U.S. Changes Visa Process for High-Skilled Workers

Post by femiagbabiaka » Thu, Jan 31, 2019, 3:21 AM UTC

acdha wrote: post #92

femiagbabiaka wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that those on H1B visas are bringing wages down for software engineers is a popular one. Is it supported by data? If it isn’t, this is just thinly veiled xenophobia. Personally, I think the more diverse groups have an opportunity to come to America legally, the better.

Look at it from the other direction: large companies have fought giving H1-B workers better protections. They wouldn’t be doing that if they weren’t profiting from workers with less negotiating ability. That’s also my position: don’t ban them, give them flexibility to switch jobs like everyone else so companies can’t hold the threat of deportation over them if they want a better deal.

Post by tptacek » Thu, Jan 31, 2019, 3:23 AM UTC

firstplacelast wrote: post #124

skybrian wrote: post #93

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Vegetable and dairy farmers would go out of business, if prices can't be raised due to competition from imports. You'd need tariffs as well, and people would need to put up with significant price increases at the grocery store. There are not many Americans who want their kids to grow up to be farmhands or migrant workers. If you can speak English, you're better off in retail. For immigrants, there is a valuable benef…

LOL. This is so incredibly offensive to Americans. I am the grandson of butchers, farmers, and miners. In the middle of the US, there are lots of (white) Americans that work in these jobs. Many are very proud of their profession. Next time you want to go on a trip to "expand your horizons", go to a podunk town in a fly-over state and get to know your fellow Americans.

Post by arcticbull » Thu, Jan 31, 2019, 3:26 AM UTC

mc32 wrote: post #116

ones_and_zeros wrote: post #98

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A great improvement would be to give them citizenship if they want it. The economic impact of immigrants is not under debate, however your examples are poor choices as I don't think any of those people came to the US on an H1B visa. If anything it's an argument against H1B.

I’d say we reciprocate what their gov would do for our workers. Their gov makes easy for Americans, we make it easy for them. They make it hard on Americans trying to work in their country, we make it hard on them. Fair is fair.

Post by aeontech » Thu, Jan 31, 2019, 3:28 AM UTC

ajxs wrote: post #113

femiagbabiaka wrote: post #70

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The idea that those on H1B visas are bringing wages down for software engineers is a popular one. Is it supported by data? If it isn’t, this is just thinly veiled xenophobia. Personally, I think the more diverse groups have an opportunity to come to America legally, the better.

However anecdotal this claim may be, it seems fairly intuitive given the basic economic model of supply and demand. Can you explain how greatly increasing the supply of developers by importing them from overseas will not affect the demand, and therefore negatively affect the cost of labour?

Post by niyazpk » Thu, Jan 31, 2019, 3:29 AM UTC

maximente wrote: post #136

niyazpk wrote: post #111

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I am wondering how not having H1B could have helped the Disney employees though. If Disney wants to cut costs and hire cheaper labor (presumably why they hired H1Bs? I don't know), they could as well move the jobs offshore. Now the US is losing out on much more than just the jobs. What am I missing here?

the whole idea of "just moving the jobs offshore" doesn't really come out to be as simple as you have equated here. there's often time zone differences, cultural difference, a simple inability to do work (e.g. anything requiring access to physical infrastructure, any client-facing meetings, etc.) it's not like you can flip a switch and get a fully functioning setup, even with something like development. we've seen th…