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Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

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Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#151

H1-B was intended for highly skilled workers that the US had a real shortage of. But now it's just being abused to bring in captive workers that are willing to accept lower wages and worse working conditions than otherwise while crowding out US workers. What if, instead of bowing to corporate greed which cares not a bit for our country or our people, we actually invested in our own population and trained them to do t…

Unemployment in tech is down from Jan to May this year. https://www.forbes.com/sites/stuartanderson/2020/06/11/unemp...

Unemployment is up from 3% to 11% YOY in information sector: https://www.bls.gov/news.release/empsit.t14.htm

These number are said to underestimate the true unemployment numbers.

U.S. should focus on American unemployment numbers.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#152
post #79

Xenophobia is a bitch. A few years ago I experienced an atrial fibrillation while exercising, so I called an ambulance, as I didn't know what was happening to me and thought that that was the end. Once in the ambulance the paramedic started asking me where I am from and if I came in on one of "those visas". I was afraid I was about to die, and this fucker was being xenophobic.

Hey that’s awful, I’m sorry you experienced that.

Thank you. Not everyone is like this however. I can't even begin to tell you how amazing, friendly and compassionate were the staff at the hospital(Kaiser Permanente Santa Clara). They definitely made up for the awful ride there.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#153

I wonder if they can make an exemption for the tech industry. Feels like this is just going to accelerate the moves we've seen in the Bay Area towards companies going fully remote. If this happens, the administration could see a lot of that money just leave the country altogether.

Tech is what? 90% of H1-Bs? No way they're going to make an exception for that

Around 68.7% in 2017.

Going by these numbers (WARNING: PDF download): https://immigrationhistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/03/h-...

That shows what a short-sighted move this is on the part of the administration - just re-election theater, I guess.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#154
post #58

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If H-1B visas were being used how they were intended, they would be a good thing, but we often see them used as a way to get cheap labor, or even directly replace American workers. The company I work at has H-1B junior web developers, hardly "very niche, hard to fill" positions that they can't find any qualified Americans to do.

For a while I wasn't sure if this was just some "talking point." Then one day, on a hiking meetup, I met a guy who was ranting about his job that was to write "oddly hyper-specific job descriptions that might seem to make no sense" to bring in cheaper h1b candidates. So yeah, it's a problem.

My previous boss would openly brag about doing this, while he was doing it.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#155

H1-B was intended for highly skilled workers that the US had a real shortage of. But now it's just being abused to bring in captive workers that are willing to accept lower wages and worse working conditions than otherwise while crowding out US workers. What if, instead of bowing to corporate greed which cares not a bit for our country or our people, we actually invested in our own population and trained them to do t…

What's the mechanism you suggest for funding education and training in our country? It doesn't seem to be popular.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#156

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You don't get kicked out because lack of visa. For people in country in status, effect of this would be the inability to get back into US if one leaves.

You need a Visa one way or the other to stay in the US as an alien. Besides even if you weren't kicked out, how are you going to make a living without a work authorization? Overstaying your Visa is illegal. I know ICE isn't going to knock on your door right away, but it's going to negatively affect future Visa applications (visiting also requires a Visa).

It’s just nitpicking but visa in US immigration parlance is only a tool for entry to the country.

Work authorization and visa are not technically same. You can stay in the country legally even with expired visa (the one pasted in the passport) but with work authorization approval documents extending the same visa category or another category.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#157
post #52
post #46

As a former H1-B: makes sense. H1-B is abused a lot, and importing new entry-level workers when unemployment is at record highs after COVID makes zero sense. Although I'm sure Hawaiian judge will disagree.

Stopping workers coming in from one place isn’t about making sure Americans have jobs tho. It doesn’t magically change the cost of rent. It doesn’t magically educate the uneducated. Nor should it. This is about being able to report to middle class white people that ‘immigration stopped’.

I'm not sure if you are right: https://www.blackenterprise.com/will-limiting-h1b-visas-help...

BTW 500k people on the H1B1 visa is a hell lot of "skilled people": https://www.nytimes.com/2020/05/12/us/foreign-workers-visas-...

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#158

H1-B was intended for highly skilled workers that the US had a real shortage of. But now it's just being abused to bring in captive workers that are willing to accept lower wages and worse working conditions than otherwise while crowding out US workers. What if, instead of bowing to corporate greed which cares not a bit for our country or our people, we actually invested in our own population and trained them to do t…

You can look at the data, SV companies aren't paying H1B people low wages. Unless you think 200-300k is low wages.

I know people on H1s who make 500k to a million dollars per year at FAANG.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#159

And yet everyone and their mother wanna move there no matter the price paid in uncertainty, pressure and mental health. They could try go to a country with a straight forward immigration process like Canada, but money is more important than anything else to some people.

The immigration restrictions to Canada are more strict aren’t they? Is there a minimum asset requirement? Is there a requirement that to apply have have to have been there for 3-5 years? An English language test? I don’t know for sure; asking.

I don't think Canada is more strict, not at all, but would like to hear from commenters who moved to Canada. Especially draconian is the fact that the spouse of a h1b holder can't work (last I checked). As an immigrant in the Netherlands that's not the case there and it's a huge deal breaker for me to ever think of the U.S.

Re: Executive order expected to suspend H-1B, other visas until end of year

#160

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You can look at the data, SV companies aren't paying H1B people low wages. Unless you think 200-300k is low wages.

Honestly it's not the SV companies. It's the body shop consulting firms.

Exactly, shut them down, American interests will be protected. Most of the folks getting on the H1-B have a masters degree in an American university, if they are in SV, it's usually a top-tier one. I've personally made some of the best hires on-campus.
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