recruiting specialized expertise from other countries.
While a Portland Press Herald/Maine Sunday Telegram investigation has uncovered some questions about the way the foreign labor system works, many companies like Wright make legitimate use of the program.
Wright Express is one of Maine's premier information-technology companies. It provides payment processing and information-management services to commercial and government vehicle fleets. While it employs many local people, there are some posts it can't fill out of the Maine work force.
Wright Express Chief Information Officer Tod Demeter said the company looked internally, locally and then nationally to fill two high-level computer positions: a customer relationship management software expert and an enterprise resource monitoring guru.
"They're just such specialized skill sets that we struggled trying to fill them in the Maine area," said Demeter.
Wright hired Ashish Vashisht in December 2004 for the ERM position, and Mohan Ramapura in March 2005 for the CRM administrator slot.
Each had been trained in India in their specialities, and came to the U.S. on H1B visas. They worked for computer consulting firms, handling projects at client sites around the country.
Vashisht worked as a consultant in St. Louis at MasterCard for three years, then at Target Corp. in Minneapolis and then with Bayer in Pittsburgh. Ramapura lived a similar life, working for clients until a project was done, and then moving on.
Just as he'd learn where the grocery stores were in a city and start to become part of the community, Ramapura said, he'd have to leave.
"It's really very unsettling," he said.
Both Ramapura and Vashisht took jobs at Wright Express, happy for the stability and the chance to stop jumping around the country.
"You feel more comfortable working in a company - you are part of a company, it's a family," said Ramapura.
Wright Express doesn't lightly undertake the hiring of foreign workers, said Human Resources Manager Diane Rogers.
"There's tons and tons of paperwork," she said.
And, she said, the managers know that working on immigration paperwork for potential employees takes precedence over any projects, as federal deadlines must be met.
But the paperwork is a small price for filling difficult positions, and the H1B program is important to companies like Wright, said Rogers.
"If we don't allow them to come over then we wouldn't be able to compete in a global market," she said.
Wright has since filed for green cards for Vashisht and Ramapura, which would allow them to stay and work in the United States indefinitely. Their applications are pending.
Having Vashisht and Ramapura on staff not only fills the positions, but also lets other Wright employees learn specialized skills from them, said Demeter.
Both employees said they've learned from their co-workers, as well, and are happier as full-time employees.
"Even though I spent three years at MasterCard, they will never take me as an employee," said Vashisht. "When you're here, you have ownership."
Staff Writer Matt Wickenheiser can be contacted at 791-6316 or at: mwickenheiser@pressherald.com
Reader comments
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The report on H1B workers is masterful reporting and cover all sides of the issue and we have no issue with the report.
There is a point that we would like to make and that is in Maine we have the H2B and H2A programs that are people that come for less then a year to work. Most work picking apples others work in the hospitality industry. The best know program maybe in Maine is the forestry workers that work clearing brush and planting trees mostly in northern woods.
The H2A and H2B are not part of this report and have more state over sight. People are certified as required. The Maine Department of Labor as well as the Federal Departments on the ground work well in making sure that all parties are treated fairly.
As the H1B program may need work please keep in mind that H2A and H2B work in Maine.
John Connors
State Director of the League of United Latin American Citizens
South Portland, Maine 04106
207-347-7359 report abuse
To better understand "inexpensive" please visit this webpage.
http://www.h1b.info/lca_employer_list.php
Let's look at the two H-1Bs profiled in the above article.
H-1B LCAs filed by Wright Express LLC in ME
Approved LCAs: 2 Total H-1B Workers: 6
Job title Workers Wage Begin Date Location(s)
SYSTEMS CONSULTANT 5 $75,000/year 08/13/2001 SOUTH PORTLAND, MI
Systems Consultant 1 $78,000/year 10/21/2002 South Portland, ME
Learn how the H-1B technical visa program is costing American jobs and undercutting your wages.
www.h1b.info - (202) 517-1618
I'll wager that if Wright Express offered more money, they would find U.S. citizens - who are not "fresh young blood" - from India and communist China.
To understand how bloated these government subsidy programs are, please review this short report I prepared.
http://www.jobdestruction.com/ShameH1B/Library/BrainSavers/VisaGlut.PDF
I'll also wager that you would not be surprised to learn that employers such as Microsoft employed disgraced lobbyists such as Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed to expand this controversial program in 1998 and 2000.
See: http://sopr.senate.gov/cgi-win/m_opr_viewer.exe?DoFn=0 and use "Jack Abramoff" as the lobbyist name. Review page six of the Microsoft for Mid year 1998. You will note that Jack Abramoff lobbyied for S. 1723 for Microsoft. The fee of $360,000 was peanuts compared to the billions that Microsoft has saved by not paying American citizens.
Microsoft is pushing for a record number of H-1Bs right now via the "SKIL Bill."report abuse
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