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Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

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Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#281

Post by sbierwagen »

shas3 wrote: post #278
countrybama24 wrote: post #271

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The H-1B system should at least be an auction, not a lottery. The companies that use the system to source cheaper replacements for current workers would get priced out of the market and the individuals who contribute the most to the company (and the economy) would get in. Bonus: more revenue would be raised by the government.

This could potentially increase the 'cost-to-company' for each employee. Also, it could well be that an employee is worth a lot to Infosys, Cognizant, or other off-shoring companies who make up a bulk of the H1B applications, and they may be willing to spend enough to be the highest bidder.

Yes, that's the point of the H-1B visa? It's supposed to be used for people with rare and unusual skillsets, the kind of people who command very high salaries; not for offshoring.

  The H-1B is a non-immigrant visa in the United States... [that] 
  allows U.S. employers to temporarily employ foreign workers in 
  specialty occupations.

  The regulations define a "specialty occupation" as requiring 
  theoretical and practical application of a body of highly 
  specialized knowledge in a field of human endeavor including 
  but not limited to biotechnology, chemistry, architecture, engineering[...]

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#282

Post by countrybama24 »

hkmurakami wrote: post #162
WildUtah wrote: post #136

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An auction is the obvious solution. Submit bids with your application for the fee to be paid yearly to the USA and the highest bidders get the H1-B visas. There's no need to raise the cap and all the Apples and Googles get all the applicants they want. Today the majority of H1-B visas go to Wipro and Infosys and the like for low paid tech grunts; Apple won't have any trouble outbidding them. And those tech grunt comp…

With an auction system like that, basically every small business will be out of the picture then.

Theoretically you could design a tiered system with a separate quota allocated for companies with <10 employees to bid for (or some other easily enforceable definition of start-up or small business).

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#283

Post by mpg33 »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #229
projectmayhem wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a friend in a similar situation (eerily similar). Apple moved him to Vancouver to reside until they can get a visa for the US, but in the meantime more & more employees are being 'stationed' in Canada, which opens up the opportunity to simply setup a facility there instead of hustling the US system. Canada has been a regular "holding pattern" location for Europeans trying to get to the US. It's about time Cana…

Is that really ideal for someone who is at the top of their craft to be put into purgatory in Canada when they really want to immigrate to the US and settle down? If it were me I'd rather be king of the hill in my home country over putting my life on hold like that.

meh...if you could do an experiment by dropping a foreigner - that has never been to North America - right into a Canadian city and then asked what country they are in... I would suspect a high percentage would say the U.S. The differences between the countries are more noticeable to Americans/Canadians.

Of course.. the U.S. has far more cultural influence worldwide so most foreigners hear and see more about it than Canada.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#284

Post by fredophile »

McDoku wrote: post #145
cperciva wrote: post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think if we ever start a second YC location, this will be the reason Please do. Tarsnap will apply to be part of YC Vancouver if it happens. (I'm assuming that if you create a YC somewhere outside of the US it would be in Vancouver, because really, nowhere else in the world is anywhere near as awesome.) FWIW, I think there's two "markets" of which you've only mentioned one -- in addition to founders who can't get U…

Real estate is better in Montreal. Was paying 2K for small loft 700sqft in Gastown vs 1.3K for a 1600sqft loft in Old Montreal with a view of the basilica. Startup dollars will go further here and the office will be twice as awesome. Much easier for new people to make friends and the art scene is not priced out. Montreal is undeniably more fun. And lord, the festivals... Mind you, winter lives here but it is sunny ev…

There's more to location than real estate costs. If that was the main factor YC wouldn't be in the bay area. The existing talent pool and ecosystem are much more important factors. Vancouver also has the advantage of being in the same time zone as YC.

Complaining about the cost of office space in Gastown is like complaining about the cost of office space in SOMA. There are many cheaper alternatives if you don't insist on being in a trendy neighbourhood. Office space in Burnaby or Coquitlam is a lot cheaper than Gastown.

You may think Montreal is more fun but I'd disagree. I can't scuba dive in Montreal. I can't walk five minutes and be hiking in a rain forest. Even if I agreed that Montreal is more fun this shouldn't be a consideration for a YC location. YC companies will be busy working.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#285

Post by eli_gottlieb »

ulfw wrote: post #197
eli_gottlieb wrote: post #170

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice talking points, both of you. However, neither of you are actually addressing how to design the immigration system to function as a positive-sum game for both Americans and immigrants. This is a discussion that needs to be had, because the current immigration system is tilted, like so much else about USAian government right now, towards "give the capitalists whatever they need and if everyone else survives that's…

Then why make it about auctioning and highest bidder? It's a US visa for people to work in the US in hopes of benefitting US citizen. Then why not limit H1Bs to US companies (HQ in the US and not subsidiaries of international companies) only. Solves your stated problem of how the H1B system is currently misused without favoring big corporations over startup companies.

>Then why not limit H1Bs to US companies (HQ in the US and not subsidiaries of international companies) only. Solves your stated problem of how the H1B system is currently misused without favoring big corporations over startup companies.

Because I'm not favoring big corporations. I'm favoring workers.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#286

Post by lttlrck »

inoop wrote: post #66

Earlier this year I interviewed for a research/engineering position at Apple. I was offered the job, took it, and went into the H1B lottery. It took the USCIS four months to let me know that my application was not selected, even though it was filed under 'premium processing', and the draw had been done using a computer in the first week after submissions closed. Since the job required me to be in Cupertino, the deal…

When I went through this I was deeply involved the paperwork and the impression I had was that the whole process is far more nuanced than a computer-generated go/no-go. A minor paperwork error, DHS agent on bad day, or misunderstanding a qualification or another candidate deemed more applicable would do the trick.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#287

Post by Kluny »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #229
projectmayhem wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a friend in a similar situation (eerily similar). Apple moved him to Vancouver to reside until they can get a visa for the US, but in the meantime more & more employees are being 'stationed' in Canada, which opens up the opportunity to simply setup a facility there instead of hustling the US system. Canada has been a regular "holding pattern" location for Europeans trying to get to the US. It's about time Cana…

Is that really ideal for someone who is at the top of their craft to be put into purgatory in Canada when they really want to immigrate to the US and settle down? If it were me I'd rather be king of the hill in my home country over putting my life on hold like that.

As a Vancouver native - there are a hell of a lot of worse places in the world to be stuck, than Vancouver.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#288

Post by markbnj »

Would this experience be any different for an American trying to work in Canada, or somewhere in Europe? I haven't tried it, and honestly don't know. But the tone of your comment is a little aggrieved, as if a non-US citizen should of course find it easy to get his dream job in the U.S. My Dad recently sold a house in Canada, and he can't get the money out of the country for six months. Why? Because he's not Canadian. The rules in Canada were written to benefit Canadians, not well-off guys from the U.S. who want to be able to move money easily. It's the same with jobs. If your dream job is in the U.S. you can always try to immigrate, I suppose. At that point a lot of these issues would go away (and I am sure that's not much easier a road).

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#289

Post by danudey »

djb_hackernews wrote: post #229
projectmayhem wrote: post #178

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I have a friend in a similar situation (eerily similar). Apple moved him to Vancouver to reside until they can get a visa for the US, but in the meantime more & more employees are being 'stationed' in Canada, which opens up the opportunity to simply setup a facility there instead of hustling the US system. Canada has been a regular "holding pattern" location for Europeans trying to get to the US. It's about time Cana…

Is that really ideal for someone who is at the top of their craft to be put into purgatory in Canada when they really want to immigrate to the US and settle down? If it were me I'd rather be king of the hill in my home country over putting my life on hold like that.

I know a surprising amount of immigrants who moved to Vancouver because it was 'as close as' they could get to SV (since they couldn't get US visas). I huge proportion of them are glad they came here and never intend to leave (and some might, but not for a long time).

Not many people consider Vancouver as a first choice, but a lot of people who come here are happy with it and realize that it's a pretty good place to be. Outside of the SV echo chamber you can often get a better picture of what the world actually wants, vs. just what people in SV (though appealing to the SV echo chamber is what gets you the VC funding and buyouts).

Besides that, the weather is nice, the people are friendly, the cost of living is affordable for people in tech (especially compared to SV), nature is just outside the door, etc.

On top of that, it's easier to get talent; partly because people can get visas, but also partly because not every single startup and tech company is competing for the same pool of people. You won't earn a six-figure salary quite so easily, but you also won't have your employees poached away the instant it looks like a buyout isn't just over the horizon.

Thinking of it as some sort of holding pattern purgatory where people are cooling their heels staring through the bars at the Promised Land on the other side of the US border is a huge mischaracterization. SV may be the theoretical ideal, but the lifestyle is much better out here.

Re: Vancouver tech surges as U.S. immigration reform idles

#290

Post by mark_eijsermans »

paul wrote: post #15

I think if we ever start a second YC location, this will be the reason -- to help founders who are unable to get past the US immigration system. It's unfortunate that our government is becoming increasingly dysfunctional at every level -- federal, state, and local governments are all failing to do their jobs. I'm glad that Canada is introducing some competitive pressure.

+1 please do. As an accelerator connected to US capital & experience, same language/culture, and being in the same timezone with a 2hr flight, this can only mean great things. A lot of engineers in the community here (myself included) are not necessarily willing to give up life in beautiful Vancouver to move to an industrial park in Silicon Valley.
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