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Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

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Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#911

Post by pm90 »

jupp0r wrote: post #576

Note that this not only applies to H1B visas but also to employment based green card applications (PERM). This will prevent lots of people from getting their green cards (if not shut down by courts). I’m currently in the process of applying for a green card. This really sucks because I’m relatively young, just moved to the US from Germany 3 years ago and thus probably not in the upper 5% percentile for Staff Software…

H1B related posts on HN will attract the worst kind of crowds. The experience of debating them is futile since their objections don’t come from the facts of the matter but from a misguided belief that immigrants, and h1b holders specifically, are “taking their jobs”.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#912

Post by JAlexoid »

mdorazio wrote: post #452
cactus2093 wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuine question, what type of fraudulent abuse are you referring to? I see this vaguely mentioned a lot without much to back it up, but I'm open to the idea that it happens. From my own anecdotal experience, I'll admit I have found the rules to be a little ridiculous. Company needs to post a sign in the office advertising the role to any Americans, wait a certain amount of time, and only then can offer it to an H1-B…

Another semi-fraudulent practice I've seen too often: find an H1B worker for a position you want to fill at a sub-US labor rate, then write a very specific job posting that perfectly fits that one H1B worker and no one else, and post the job only on the company website where no one will find it. Congratulations, you've just "proven" that you can't find an American worker to do this job, so you bring the H1B worker ov…

If there's someone who is willing to take a job at a particular rate without coercion - that's a competitive salary.

Adding "benevolent coercion" to the mix, doesn't negate the coercion.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#913

Post by StreamBright »

epicureanideal wrote: post #756
StreamBright wrote: post #752

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>> I'm not sure that narrowing degree qualifications is a win Yep this is a problem, some (many) H1B people do not have a relevant degree in CS, not sure how this will work out for them.

Really? What degrees have you seen from software engineer H1B candidates?

Mechanical engineering, electrical engineering are common ones.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#914

Post by kamaal »

ChuckNorris89 wrote: post #862
xwolfi wrote: post #814

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I emigrated to Hong Kong from France and I love the system here. It mandated a "high" salary of 2000USD that is low enough to allow noobs like me to join and try while high enough not to bring people who would just try to survive no better than at home. They also mandate a master degree and low effort from the company, which can be negociated if really strong guy (bachelor with some effory, expert reputation with hig…

I don't know why you're being downvoted for wanting a more sane immigration system for France. Whenever limits to US H1Bs a are mentioned that gets full support on HN because it waters down local salaries but when similar systems are proposed for Europe it gets downvoted. Seems pretty double standard.

Same with India. Indians want the whole world to roll the red carpets for them. At the same time India just recently passed anti-immigration acts.

Its the classic 'Do as I say, not as I do'.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#915

Post by JAlexoid »

victor106 wrote: post #848
Traster wrote: post #782

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Let me provide the counter (A) The fact that silicon valley gets access to global talent which make sthe companies much more successful and massively increases the number of jobs available providing far more jobs for US citizens than if the visa program didn't exist (B) The H1B visa holders are earning far more than they would get by remaining in their home country, and whilst they're bonded labour in the US they can…

I agree with some of your points. If the alternative is no H1B that would be very bad for the US. But I think there’s a middle ground where you can say let’s the keep H1B program but tweak it in a way that benefits the H1B visa holder and American citizens so corporations don’t take advantage of the talent shortage in tech

The only way to make it better - do away with H1B and government restrictions on labor of migrants. (Show your passport, geta job and pay taxes - done)

But xenophobia will not let that happen.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#916

Post by peteradio »

phendrenad2 wrote: post #783
sedatk wrote: post #319

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m a high school graduate and a self-taught developer. I got hired by Microsoft as a software engineer to the Microsoft Windows Core OS team based on my skills with an H-1B. I made Microsoft millions of dollars with my work. I’m now writing a book on software development published by Manning Books. None of that would have happened if such a criteria existed. That policy doesn’t make any sense at all.

Wow, I was told Microsoft only hires people with at least a BS degree. I guess that's mot entirely true.

mot at all

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#917

Post by gamechangr »

tootahe45 wrote: post #757
epicureanideal wrote: post #685

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The pay level still isn’t high enough. Minimum pay of about 170k in San Jose for a software engineer? That’s not a specialist, that’s average for a small startup.

As a New Zealander, this level of pay just baffles me. Is the US the only place where SWE's get paid well compared to other professions?

It's not a popular answer, but US is by far the most recognized place where SWE's get paid well.

What country would be number two? I bet there would be a spirited argument.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#918

Post by peteradio »

belltaco wrote: post #234
chairmanwow1 wrote: post #189

Overall, I really support these changes. However, this piece really struck me as a big mistake: "Under the changes, an applicant must have a college degree in the specific field in which he or she is looking to work. A software developer, for example, wouldn’t be awarded an H-1B visa if that person has a degree in electrical engineering." Some of the best software engineers I know are graduate degree holders from neu…

This one is also a particularly terrible move: >“ Because those required wage increases take effect this week, existing H-1B holders looking to renew their visas might not qualify unless their employers raise their salaries accordingly.” Copying from my comment below, this is likely to backfire. Since remote work has become acceptable and they already know the ins and outs of the job, many of these folks losing their…

In your theory wasn't this already the "optimal move"?

Sounds like bullshit knife hanging over American tech workers heads. Cut the rope, let's see what happens.

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#919

Post by [deleted] »

pm90 wrote: post #900
jason2323 wrote: post #876

I'm actually curious on the effects of this on international students who come to the US to study CS. One of the biggest reasons international students come to the US is to be able to live and work after graduation. If anything, this will deter international students from studying in the US, thus reducing much needed out-of-state revenue that colleges get from international students, which consequently only raises th…

There is still the OPT program though, which allows students to work for a few years on a student Visa. I agree though that this would certainly discourage many students.

[deleted]

Re: Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa program requiring higher pay

#920

Post by tamcap »

AlphaWeaver wrote: post #888
jason2323 wrote: post #876

I'm actually curious on the effects of this on international students who come to the US to study CS. One of the biggest reasons international students come to the US is to be able to live and work after graduation. If anything, this will deter international students from studying in the US, thus reducing much needed out-of-state revenue that colleges get from international students, which consequently only raises th…

Why would this deter international students from studying in the US?

Natural "extension" of the OPT program is the H1B... It's even in the rules, where your "OPT visa" (F-1) is on purpose not dual intent - you need H1B if you want to apply for a green card. And that's how most students do it: F1 -> OPT (w/ extension if able) -> H1B -> GC

Increasing the H1B threshold makes the next step very expensive, and it will cause more companies to be unwilling to hire w/OPT, therefore reducing the attractiveness of top US schools to the best candidates.

Many countries (that I am familiar with) have a very straightforward path to residency after completing education in the country. US makes it on purpose very difficult. And one problem is, in the eyes of the "system", a degree from Stanford/Harvard/MIT is equivalent to a degree from any other school capable of issuing the "same" degree.

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