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U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

wsj.com

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Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#531

Post by Georgelemental »

yodsanklai wrote: post #357
sinecure wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This was never about talent. It's about companies hiring foreigners on h1b visas at below market wages where their life in the USA is contingent on their job performance forcing them to work harder and longer than their peers to remain in the country. It's a situation that only benefits companies, while harming US citizens who have to compete with the lower wages of foreigners.

I work in a global company. As an interviewer, I don't even know if the person I interview is a US citizen. I don't even know if they live in the US or another country, and I'm probably not allowed to ask. I just rate their performance. And everybody is paid the same. I think the situation is quite simple. Companies want the best candidates they can get, and the larger the recruitment pool, the better. If tomorrow yo…

> Companies want the best candidates they can get, and the larger the recruitment pool, the better.

Yes, at the lowest wages they can get. Increase supply -> lower prices (wages) -> more corporate profits!

However, there are those who believe that corporate profits are not the highest good. Some of us also care about the earnings of American workers.

Also, "best candidates" alone does not "best company" make. You need people who can work well together—which requires some degree of culture fit. Immigration restrictions help preserve the cultural homogeneity that makes collaboration and social trust possible.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#532

Post by nostrebored »

ra0x3 wrote: post #387
yodsanklai wrote: post #357

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I work in a global company. As an interviewer, I don't even know if the person I interview is a US citizen. I don't even know if they live in the US or another country, and I'm probably not allowed to ask. I just rate their performance. And everybody is paid the same. I think the situation is quite simple. Companies want the best candidates they can get, and the larger the recruitment pool, the better. If tomorrow yo…

> I think the situation is quite simple. Companies want the best candidates they can get, and the larger the recruitment pool, the better. Respectfully, this sounds terribly naive.

Having worked at a few large companies, this was the case at all of them. I do think there is a messy middle of companies built on vibes.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#533

Post by lokar »

15155 wrote: post #498
lokar wrote: post #376

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It’s a big industry. There are many roles at many different levels of expertise and experience. Many can’t find locals.

> Many can’t find locals. *for the price they want to pay.

You can’t get them to apply. They are already very well paid. It’s a finite pool that is not large enough. Bidding up pay won’t change that. Instead you just hire overseas.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#534

Post by throwaway85825 »

zzrrt wrote: post #494
throwaway85825 wrote: post #461

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Usually birth tourism is done by wealthier foreigners but that foreign wealth is not visible to the government so they end up qualifying for welfare.

What kind of welfare? Do you have stats or stories? I'm skeptical someone wealthy would slum it for the peanuts they could get from welfare fraud. Or if they do, surely there are ways wealthy "real Americans" could hide their money just as easily and defraud welfare, so this isn't really a problem specific to birth tourism.

Hard for Americans to hide their assets in america. Land ownership is usually public.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#535

Post by rayiner »

sokoloff wrote: post #374
rayiner wrote: post #331

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It contradicts the conclusion he’s drawing from those two facts, which is that U.S. economic dominance results from European economies having been destroyed after WWII. The U.S. became a world power during its isolationist phase prior to WWI.

I think the last 20 years of that 45 year period were substantially due to exactly what they described. If you give any debit for the decade-long Great Depression, or wartime malaise due to loss of life, emotional toll, and rationing, it’s fair to conclude that half of the period of good times was during exactly that post-war rebuilding (largely powered by US industrial capacity) and concomitant baby boom.

There was not any particular discontinuity in GDP per capita growth during the post WWII period compared to previous periods: https://conversableeconomist.com/2023/09/14/the-remarkable-s....

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#536

Post by testbjjl »

NeutralWanted wrote: post #445
testbjjl wrote: post #440

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think there are a lot of inhumane things happening around the world right now to label this inconvenient, at best. We need better leadership through higher voter participation and an informed electorate to stop these inhumane and inconvenient policies.

Speak for yourself, I voted for exactly these policies.

But will remain anonymous and are okay with the collateral damage. My suspicion is that competition makes you feel insecure. I was born and raised in SF, and I see this not only with immigrants but also from people who feel violated by migrants. There is a spectrum. It’s ugly, short sighted and unhelpful. It’s what it takes to make the valley, but people love pulling up ladders. At least, behind an alias, you’re will to acknowledge your shortcomings.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#537

Post by throwaway85825 »

0xDEAFBEAD wrote: post #513
throwaway85825 wrote: post #300

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Bombed to pieces by the USA, ironically enough.

Would you have preferred that the US military stay at home during WW2 to avoid bombing anyone? You know that Japan was killing something like a Hiroshima and Nagasaki worth of civilians every month ?

I would have preferred the banks be told not to expect a bailout in 1914. Privatize the profits, socialize the losses. It's been a problem for a long time and the body count stretches into the millions.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#538

Post by [deleted] »

charcircuit wrote: post #237
doug_durham wrote: post #217

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was a hiring manager. H1B candidates got exactly the same wage as native born. There were no differences.

The idea is that the "same wage" you are talking about is too low to hire enough employees in the time needed that the company needed so they had to look abroad for people willing to work for that amount.

[deleted]

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#539

Post by ytoawwhra92 »

AlotOfReading wrote: post #341
ytoawwhra92 wrote: post #284

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The prevailing wage for H1B software engineers is a very good salary for most software engineers in the world. It's common for the prevailing wage to be double what that person could earn in their country of origin.

That's the parent's argument. Prevailing wage in country A is X. Prevailing wage in country B is Y, and according to your numbers X > 2Y. Person from country B emigrates to country A and accepts wage 1.9Y, putting downward pressure on the jobs in country A at wage X.

Yeah, I'm agreeing.

You don't need the carrot of a green card or the stick of deportation to make a software engineer on an H1B accept a depressed wage, because it's not depressed relative to their alternatives.

Re: U.S. State Department pauses immigrant visa applications

#540

Post by 15155 »

lokar wrote: post #533
15155 wrote: post #498

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Many can’t find locals. *for the price they want to pay.

You can’t get them to apply. They are already very well paid. It’s a finite pool that is not large enough. Bidding up pay won’t change that. Instead you just hire overseas.

Paying more will inherently mean that people cross-train to reap the financial rewards.
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