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Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

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Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#41
post #10

Selecting Other, some interesting jobs description including: https://www.jobs.now/jobs/151415137-hotel-renovation-special... Must be fluent in Russian. Do you really need to have this to do the job? https://www.jobs.now/jobs/153205684-senior-director-enrollme... Must have masters in Project Management, IT, Business Administration (pretty broad). Also have 4 years experience in enrollment management systems & operati…

I came into the thread to talk about the Russian one, is there any proof that Russian is actually required for the job, or is this a filtering mechanism that they can put in place in order to target the job listing to a specific person?

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#42
post #10

Selecting Other, some interesting jobs description including: https://www.jobs.now/jobs/151415137-hotel-renovation-special... Must be fluent in Russian. Do you really need to have this to do the job? https://www.jobs.now/jobs/153205684-senior-director-enrollme... Must have masters in Project Management, IT, Business Administration (pretty broad). Also have 4 years experience in enrollment management systems & operati…

For the job requiring Russian, that requirement is likely because the owner or hiring manager speaks Russian (the name where to send resumes to is Russian). Should that be a legitimate requirement to allow a visa for someone to work in the US? I cannot speak to that.

It should not. But there is no one vetting the validity of the requirements.

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#44
post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's hard for me to believe that anyone working in a tech industry hasn't seen this kind of thing happening or heard managers/owners talking about gaming the system. When people say they've never heard of it or don't think it happens, I wonder if they're incredibly naive or being evasive.

In many places it's talked about only by immigration lawyers and people who must be involved. If you're not very active in recruiting (especially at a sizeable company), it's not hard to be outside of the circles where those conversations are happening.

This happens at a much smaller level too. We knew an au pair that the host family particularly liked, and wanted her long term. A typical au pair contract is for 1 year, maximum is 2. They worked with an immigration attorney to craft a "job" that she was uniquely qualified for, went through the whole dance, and got her into the system. She stayed with them for the next 10 years. They covered room and board, but she worked for free otherwise; getting her in the door and on the way to citizenship was her "pay".

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#45
post #35

The "best" part about H1-B (from a company's viewpoint) is that it's very difficult to switch jobs if you're on an H1-B. So you basically become an indentured servant, always afraid Da Bossman will fire you and you'll have 30 days to get out of the country. There's no way they can pull such shit on American workers.

that’s not true - it’s pretty easy to switch. Your application does not count against new quota - employer just needs to pay a lawyer to file paperwork and done. Been there, done that.

I have run across multiple job postings stating that they would not accept applicants needing company support on visas so at a bare minimum they are cut off from that portion of the economy and have a harder time than Americans would

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For the job requiring Russian, that requirement is likely because the owner or hiring manager speaks Russian (the name where to send resumes to is Russian). Should that be a legitimate requirement to allow a visa for someone to work in the US? I cannot speak to that.

It should not. But there is no one vetting the validity of the requirements.

Should it not be? If the criteria is there solely to make sure only his countrymen can get jobs and get to the US then I agree it’s wrong. However if they were willing to hire anyone who spoke Russian regardless of origin then I think the question becomes

“Are people/companies allowed to hire for niche skill sets that fit their specific needs, when it de facto bars 99% of citizens from getting the job?”

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#47

At least one company I worked at purposefully crafted these job descriptions so that no one would be qualified. They'd find the most obscure parts of our tech stack, require hands on experience with each library, knowledge of our niche, and so on. You basically had to be already working for us to have the required experience.

The companies are just trying to work with the flawed system that is place. Even if a role is in shortage, it’s impossible for a company by itself to prove that there is a shortage. If in the total market, there are 10000 jobs for “position X” and there are 8000 total US citizens that qualify for that role, if you are a company that has an H1B for the other 2000 positions, there is no way you can prove there is a shortage. The system requires you to put out an advertisement and prove there are no US citizens. The minute you put out a generic requirement, at least the few people from the pool of 8000 will apply even if they are employed in the same role because… drum role…people switch jobs. So even if overall there is a shortage for a specific position, there is no way an individual company can prove it when they are required to actively recruit for the position.

The system is flawed and it forces immigrants and companies to work with the rules that are set. And people who don’t fully understand the system are angry about it.

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#48

At least one company I worked at purposefully crafted these job descriptions so that no one would be qualified. They'd find the most obscure parts of our tech stack, require hands on experience with each library, knowledge of our niche, and so on. You basically had to be already working for us to have the required experience.

The companies are just trying to work with the flawed system that is place. Even if a role is in shortage, it’s impossible for a company by itself to prove that there is a shortage. If in the total market, there are 10000 jobs for “position X” and there are 8000 total US citizens that qualify for that role, if you are a company that has an H1B for the other 2000 positions, there is no way you can prove there is a sho…

You have a good point that it's very hard to define a shortage by lack of applications, when there is always a certain amount of churn.

It would be much better to simply define this as an economic test:

1) Are the prevailing wages for a position rising faster than inflation?

2) Is unemployment in the position both low and remaining flat?

Seems hard to claim a shortage if either of those is false, and there is little gaming to be done for simple government reported labor statistics, recent news notwithstanding.

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#49

At least one company I worked at purposefully crafted these job descriptions so that no one would be qualified. They'd find the most obscure parts of our tech stack, require hands on experience with each library, knowledge of our niche, and so on. You basically had to be already working for us to have the required experience.

At least when I went through the process the reqs had to be crafted such that applying h-1b employee needed to possess them before the current gig so unless that has changed in the last 15y I call bullshit on your claim.

Re: Job Listing Site Highlighting H-1B Positions So Americans Can Apply

#50
post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

that’s not true - it’s pretty easy to switch. Your application does not count against new quota - employer just needs to pay a lawyer to file paperwork and done. Been there, done that.

It’s not easy to switch. I’ve been on this more than a decade ago and if you’re laid off or leave you have 60 days to find something new. Any job you take you need your new employer to be able to undertake the effort for H1B renewals and the inevitable green card application. There’s big companies that do it and smaller ones that will absolutely refuse to. Either way an H1B prefers to stick around until the green car…

It was probably closer to truth 20 years ago just for lack of experience among lawyers and hr but today h-1b transfer is not hard at all.
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