New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore • Hacker News Board

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#191

Post by jvanderbot » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:32 PM UTC

unified101 wrote: post #164

jvanderbot wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, fine. Honestly I think most of us have been overpaid our entire career. But I'm not sure I see it necessarily. Take these stats, which can cut either way on this topic: In USA there are more software engineers than all other engineers combined. There are 10x more software engineers than the next highest engineering discipline. If you could subdivide s/w engs into 10 equal categories ("I'm not just a run of the…

I don't think you'll find this community welcoming the idea of lower pay (and hence a more volatile employment). Overall if in the next 12 months I fully expect compensation on average to be down 30-50%. It's impossible for it not to, given the sudden exodus of talent from US to open up remote consultancies that can offer same skill at 1/4th the price.

Of course not. I am preparing for a 30% cut in 3 years, but don't necessarily expect it. It's not a guarantee that any demand at all will go down, or that AI will do anything whatsoever to our job. Demand is up lately for senior devs (and junior devs probably have more of an evaluation issue than closed job reqs[1]).

[1]: Sorry for the blog post: https://jodavaho.io/posts/ai-signalling.html

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#192

Post by jvanderbot » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

azinman2 wrote: post #111

jvanderbot wrote: post #77

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah, fine. Honestly I think most of us have been overpaid our entire career. But I'm not sure I see it necessarily. Take these stats, which can cut either way on this topic: In USA there are more software engineers than all other engineers combined. There are 10x more software engineers than the next highest engineering discipline. If you could subdivide s/w engs into 10 equal categories ("I'm not just a run of the…

Are there not 10x the need of software engineers compared to other engineers, particularly in the US?

It would seem there are! The question is: Will there continue to be?

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#193

Post by davidw » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

bunderbunder wrote: post #110

orangedog wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Does Canada not already have an issue with not enough jobs available?

Economics is generally not a zero sum game. At least according to what they taught me in Econ 101, on a macroeconomic scale skilled workers tend to increase job availability. They spend a larger portion of their income on services, which has a positive multiplier effect.

It's really dismaying how many people on this site seem to think immigration and the job market are a zero sum game... and that hasn't changed 12 years after I wrote this:

https://journal.dedasys.com/2014/12/29/people-places-and-job...

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#194

Post by ok123456 » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

shagie wrote: post #176

ok123456 wrote: post #120

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Then you will have unscrupulous contracting firms miscategorize employees to take advantage of those different quotas.

Increased scrutiny of H-1B-dependent employers could well be in order. There is already that classification in place and restrictions... though I suspect that underfunding of the Department of Labor, Wage and Hour Division may be contributing to that lack of scrutiny. Putting additional restrictions and requirements for reporting would likely be a good thing. I am hesitant to say "H-1B needs to go" when it does serve…

These companies have a demonstrated track record for having no qualms about bald-face lying. Suddenly we'll have an influx of "private sector researchers" to cover those tech jobs.

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#195

Post by jvanderbot » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

lokar wrote: post #70

jvanderbot wrote: post #59

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Both can be true. Finding the top 1% gets better results if you have a wider net. Finding the cheapest 20% does too...

There is absolutely a ton of abuse. It actually hurts efforts to get the best people. They end up getting put in overseas offices.

I'm absolutely sure there is. Any poorly specified constraint will be abused.

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#196

Post by throwitaway222 » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

cogman10 wrote: post #14

foxtrot8672 wrote: post #3

Earlier quoted context omitted.

yep. I see the same thing. Trump isn't wrong to hike fees for H1-B. For companies that shift development overseas they should face tariffs as well.

Yeah, I'm generally pretty pro-immigration and I'm very anti-H1B. It's very abusive to the workers hired as H1-B and it's designed for wage suppression. You can stay an H1-B for years. If you lose your job, you'll face deportation. It gives your employer a VERY large amount of leverage over your life. It's supposed to be about bringing expertise when local expertise isn't available, but in practice it's companies say…

It's not just that. There are many sources coming out of the woodwork of massive H1B fraud rings. Basically from the top (CEO level) down a F500 company starts replacing its hiring loops to mostly focus on H1B and remove all American workers. And some of them just sit idle once hired.

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#197

Post by dominotw » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:33 PM UTC

BeetleB wrote: post #173

cogman10 wrote: post #60

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This isn't a MAGA thing. H1-B is a bad program. I have no problem with someone getting a green card, citizenship, TPS, etc in the US. I think there should be a lot faster routes for that. Let the software devs come in and become citizens or permanent residents, I don't care about that. What I do care about is the fact that H1-B locks immigrants to a company and tie their residence in the us to their employment. That…

> What I do care about is the fact that H1-B locks immigrants to a company They're free to change companies if the new company sponsors them. It may reset the timeline for applying for a green card, depending on the location and job type of the new job. Generally, if it's the same type of job in the same city, it doesn't reset. People (including Indians) do it all the time. Going to a country for employment and havin…

> Going to a country for employment and having your legal status tied to a company is pretty standard across the world. Do you know counterexamples?

TN visa

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#198

Post by bijowo1676 » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC

theodric wrote: post #170

bijowo1676 wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

the candidate for Canadian PR has to secure a job offer beforehand, so the Canada's plan is that US tech workers move their US jobs to Canada, and big tech employers expand their existing tech offices in Canada, rather than being forced to shell out $100k to Donny. Why should US employers be forced to pay $100k to Donny or compromise for substandard smaller labor pool in the US and bear increased costs?

Put another way: why should American employers be forced to hire Americans? If the labor pool is indeed substandard, they arguably have a vested interest in improving the quality of that labor pool rather than simply giving up on it. The $100k (and its consequences) are putting a finger on the scale in a nationalist manner to prefer local products. It's tariffs for people. It comes down to whether you have a globalis…

Employers have only one job: to maximize profits, thats it. It is not employers' fault that US is unable to train tech workers, despite spending $30-40k per pupil in school system only to end up #27 in PISA ranking.

The problem with all anti-H1B discourse is Lump Of Labor fallacy ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lump_of_labour_fallacy ). The loudest people are the least educated about the consequences of blocking high skilled immigration.

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#199

Post by emodendroket » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC

xhkkffbf wrote: post #188

emodendroket wrote: post #79

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They’re doing the opposite and floating the idea of making the program more coercive by ending the grace period to find a new job, so that essentially ICE could wait outside an office after layoffs and start cuffing people. This is because “protecting workers” is a pretext and not their actual goal.

No. The fees definitely slow down the companies from trying to hire cheap replacements. Yes, the end of a grace period does make things tougher for people in a bad job, but I think the goal is really to end these bad jobs.

Well then it’s not working; they’re just hiring people abroad. That outcome would be a disaster if your goal is helping American workers but a success if your goal is just reducing the number of foreigners in the country without regard for American workers. Between the results of the policies they’ve chosen and the types of rants they go on television or social media to make that interpretation suggests itself.

Re: New $100k H-1B visa fee pushes tech jobs offshore

#200

Post by davidw » Mon, Sep 14, 2026, 3:34 PM UTC

rbanffy wrote: post #156

bunderbunder wrote: post #110

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Economics is generally not a zero sum game. At least according to what they taught me in Econ 101, on a macroeconomic scale skilled workers tend to increase job availability. They spend a larger portion of their income on services, which has a positive multiplier effect.

> skilled workers tend to increase job availability Who'd imagine squeezing the middle class would backfire epically? Compensation hasn't reflected the GDP per capital increases for the majority of the workforce. I don't think even the productivity increases from personal computers in the end of the 1970's have trickled down.

Most of the 'squeeze' comes from things like housing and health care. The former driven by NIMBYs pulling the ladder up after them in so many desirable places.