robert hoffman is a lobbyist for the tech industry. >> there are hundreds of thousands of jobs that are going unfilled in this country. unless we address it with better workforce policies, education and training policies those jobs will find themselves off shore. >> arguing companies are actually seeking cheap labor. >> they're not coming in to fill skills gaps. and we know they're not filling skills gaps because they are forcing the american workers who have the higher skills to train their foreign replacement. >> critics point disney, in june the new york times broke a story, that replacements on h 1b visas, layoffs for 35 tech workers were cancelled. a shall outcry erupted at utility's southern california edison when information technology workers were reported to be laid off. there too workers said they were country on h 1b visas. >> you also have to prove that you're going to pay these people more than you would pay someone else so you're not undercutting it by bringing in cheap labor. >> reporter: debate on the program and how it's used has bubbled over into presidential politics