The last decade has been kind to bodyshoppers who escaped under the USCIS scanner, brought in talent (that in itself is questionable) on a dubious visa justification, and made a pile by shopping these folks around. From the experiences of many consultants I have met, this decade was quite like before Lincoln abolished the dark acts of slavery: low or no pay, pitiable conditions, and high profits for the masters.

In the last two months, many things have happened. A CIO of the nation is under watch for scandal, firms in the mid-West caught for unregulated staffing acts, and so on.

Many firms are closing shop because they fear this year the H1B program would not be so kind or blind on them. Oh…what a pity.

If only the community had:
- agreed to play together and not outbid each other
- honestly kept to the pay and hourly rates for the consultants
- insisted that clients be made aware of the minimum legal rates
- insisted on charging those rates and made the numbers transparent

No, the greed precedes good business practice. Let this be a wake-up call. Be honest. Insist on toeing the legal line. Get the nation-wide agencies to form an alliance.

Ask TiE if it will raise its hand to help (I doubt it, but no harm in asking).