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

H-1B Employer Data Hub

uscis.gov

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

61–70 of 118 posts

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#61

Post by munk-a »

olcor wrote: post #57
Bhilai wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious: Why don't the applicants give up and go back to their home countries ? H1B processing is very slow, Green Cards are taking decades, so is it still worth it ?

I’m going back home this month. There is literally no point living here, given the ridiculous wait times for having a stable life. Even after the “battle” is done, life here, tbh, isn’t all that awesome outside of work. I can always be a visitor.

I brain-drained myself out of the US[1] and I applaud your decision. I think we need to vote with our feet on the topic of a sane and respectful immigration system. I hope you do well and make lots of cash - and end up paying absolutely none of that to the country that made your life so difficult in taxes.

[1] I was natural born so it was entirely by choice. Specifically, my wife was not in the US and we compared what it would take to get me into her country vs. her into mine and it was a difference of... starkness, thousands of dollars and the possibility of her being unable to work for a period.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#62

Post by devoply »

hammock wrote: post #12

Some initial analysis- Of the top 20 employers, the average approval rate was 76%. Most of the employers are outsourcing subcontractors or accounting firms. But there were five employers in the top 20 with 90%+ approval rates: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

And it's a question as to whether any of these FAANG companies actually need to hire any H1Bs considering how much money they have. How many well paying jobs are they exporting for no good reason other than they want to keep more money.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#63

Post by raincom »

nraynaud wrote: post #38
raincom wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USCIS is delaying every immigration application--not just H1b stuff. Even though there is no explicit policy to delay applications, I heard officers are told to delay. Since there is no backlash, it is going to be like that for a while.

Of course there are explicit policies, here is an example: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27...

Thanks. That's for EADs. USCIS is even delaying interviews on purpose without any written policy. That's what I mean.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#64

Post by raincom »

throwaway082729 wrote: post #59
Bhilai wrote: post #24

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Genuinely curious: Why don't the applicants give up and go back to their home countries ? H1B processing is very slow, Green Cards are taking decades, so is it still worth it ?

I'm strongly considering that. 17 years in the US, $550k in annual pay, $750k+ in taxes paid in the last 15 years, American-born kid but I still don't have the freedom to switch jobs at ease or even take a break between jobs, start my own business or work at a small startup, take part-time jobs from advising companies, rent my place out on Airbnb, etc. My wife, who teaches special needs kids, cannot work soon after H…

Why have not you applied for EB-5 regional centers, since you have that kind of money? You would have green card by now, had you taken that route. Regional center eb-5 requires $500k. Otherwise, $1M with the proof that 10 Americans are employed.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#65

Post by outworlder »

redindian75 wrote: post #37
morsmodr wrote: post #18

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I am a front-end developer on an H1 visa. There is a reason for the slowdown. A lot of companies, Indian IT or consultancy firms in the US are abusing the H1 visa process. They use lawyers and high sounding words to make roles such as functional/manual tester or other non-critical non-STEM roles to sound as technical STEM based roles. IMHO these roles can be easily done by American locals without STEM or technical ba…

>But the premise of H1 is to provide visa for people with skills that the American market doesn't have. how does that square with >I am a front-end developer on an H1 visa. So let me get this straight, other immigrant's jobs can be easily done by locals with minimal training, hence it is a scam. BUT your 'front-end skills' are so unique that no other American can do it?

> So let me get this straight, other immigrant's jobs can be easily done by locals with minimal training, hence it is a scam. BUT your 'front-end skills' are so unique that no other American can do it?

His _position_ may require more than _minimal_ training. We don't know as we haven't seen the application.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#66

Post by geodel »

acolytic wrote: post #35
hammock wrote: post #12

Some initial analysis- Of the top 20 employers, the average approval rate was 76%. Most of the employers are outsourcing subcontractors or accounting firms. But there were five employers in the top 20 with 90%+ approval rates: Microsoft, Google, Amazon, Facebook and Apple.

Just to add some context to this since I was a bit confused. The H-1B goes through the lottery to see which applications get seen by immigration. This seems to be the approval rates of the H-1B after the lottery which makes sense. The FAANG applications are probably mostly legit. 90% acceptance rate for an H-1B before lottery though seemed a little high :)

Haven't checked the data. But lottery is for first 3 years. After that company can keep applying for extensions. For FAANG companies extension approval rate can be higher as you have already noticed.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#67

Post by nraynaud »

raincom wrote: post #63
nraynaud wrote: post #38

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Of course there are explicit policies, here is an example: https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2016/11/18/2016-27...

Thanks. That's for EADs. USCIS is even delaying interviews on purpose without any written policy. That's what I mean.

yes, there are policies on positions, I have also heard of lies at the border by CBP officers (around I-20). The interview process for green card itself is also a delaying tactic.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#68

Post by outworlder »

Bhilai wrote: post #24
raincom wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

USCIS is delaying every immigration application--not just H1b stuff. Even though there is no explicit policy to delay applications, I heard officers are told to delay. Since there is no backlash, it is going to be like that for a while.

Genuinely curious: Why don't the applicants give up and go back to their home countries ? H1B processing is very slow, Green Cards are taking decades, so is it still worth it ?

> Green Cards are taking decades

This is only for certain countries, by the way.

> Why don't the applicants give up and go back to their home countries ?

Have you got any experience in moving to another country? Do you have family?

So you spend years away from your country, getting promoted at work, kid at an american school (speaking English every day, with his american friends), wife going to an university or working(after enduring all the initial difficulties acclimating), for you to suddenly say: "meh, let's throw everything away and go back". Try that and let us know how that goes. Maybe if you are young and single.

Now, if you ask me, should people still try to come, given the current political climate? I am not sure. It's a wonderful country and the allure of the Bay Area is too great, if you are in IT. But the immigration system makes absolutely zero sense and is very demeaning. You need a lot of mental fortitude to endure it – even more so if you are from one of the countries with queues. Make sure you and your family can deal with the uncertainty, for years.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#69

Post by giobox »

Bhilai wrote: post #60
giobox wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

America pays its engineers really pretty well by global standards, even outside the bay. While this continues to be true I think many will think twice about returning, even if they like to talk about it. Even among countries that are often assumed to have broadly similar standards of living by most people (UK is example I am most familiar with), those countries often pay their engineers substantially less. Many of my…

> Also when we talk about long waits for Green Cards, we really mean for the large body of Indian technology workers, broadly speaking. For other nationalities the wait is typically a year or less (for those unaware there are effectively country based quotas for green cards). The gap in earning potential is even larger still in the Indian example vs my earlier UK one, so again I’m not surprised few actually move back…

I’m not arguing that one should expect the same pay everywhere. It’s simply my observation America typically pays engineers well, and much more than the two countries I cited in typical software company roles.

In the countries I have direct experience of, I would however argue the pay differential can be significant beyond just cost of living adjustments though.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#70

Post by yardie »

munk-a wrote: post #61
olcor wrote: post #57

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I’m going back home this month. There is literally no point living here, given the ridiculous wait times for having a stable life. Even after the “battle” is done, life here, tbh, isn’t all that awesome outside of work. I can always be a visitor.

I brain-drained myself out of the US[1] and I applaud your decision. I think we need to vote with our feet on the topic of a sane and respectful immigration system. I hope you do well and make lots of cash - and end up paying absolutely none of that to the country that made your life so difficult in taxes. [1] I was natural born so it was entirely by choice. Specifically, my wife was not in the US and we compared wha…

We immigrated back. You made the right call. I’m a US citizen and my spouse is still waiting on her GC and at this point we’re seriously debating packing up and moving. Even with the parole they give you ominous warnings about traveling without the green card. When we submitted her application we were told 6 months. That has been extended to 18 and I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s 36.
Post reply on HN