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New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

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101–110 of 487 posts

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#101
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

How do the non-tech denizens manage ? I thought waitresses (and people in similar low-skilled jobs) barely made $30k ?

Yeah 130k being barely a living wage is an absurd thing to say. Tons and tons of people in NYC do not make 130k — even half of it would be a great salary for most — and they seem to still be living just fine.

Well, to me, a living wage isn't just living just fine, but actually managing to get ahead, at least generationaly.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#102
post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I grant you this is in fact not the perfect reform bill, the question is, is it better than the current situation? To me it looks like it's at least somewhat better, so as a Canadian who may want to move to the US at some point, I'm hoping it passes.

> so as a Canadian who may want to move to the US at some point, I'm hoping it passes. Why would it affect you?

You quote the part that explains it. It looks like it might affect him as someone who might move to the US at some point. It might affect him. Large, successful insurance companies work on the notion of probability. It does bear taking into account.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#103
post #47

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's not. Maybe he's assuming a stay at home wife and/or children which would be a stretch on $130k, it's true. You can live well and have savings as a single guy on $130k in both those areas.

How do the non-tech denizens manage ? I thought waitresses (and people in similar low-skilled jobs) barely made $30k ?

> How do the non-tech denizens manage ?

Co-habitation (2+ people per Bedroom), long commutes, and no savings.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason top companies (FB, Google, major SV startups, etc.) exist primarily in the US is because the US is able to attract talent from all over the world. If these companies had never been able to hire the best people, there wouldn't now be the same companies hiring more Americans. They would simply exist in other countries, instead of the United States. By the way, I work at one of these companies and have had fr…

I understand the nuances of immigration and why people seek the worker visas... My dad moved here from Europe in the early 60s, went through INS, got a green card, a job, and 6 months later was drafted into the Army and went to Vietnam. Unlike Americans at the time, my dad was given the choice to accept the draft or go back to Europe. He accepted the draft, fought in Vietnam, was injured, and EARNED his citizenship t…

You clearly don't understand the inner workings of the immigration system and what's happening with the educational system as well.

It's a shame especially considering the hardships your immigrant dad had to go through to give you an opportunity to live in this country.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#106

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The reason top companies (FB, Google, major SV startups, etc.) exist primarily in the US is because the US is able to attract talent from all over the world. If these companies had never been able to hire the best people, there wouldn't now be the same companies hiring more Americans. They would simply exist in other countries, instead of the United States. By the way, I work at one of these companies and have had fr…

I understand the nuances of immigration and why people seek the worker visas... My dad moved here from Europe in the early 60s, went through INS, got a green card, a job, and 6 months later was drafted into the Army and went to Vietnam. Unlike Americans at the time, my dad was given the choice to accept the draft or go back to Europe. He accepted the draft, fought in Vietnam, was injured, and EARNED his citizenship t…

What does "went through INS" mean? What papers or visa did your dad have that gave him the right to live here, and how was it meaningly different from an H1-B ?

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#107

This is a good but flawed move. In very high COL places like NYC and SFBA $130k is barely a living wage unless you can put up with a 2h commute. OTOH, in low COL markets (eg. KC) this eliminates H1-Bs from consideration for most entry-level positions. For many markets in the middle (an example doesn't come to mind, perhaps Los Angeles?) where $130k+ is a decent salary for an entry-level position this new minimum work…

> NYC and SFBA $130k Really ? Surely it can't be that expensive ?

It is not. I am lost of what 'barely living' here means.

130k is totally decent, however it is also not rare. For entry level job to big companies/good startups, the market price is between 110k-120k, and it usually takes 2 years or so to bump up your salary to 130k level(one raise is good enough), assuming you are a reasonable(above average but maybe not excellent) engineer.

So, no, I completely disagree with this 'barely living salary' bullshit, it makes us software engineers look like spoiled ungrateful whiny babies. Not GOOD!

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#108
post #40

This is a good but flawed move. In very high COL places like NYC and SFBA $130k is barely a living wage unless you can put up with a 2h commute. OTOH, in low COL markets (eg. KC) this eliminates H1-Bs from consideration for most entry-level positions. For many markets in the middle (an example doesn't come to mind, perhaps Los Angeles?) where $130k+ is a decent salary for an entry-level position this new minimum work…

> OTOH, in low COL markets (eg. KC) this eliminates H1-Bs from consideration for most entry-level positions. Isn't that the point? I thought H1-Bs were supposed to only be used when the skill set required could not be found locally. This does not match up with entry-level positions unless there are no programmers in the area.

Well, do you want the price to reflect the wage of an average entry-level employee, or that of a talented one?

I'm not sure the US should have as a goal keeping every foreign grad here.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#109
post #84

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no shortage of biologists. Pay and conditions in the life sciences is abysmal. The sausage factory relies on graduates for cheap labour. So if foreign students knew the couldn't even get a poorly paid job after graduating, would they go elsewhere? Would this cause a collapse of the university pyramid scheme? Would labs have to start paying real living wages for staff? Lots less science would get done in the…

Let's hope you are not in a life/death situation later in your life where you get some disease for which treatment could have been available earlier if that foreign student was "allowed" to stay and do the work in the USA... All because of some delusional billionaire who is allowed (by us) to play his real life monopoly game.

Yeah, if only they came to the USA, received an incredible education, and then went back to where they came from and helped that country find or administer treatments for basic diseases that kill people in other countries.

Re: New H1-B Visa bill doubles the salary requirements to $130K/yr

#110
post #70
post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

After you graduate you have to get h1b to work. Nobody is going to pay straight out of school biologist 130k.

A lot of people with core science backgrounds are working on h1b visas today in this country. This bill can really screw up a lot of lives.

I'd argue the situation already has. Untold hollowing out of American kid's futures to save a couple bucks on K-12 education and a bit on wages.
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