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H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

economist.com

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Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#111
post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Americans have many better options than IT to make a good living. Many of those options though, are slowly getting eaten up by tech (Amazon, Walmart - Jet) In India, IT sector escaped the clutches of red tape, and thrived. So it became a very good option to make a living.

Seconded. In fact I am in full agreement with mike row from the tv show "dirty jobs". There are plenty of jobs in the trades that pay damn good money. Americans just aren't doing them. Plumbers, carpenters, hvac, electrician, etc. Somehow Americans have evolved to see these jobs as beneath them or jobs that people don't respect. But the fact is trade skills are in high demand and if you've ever needed trade skill lab…

My brother is an electrician and makes worse money than I've seen administrative assistants make in tech shops.

Partly, many of those trades have ceilings. Your salary doesn't always scale with skill and ambition like it can in IT.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#112
post #97

>Although it is true that foreign workers at the Indian consultancies receive more visas than higher-skilled workers at better-known firms, a simple solution exists. Congress could raise the number of visas issued. Given that the unemployment rate for college graduates sits at 2.5%, it is fair to say that most native workers displaced by H-1Bs land on their feet. Absolute scum. Native workers displaced by H1Bs is ok…

The idea that a US citizen could rack up tremendous debt on a 4 year STEM degree only to be passed over in favor of a cheaper H1B "indentured servant" that received a degree from a low cost diploma mill is vile indeed.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#115
post #97

>Although it is true that foreign workers at the Indian consultancies receive more visas than higher-skilled workers at better-known firms, a simple solution exists. Congress could raise the number of visas issued. Given that the unemployment rate for college graduates sits at 2.5%, it is fair to say that most native workers displaced by H-1Bs land on their feet. Absolute scum. Native workers displaced by H1Bs is ok…

The idea that a US citizen could rack up tremendous debt on a 4 year STEM degree only to be passed over in favor of a cheaper H1B "indentured servant" that received a degree from a low cost diploma mill is vile indeed.

It isn't just the US too. It's the same all over Western Europe.

What sticks in my craw even more is that, to legitimise the process of issuing more visas, companies and governments have to continually say "there aren't enough STEM and IT grads! Do STEM and IT everyone!" knowing full well that there wont be jobs for these kids at the end of it.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#116
Well it takes The Economist to point of this fact which I've been telling about it for ages. None of them believed that it was Indian who are favored to get H1B compared to other nationality. Indian take so much pride with Indian worker in these large tech firms and other places instead of realizing the fact they are favored. Why not give other nationality a chance to see what is going on? I've seen it happen with firm like Microsoft with HR manager being Indian and favoring Indian internee and granting him job then Pakistani developer who was without a doubt better performer.

Would love to see some H1B crackdown happening.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#117
post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that a US citizen could rack up tremendous debt on a 4 year STEM degree only to be passed over in favor of a cheaper H1B "indentured servant" that received a degree from a low cost diploma mill is vile indeed.

It isn't just the US too. It's the same all over Western Europe. What sticks in my craw even more is that, to legitimise the process of issuing more visas, companies and governments have to continually say "there aren't enough STEM and IT grads! Do STEM and IT everyone!" knowing full well that there wont be jobs for these kids at the end of it.

Anecdata: I'm in US. Three boys, all graduated Engineers. All have jobs, easy as pie. One had $30/hr part-time remote work during last year of college. Have to move to get the right job maybe, or take what you can find, but for various reasons they're all very happy.

My Niece is in a field that's chronically low on qualified Engineers - she designs and installs automation in factories. So many facets including mechanical, electrical, industrial, chemical, process, thermo, etc. You have to be an all-rounder to get the job. So they work her flat out every minute she can spare (lives in hotels in remote cities for weeks during installs).

Other niece does lithium-battery development for startups in Silicon Valley. They keep going under, but no problem another one starts up the next week. Got all the work she can handle.

Wife's niece does biomedical research, never been a day without work. Canada, East Coast US (Yale actually), then a regular job with Govt.

Anyway, of the 13 siblings and their cousins, exactly 1 has ever had a day of trouble with employment. So all the talk about 'over-supply' might be exaggerated.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#118

This article is repeats the false idea that you cannot switch jobs to other companies. You can switch jobs to other companies that are willing to transfer your H-1B visa. Plenty of tech companies will happily do a visa transfer. Yet, this facetious lie is often repeated. It just goes to show how inaccurate and poorly-researched this article was.

Sure but you lose your line in Perm queue, not to mention the H1B recertification process which is fraught with peril.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#119

Because citizens of countries other than india and china don't really need h1 visas to work in US. Many countries have treaty work visas (Canada / Mexico citizens can work on TB visa) And those who study in US, if their employer starts green card process they can get their EAD before OPT expires. Only Indians and Chinese have to rely on h1b.

> Only Indians and Chinese have to rely on h1b. Really?! You're excluding all of Europe, Russia, Australia/NZ, Latin America, Africa Yes, those people have developers, yes some of them are talented enough to want to apply for an H1B. But they have to stand in line because Tata needs another 1000 people to be exploited for cheap

Exactly! I'm french and it will be the second time this year that I apply for an H1B. Without Tata and Infosys I'd have it for a while now.

Re: H-1B visas mainly go to Indian outsourcing firms

#120
post #103

This one sentence says it all: "The Economist found that between 2012 and 2015 the three biggest Indian outsourcing firms—TCS, Wipro and Infosys—submitted over 150,000 visa applications for positions that paid a median salary of $69,500. In contrast, America’s five biggest tech firms—Apple, Amazon, Facebook, Google and Microsoft—submitted just 31,000 applications, and proposed to pay their workers a median salary of…

> None of those salaries listed are competitive with what a non-H1B (read citizen or permanent resident) would earn.

As a new grad interviewing for software engineering positions at FB, Google, Etc., I make exactly the same amount as my U.S. peers who have also received offers.

Moreover, how do you know that the SE level of the H1B hires is exactly that of the pool from which Indeed.com calculates their averages? What if the H1B program was taking in a huge amount of new grads right now and not as many senior positions? Then the H1B average would be different than the Indeed one.

Moreover (again), as I make the same amount of money as a U.S new grad, my company would pay for Visa sponsorship, and even pays more to fly me in to interview. Not only that, they put me through more interviews, costing more engineers time.

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