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REPORTER: H-1B sounds like an airplane, or an exotic disease. They're actually visas and these visas are one of the most controversial parts of the immigration debate. Huge tech giants like Facebook and Google call them essential to their business, but critics say companies are exploiting them at the expense of the American worker.
So, what exactly are the H-1B visas?
Congress created them in 1992 to bring in highly educated and specialized foreign workers into the country.
GEORGE H.W. BUSH, FORMER U.S. PRESIDENT: This bill provides for vital increases for entry on the basis of skills, infusing the ranks of our scientists and engineers.
REPORTER: They're supposed to fill shortages — think computer programmers, engineers, doctors.
Around 85,000 are allotted a year and they last up to six years, plus a possible extension. To get one, you have to be educated. Ninety-nine percent of H-1B workers have at least a bachelor's degree and over a half have advanced degrees.
So, why are H-1Bs are controversial?
Well, critics claim the companies aren't using them to fill shortages. They say the companies are actually bringing in foreign workers so they can pay them less than American workers, and it wasn't mean to work this way.
To protect American workers from exactly what critics are accusing the companies of doing now, the law was set up to require a, quote-unquote, "prevailing wage". That's a number calculated for each job by the Department of Labor. But critics say that that number, it's rife for loopholes and abuse.
Another problem for, quote-unquote, "specialized hard to fill jobs" sometimes aren't. Around 50 percent of H-1Bs are going to computer programmers, but they've also been used for sports coaches, ranch workers, preschool teachers.
And it's not just American workers who can be hurt by their misuse. Employers hold incredible leverage over H-1B visa holders. Some have described the workers as indentured servants because an H-1B worker needs to have a job to stay in the country. Complain about working conditions?
You could lose your jobs and be forced to leave the country.
So, here we are, tech companies want more H-1Bs, critics want reform. Will Silicon Valley get its way?
记者：H-1B听起来像飞机或是外来病的名字。实际上H-1B是一种签证，这类签证是移民问题争论中最具争议的一个方面。脸谱网和谷歌等科技巨头称这类签证对他们的业务来说必不可少，但是批评人士认为，这些公司这样做是在牺牲美国工人的利益。
那到底什么是H-1B签证？
H-1B签证由美国国会在1992年推出，目的是将教育程度高的外国专业技术人员引进美国。
美国前总统乔治·布什：这项法案将大幅增加进入美国的技术人才，加入到我们国家的科学家和工程师的行列中。
记者：他们要弥补计算机程序员、工程师和医生等岗位的不足。
H-1B签证每年分配约8.5万个名额，有效期最多六年，期满后可以延长。要想得到H-1B签证，你必须要接受教育。拿到H-1B签证的工作者中，有99%的人至少拥有学士学位，超过一半的人拥有高等学位。
那H-1B签证为什么备受争议？
批评人士称，各公司不会让这些技术人员弥补不足。他们说公司实际上只是为了引进外国人员，这样可以支付他们少于美国雇员的工资，而H-1B签证的本意并不是这样。
为了保护美国雇员免遭批评人士所指责的各公司的做法，出台了“现行工资”这一法律。“现行工资”是美国劳工部为各个工作核算的工资。但是批评人士指出，这些数字充满了漏洞和滥用情况。
另一个问题是，有时并不会出现“专业人才难以填补职位空缺”的情况。获得H-1B签证的人中，有约50%的人将从事计算机程序员的工作，但是他们也会从事体育教练、农场工人和幼儿教师等工作。
不是只有美国雇员会因这种滥用情况受伤。雇主对H-1B签证持有者有制衡作用。有些人称这些工作者是契约劳工，因为H-1B签证持有者要想留在美国就必须要有工作。抱怨工作条件？
那你可能会失去工作，然后被迫离开美国。
所以，科技公司希望引进更多持有H-1B签证的人，但是批评人士想要进行改革。硅谷会达到自己的目的吗？
