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Updates to H-1B

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Re: Updates to H-1B

#111

Post by cma »

ajsidncjcnbd wrote: post #57
laidoffamazon wrote: post #23

Expect this to be rolled back fully on January 20

Trump has said he’d like to “staple green cards to diplomas”. Despite what the media portrays, he’s not pro American, pro white, pro nazi, whatever. He’s owned by a different slice of the parasitic ruling class that, while opposed to some of the goals the Biden admin was for, still share a common theme of not caring about the average American at all. He has probably the most pro Israel cabinet we’ve ever seen and app…

Didn't Trump try to prevent even greencard holders from returning if they were from overseas from the wrong religious area of the world, after promising a Muslim ban? And was then only stopped by courts? Or am I misremembering that?

Re: Updates to H-1B

#112

Post by strongpigeon »

crmd wrote: post #68

It’s never been clear to me why this program exists in the first place, other than to put downward pressure on US STEM wages. What am I missing?

It's enabling companies to bring highly skilled individuals to work in the USA rather than having them open offices in other countries.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#113

Post by jonny_eh »

patrickhogan1 wrote: post #16

Ah, classic regulatory theater. The administration, after 4 years of not introducing these changes, is now suddenly scrambling to roll them out. They’re dropping them right before a major transition, with an implementation timeline conveniently set for after the transition. It’s a clever little maneuver. When the inevitable reversal happens, they can show up at fundraising galas telling donors, “We tried! We were so…

Regardless, these are good changes, I hope they stick around.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#114

Post by jonny_eh »

crmd wrote: post #68

It’s never been clear to me why this program exists in the first place, other than to put downward pressure on US STEM wages. What am I missing?

Global competition exists. If US companies can't hire the best, others will. I hope you don't assume that all the best workers/researchers are born within US borders.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#115

Post by geraldwhen »

ziddoap wrote: post #19

https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/12/18/2024-29... The tweet is a super brief summary, reproduced below. Founders can self petition (& spouses can work) - Own >50% of the entity, or have majority voting rights Roles tied to research institutions cap-exempt - Organizations where fundamental research is a key activity now qualify - Startups can hire researchers (AI, health, hardware) year-round Students ge…

I’ll believe it when I see it. Until then, I look forward to teaching H1B recipients to turn on a computer.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#116

Post by s1artibartfast »

crmd wrote: post #68

It’s never been clear to me why this program exists in the first place, other than to put downward pressure on US STEM wages. What am I missing?

You are mixing up purpose and effect. The purpose is to provide more and cheaper STEM workers. The effect is downward pressure on wages.

Phrased differently, the goal is to help industry, not hurt workers. Hurting some workers is an acceptable cost, not the goal.

One idea is that having a thriving industrial ecosystem helps those same workers more than the downward pressure.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#117

Post by geraldwhen »

zer8k wrote: post #74
duped wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Ah yes the classic "huwhite people and muh racism" gambit. It's tired. H1Bs are gamed to the point of uselessness. Most companies internally post H1B job offerings so people are aware. I've yet to see one with a competitive salary. They are used to source cheaper labor and avoid paying actual Americans the fair wage they deserve. The last 15-20 years of tech has slowly seen the InfoSys-ization of the tech economy. I…

I haven’t hired an American in many years. It’s forbidden.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#118

Post by bastardoperator »

999900000999 wrote: post #82

I'd rather have H1-B visas be a 5 year unrestricted work permit. America needs to keep attracting the world's best and brightest, but linking it to a specific employer is problematic. Opens up employees to mistreatment. I'd say charge a straight up fee, 500k upon approval. That gets you 5 years, if your wiz making 400k a year it's a great deal.

Are we actually doing that though? I managed H1-B employees at Verizon and honestly it felt like a scam. They weren't the best and brightest despite being awesome people in general, and they were also getting exploited by the company in terms of compensation. The only one benefitting seemed to be Verizon.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#119

Post by HDThoreaun »

crmd wrote: post #68

It’s never been clear to me why this program exists in the first place, other than to put downward pressure on US STEM wages. What am I missing?

The US owes much of its success to its ability to poach talent from other countries. By letting all the people who would start competing firms move to the US instead international competition is reduced and the products built in the US are better.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#120

Post by kqgnkqgn »

Seem like sensible changes, though more is still needed. Requiring H1B holders to leave the country to renew paperwork is an insane anachronism. The per-country caps also seem like a throwback to the early 1900's era immigration exclusion policies.

Re: the concerns over "immigrants taking our jobs!". As a native-born American working in a large tech company today - the threat is very clearly not from H1B's and other visas. The threat to American tech jobs is when US tech companies choose to build out offices in lower cost of living countries (and I'm very much including Europe in that, I think that's even a bigger problem).

It's much much better for America if tech companies hire workers in the US, regardless of whether they are citizens. Americans are eligible for those jobs, and that money stays within our economy. Versus employing workers elsewhere, where American's can't easily be hired, and those resources leave the US.

If we want to keep opportunities here - that's the issue we should be focus on fixing. What regulatory steps could we advocate for that would address this risk? Immigration is the wrong problem, and the focus on that in certain populist circles really demonstrates they are rather out of touch from what's actually happening in the industries that are driving the US economy today.

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