Reports would delve into lives of those who don’t get the elusive visa.
By Raif Karerat
The San Francisco Chronicle is seeking $15,000 to fund “The Faces Behind the H-1B Debate,” who, according to their crowdfunding page, are “the would-be immigrants who want them and the companies that stand to benefit from a loosening of regulations.”
“We know that the H-1B visa matters to our readers in Northern California. Through this project, we’re going to get the resources to do the reporting that’s missing on this issue – a deep look at the lives of workers who successfully get a visa, and what happens to those who miss out.
According to The Beacon, an arm of The San Francisco Chronicle, the investigation plans to answer questions such as:
- What’s needed for a successful visa application? How do someone’s career options change – for better or worse – if he or she receives a visa?
- What happens to those whose visa applications are unsuccessful? What’s the experience of having to leave the U.S. and find a job back home?
- How do the outcomes of a visa application affect families abroad? What sort of connection do H-1B workers have with their families back home? How does that change if a visa is lost?
In a seeming effort to approach H-1B news from a different angle, the crowdfunding page states, “We don’t want to explore the pro/con arguments. We want to bring you the stories of the people affected.”
According to The Chronicle, while their reporting will begin in the Bay area, they will take the story abroad.
Proponents of H-1B visas, including Bay Area technology companies, have argued that this quota needs to be expanded to allow educated labor into the country. Meanwhile, critics continue to worry that U.S. workers are losing out on highly lucrative jobs.
1 Comment
[Fill in a string of expletives.] And just where are the domestic workers getting overlooked and actively pushed aside through the abuse of this visa in this supposed attempt at telling the whole story of the visa???