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Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

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Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#101
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In a time where company profits are higher than ever before and worker wages are remaining stagnant, I think it's a valid concern to raise. We do live in the richest country in the world, after all. Why shouldn't everyone living in it prosper?

Why do you feel entitled by the basis of your nationality to be hired when someone better and cheaper is available?

America has an advanced economy, with a GDP per capita of over $50k. As such, the cost of living is much higher than many other countries. You need a vehicle to work almost everywhere, healthcare costs are the highest in the world, housing is becoming more and more expensive, and one must go tens of thousands of dollars in debt to get a degree. This was alright when incomes were more equal and rising, because these costs could be recognized as a cost of living in such a good country. Due to globalization, however, the lower class has been gutted due to corporations exploiting the fact that other places have lower costs of living and lower workplace standards. I could argue that this destabilization of the lower class is a large part of why Trump was elected. And now globalization is affecting the middle class(particularly among IT workers) enough to risk destabilizing the only few remaining good jobs left, all while the stock market is doing better than ever. This loss of good paying jobs with the cost of living remaining high means the quality of life for most of the country will go down while the rich get richer faster. When the overall economy is growing, why SHOULDN'T the country overall benefit?

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#102
post #89
post #82

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Because that guy lives in a different country, and the business is in the United States.

Ah, don't you miss good old xenophobia and isolationism?

Preferring to hire people from already in your own country would be patriotic rather than isolationist. That's not xenophobia though because there's no irrational or intense fear of foreigners. That is unless "xenophobia" has been perverted to now mean anything that isn't hardcore globalist.

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#103

The problem with suggesting that the salary bar be set at the median of the lifetime salary, is that it does mean closing the door to current international students in the U.S., and to recent graduates recruited from universities abroad. The minimum bar for an immigrant should not be that they are better than half the people already employed here in their field, regardless of their stage in life. And, of course, most…

> If you truly believe that H-1B should exist only for truly extraordinary talent Second to last paragraph: " Employers claim that they hire H-1Bs for rare skill sets or outstanding talent ― traits that they would need to pay a premium for on the open market. Yet current law requires only that they pay the average wage. Worse, it is the average wage within one of those four experience levels. Instead, we should repla…

What the problem? You want the companies to pay more just because the person is American? No wonder a lot of jobs outsourced. If you can even compete with foreign works, maybe you should move to a developing country since you are so incompetent

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#104

Does anyone else consider immigration a significant part of US foreign policy? Wouldn't offering visas to "rising" countries allow us to pick off much of their best talent, thus boosting the US and lowering the other countries? The global power struggles of today, I believe, will be won by countries who can dictate the technology that refocuses which resources are needed.

> Wouldn't offering visas to "rising" countries allow us to pick off much of their best talent, thus boosting the US and lowering the other countries? I haven't seen H1B visa's used like this in my personal experience. At the last company I worked for they were mostly used to fill our testing team with people from India. Maybe they were all guinness, the problem was all but one of them could speak/write english fluen…

This only proves the company you worked and you are so incompetent. Does Google hire Indians who cannot speak English? No. You last company sucks and you worked there.

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#105
post #95

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why do you feel entitled by the basis of your nationality to be hired when someone better and cheaper is available?

America has an advanced economy, with a GDP per capita of over $50k. As such, the cost of living is much higher than many other countries. You need a vehicle to work almost everywhere, healthcare costs are the highest in the world, housing is becoming more and more expensive, and one must go tens of thousands of dollars in debt to get a degree. This was alright when incomes were more equal and rising, because these c…

The country is benefiting my taking in skilled labor from the rest of the world. Unless you're a Native American, you really don't have much grounds to criticize foreigners "taking your job".

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#106
post #67

Is it really bad? Usually immigrants anyway get much better wages than in their hometown and escape from repressive regimes.

Yes, it is bad. It lowers the wages of Americans and makes finding an entry level tech position for Americans a lot harder. The purpose of the H-1B visa program was to bring highly specialized workers to the US, not cheap labor.

At least you still have a job. What stops companies get jobs outsourced to other countries?

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#107

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The statistical expectation from the dataset that you link to is $86,328.67 [1]. I no nothing about US salaries, but I don't consider this value a competitive salary. Therefore, I believe the premise of the article is statically correct. Citing a few example with large salaries (Apple, Google, ...) is misleading. 1- https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1f0iZ7VZkA7Th2dCE6rgD...

86K may not be a competitive salary in heart of SV but it's damn competitive in the US, and around the world. Unless you are living in NYC/SV your cost of living in the US is lower, you tax burden is lower. 86K$ is more than the vast majority of highly paid developers in Europe get. I don't understand why Amazon/Google paying 50-60K Euros in Germany or even lower than that in other EU countries with a tax burden of n…

As a side note, I've lived both in San Diego and Berlin for a short period. It's true, in Germany total deduction of salary can go as high as 40 percent. But you get full health care coverage, child care, paternity and maternity leave, free university for your children and good public transport and infrastructure. This also covers unemployment and disability insurance plus the pension.

In contrast in California, one pays as high as 33% tax rate and get a fraction of these services.

I wouldn't be tempted to change my 60K euros Berlin salary with 110K $ San Diego salary. I would have a much better life quality in Berlin.

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#108
post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America has an advanced economy, with a GDP per capita of over $50k. As such, the cost of living is much higher than many other countries. You need a vehicle to work almost everywhere, healthcare costs are the highest in the world, housing is becoming more and more expensive, and one must go tens of thousands of dollars in debt to get a degree. This was alright when incomes were more equal and rising, because these c…

The country is benefiting my taking in skilled labor from the rest of the world. Unless you're a Native American, you really don't have much grounds to criticize foreigners "taking your job".

If you are taking in the skilled labor at a rate lower than the average American or outsourcing to a country without as much worker protections, then I disagree. But if you are bringing them in at market rates and not exploiting them, then I agree. My problem with the H-1B visa system is that it's being exploited(by that, I mean it's not being used as intended) in a manner that brings the pay of the average American worker down, which hurts everyone but the businesses.

Also, I was born and raised in America, and I am not responsible for the transgressions of my ancestors. I also don't blame the foreigners that try to come here; I blame the government and corporations that are making a system that only works for the richest of Americans.

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#109
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yes, it is bad. It lowers the wages of Americans and makes finding an entry level tech position for Americans a lot harder. The purpose of the H-1B visa program was to bring highly specialized workers to the US, not cheap labor.

Too bad they're better than you and can work for less.

Please comment civilly and substantively or not at all on Hacker News. We're trying to have thoughtful and productive discussions, and this kind of one-liner takes us in the opposite direction.

Re: Silicon Valley Is Using H-1B Visas to Pay Low Wages to Immigrants

#110
post #109
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Too bad they're better than you and can work for less.

Please comment civilly and substantively or not at all on Hacker News. We're trying to have thoughtful and productive discussions, and this kind of one-liner takes us in the opposite direction.

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