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Updates to H-1B

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Re: Updates to H-1B

#181

Post by strongpigeon »

whatshisface wrote: post #155
strongpigeon wrote: post #134

Earlier quoted context omitted.

That is incorrect. People with exceptional abilities are covered under EB-1 green cards (and O-1 visas). H-1B was created to bring people in specialty occupations requiring a bachelor's degree or equivalent experience. A Java developer definitely meets the bar (with the right degree or experience).

It's impossible to truthfully state on an H1-B form that the US labor market can't provide an experienced Java developer.

That is correct, but tangential to the original point of extraordinary abilities.

But it's also possible to say that one hasn't been able to find a skilled-enough Java developer.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#182

Post by sunshowers »

zer8k wrote: post #74
duped wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

[flagged]

Ah yes the classic "huwhite people and muh racism" gambit. It's tired. H1Bs are gamed to the point of uselessness. Most companies internally post H1B job offerings so people are aware. I've yet to see one with a competitive salary. They are used to source cheaper labor and avoid paying actual Americans the fair wage they deserve. The last 15-20 years of tech has slowly seen the InfoSys-ization of the tech economy. I…

I was paid between 400 and 600k a year while on an H1B.

> I am a fan of charging 2-3x the normal tax rate for H1Bs so companies have to actually justify hiring "talent you can't find in America".

This is extraordinarily racist if you spend more than 5 seconds thinking about it, and honestly you should question every one of your choices that have led to this point. It is time for you to re-examine your entire worldview.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#183

Post by rbanffy »

memtet wrote: post #151
BeetleB wrote: post #126

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Software is one of the few STEM fields where one can get a fantastic job with just a Bachelor's. In most other engineering fields, a MS gives you a significant boost, and a PhD may do so as well. The reality is that in most of those fields, few Americans get an MS/PhD. Go to a typical engineering department and you'll often see the majority of advanced degree students are foreigners. So it's a question of: Do we want…

Ooh yes, let's address next how US top universities are all profit machines incentivized to take as many foreigners as possible, driving up the tuition they can charge so US citizens can't afford to get degrees. Let's do talk about how if you get a part time job to be able to pay for college then they yank your financial aid.

Why taking in foreign students raises the cost of tuition? Aren’t they paying full price for it?

Re: Updates to H-1B

#184

Post by ramarnat »

shin_lao wrote: post #167
ramarnat wrote: post #158

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You'd still have to comply with the H1-B rules for the job you are petitioning for, like the duties you are performing, the salary requirements etc. And the legal costs of doing the petition. Now, misuse could come if you are independently wealthy and can self fund, but at the end of the day if you are doing that in the US, the economy still benefits.

There are better visas and even green cards if you're wealthy.

Yes, but the prevailing wage threshold would be lower than the investor visa, as will the commitments. The investor visa you have to show a plan, hire people etc.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#185

Post by eweise »

patrickhogan1 wrote: post #16

Ah, classic regulatory theater. The administration, after 4 years of not introducing these changes, is now suddenly scrambling to roll them out. They’re dropping them right before a major transition, with an implementation timeline conveniently set for after the transition. It’s a clever little maneuver. When the inevitable reversal happens, they can show up at fundraising galas telling donors, “We tried! We were so…

It will make Trump look great reversing a policy that steals good paying jobs from Americans.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#186

Post by remarkEon »

jandrese wrote: post #102
remarkEon wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not missing anything. Other than that, seemingly, STEM roles are the only industry where the laws of supply and demand do not apply, and a positive supply shock of something does not, for some reason, drive down the price.

If a supply shock doesn't drive down the price then it suggests that the supply constraint was larger than than the shock and that the market was being artificially constrained to prevent the prices from rising to meet demand.

So in other words, yes, for whatever reason tech is this special case that doesn't apply anywhere else and supply shocks don't matter.

An odd claim, wish there was more evidence for it being true. As in, what is the "artificial constraint" for front end web developers?

Re: Updates to H-1B

#187

Post by thatfrenchguy »

toomuchtodo wrote: post #168
HarHarVeryFunny wrote: post #161

A supposed shortage of qualified US applicants for tech jobs, especially software developers, doesn't jibe with the huge numbers of US developers currently looking for work, including highly experienced older workers suffering from age discrimination. I'd be surprised if more than 5-10% of H-1B positions are ones where the hiring company has even looked for US applicants.

There is a shortage of applicants willing to work at what companies want to pay. If it is taking more than 30-60 days for workers to find a role, there are enough workers domestically.

There's a shortage of applicants with the skills that companies need. Engineers, like most qualified workforce, aren't interchangeable.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#189

Post by Spivak »

HarHarVeryFunny wrote: post #161

A supposed shortage of qualified US applicants for tech jobs, especially software developers, doesn't jibe with the huge numbers of US developers currently looking for work, including highly experienced older workers suffering from age discrimination. I'd be surprised if more than 5-10% of H-1B positions are ones where the hiring company has even looked for US applicants.

I feel like this whole issue could be solved short order if we agreed that not being able to find qualified applicants at a given fixed price does not a shortage make.

It's the same with the "fast food shortage," I bet the shortage would dry up real fast at $50/hr so all we're really doing is haggling over price. If in order to hire a H1-B at a salary of x you had to offer US workers 2x with say a $100k floor on x then I bet Americans would show up.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#190

Post by danans »

s1artibartfast wrote: post #156
tssva wrote: post #146

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If the purpose is cheaper STEM workers than downward pressure on wages is a goal and not just an effect.

The goal isnt to hurt workers for its own sake. The goal is to help industry. If harm was the goal, something like a STEM worker tax or cutting R&D tax incentives would be easier.

> If harm was the goal, something like a STEM worker tax or cutting R&D tax incentives would be easier

These would affect all STEM workers equivalently. The H1-B program, whatever one thinks of its merits, hurts domestic STEM workers and helps immigrant STEM workers.

Perhaps the result is that the overall opportunities are greater because the larger talent pool results in more companies being formed. That depends a lot on how mature the industry is, and whether technological trends like generative AI will replace large swaths or STEM workers altogether.

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