Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

theregister.co.uk

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

51–57 of 57 posts

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#51

Post by akurilin »

beedogs wrote: post #21

It's utterly fucked how restrictive and exploitative the US immigration system really is. It cost me about $5000 of my own money and a year and a half of my own time to become a permanent resident of Australia, with no advanced degree and no cash reserve needed. That route is literally impossible for potential U.S. immigrants. You either have to marry your way in, play the greencard lottery, have a PhD, or buy your w…

5 years is unrealistic unless you have a graduate degree and do not come from India or China.

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#52

Post by zpk »

raverbashing wrote: post #44
zpk wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If we are using anecdotal evidence, I knew several paid less than their colleagues at my last job. And they were hired, because of that very reason, cheaper restricted labor. Its not hard for me to imagine in a country where labor force has been at odds with employers the last 30 years that employers would want to import in cheaper labor. India has been exporting cheap labor for the past 200 years, in fact its part o…

Well, if they go to work for Tata or other similar SW sweatshops, that's an issue they should have investigated before taking that job. Today there's Glassdoor (and others) and not knowing if your salary is competitive or not should be a factor in accepting a job overseas. Especially in SW engineering good labour != cheap labour.

So we are going to ignore the 800lb gorilla? We will ignore the fact these firms which are the largest applicants for visas are being investigated by the FBI. And conversely think that Microsoft is doing this not for cheap labor, and there is no PR spin whatsoever around the 'Engineering Shortage' topic. I couldn't buy that.

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#53

Post by seppo0010 »

akurilin wrote: post #50
seppo0010 wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The H1-B is not tied to a single employer. But it only allows one month in case of lay off.

Aren't there restrictions on switching companies once your GC application has been filed?

> If a foreign worker in H-1B status quits or is dismissed from the sponsoring employer, the worker must either apply for and be granted a change of status to another non-immigrant status, find another employer (subject to application for adjustment of status and/or change of visa), or leave the US.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/H-1B_visa

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#54

Post by ashayh »

seppo0010 wrote: post #38
beedogs wrote: post #21

It's utterly fucked how restrictive and exploitative the US immigration system really is. It cost me about $5000 of my own money and a year and a half of my own time to become a permanent resident of Australia, with no advanced degree and no cash reserve needed. That route is literally impossible for potential U.S. immigrants. You either have to marry your way in, play the greencard lottery, have a PhD, or buy your w…

The H1-B is not tied to a single employer. But it only allows one month in case of lay off.

There is no 'grace' period of 1 month, it is technically 0 days after job loss or H1B expiry. However, when you enter the US, the Immigration officer at the airport may choose to give you a few days in addition to your H1B expiry date. That said, it is unlikely they will prosecute a H1B holder, if he overstays for a month or so.

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#55

Post by ashayh »

mseebach wrote: post #25
lusr wrote: post #23

Earlier quoted context omitted.

An I-485 is "Application to Register Permanent Residence or Adjust Status". You can only apply for an I-485 after 5 years of residency. That means after 5.5 years you may freely change jobs - to a similar position. For those 5.5 years you're still vulnerable to discriminatory treatment. I'm not sure if "similar position" means you could form your own company. If I were 21 again - no brainer. Unfortunately I'm nearly…

As far as I can tell, you can submit the I-140 immediately after arrival, processing takes about 6 months if you don't apply for "premium processing". Then you can apply for I-485, which then needs to be pending for 6 months - ie. you're only stuck for a year. But I could be wrong? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_States_Permanent_Residen... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Priority_date

Thats right, however on your second link you can see the dates for China, India, Mexico and Philippines are backlogged for many years, as these countries are the source of most immigrants.

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#56

Post by salem »

wheelerwj wrote: post #3

this is total bs. MS has a massive work force of contract workers who are paid poorly and get treated worse and i am pretty certain that other companies do the same. If they took that 10k ($60m usd total)bounty and applied it to legit training in the US they would have a better, cheaper, and more loyal workforce and the money would stay local. This notion that we have to hire over-seas is not correct at all and while…

The reality is, if they are low-pay contractors, they are probably not in possession of skills that would make them worth the cost and risk of hiring full time. Labor laws protecting less in-demand workers is another issue all together.

Re: Microsoft: 'To fill 6,000 jobs, we'll pay $10K per visa'

#57

Post by raverbashing »

zpk wrote: post #52
raverbashing wrote: post #44

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Well, if they go to work for Tata or other similar SW sweatshops, that's an issue they should have investigated before taking that job. Today there's Glassdoor (and others) and not knowing if your salary is competitive or not should be a factor in accepting a job overseas. Especially in SW engineering good labour != cheap labour.

So we are going to ignore the 800lb gorilla? We will ignore the fact these firms which are the largest applicants for visas are being investigated by the FBI. And conversely think that Microsoft is doing this not for cheap labor, and there is no PR spin whatsoever around the 'Engineering Shortage' topic. I couldn't buy that.

No, it's not to be ignored, if the FBI is investigating that's a start

But just don't throw away the H1-B system altogether

Post reply on HN