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Updates to H-1B

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Re: Updates to H-1B

#631

Post by mlinhares »

janalsncm wrote: post #584
aprilthird2021 wrote: post #526

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In general, H1B visas do have such provisions. At least in CA most jobs must provide a salary range. Even if every H1B is the lowest of the range in those postings, that alone means there are many many jobs which fit your criteria.

The ranges are way too low then. I checked H1B salaries and I found the following in San Jose (median rent approx $2200 for 1BR): FLEXON TECHNOLOGIES INC Database analyst: $60k DATA TRACE INFORMATION SERVICES LLC Software engineer: $65k PRIMARIUS TECHNOLOGIES US LLC DATA ANALYST $72k ZOOM VIDEO COMMUNICATIONS INC AI SCIENTIST $74k HBI SOLUTIONS INC DATABASE ADMINISTRATOR $75k BEACONFIRE STAFFING SOLUTIONS INC COMPUTE…

The good ones do and use this as a way to get through the door.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#632

Post by [deleted] »

seanmcdirmid wrote: post #574
biztos wrote: post #535

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Not to pile on, but if linear algebra is really a part of the day-to-day job and not some manager’s mistaken idea of a proxy for more general talent, then you’re hiring specialists and the pool will not be that large. People who remember all their math and enjoy it and can also code, are also very employable at all the AI companies and departments, including at Meta. And how do you know if someone’s eligible for secu…

Isn’t linear algebra heavily used in machine learning and computer graphics (not just know it, but be able to wield it proficiently)? So ya, the talent probably exists, but they hit the “these engineers are making half a million a year to do something else” problem.

[deleted]

Re: Updates to H-1B

#633

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

yodsanklai wrote: post #307
toomuchtodo wrote: post #168

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 is a shortage of applicants willing to work at what companies want to pay If you want the best candidates, it makes sense to have a wider pool of recruitment.

They're not hiring "the best". They want compliant serfs who are trapped with the promise of a greencard sponsorship someday.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#634

Post by ponty_rick »

tokioyoyo wrote: post #324
FL33TW00D wrote: post #208

Surprised by all the negativity here. The USA benefits enormously from skilled immigration: "doubling the size of the US H1B visa program increases US and EU growth by 4% in the long-run" From a recent paper here: https://academic.oup.com/qje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10...

It’s a slowdown in tech recruitment, so it is fair for citizens to think for themselves first. There are quite a lot of candidates that can fulfill most of the roles, and it has bad optics when the government tries to prioritize others. Disclaimer: I don’t live in the states, but I can understand the frustration.

That would work in the short term. In the long term, jobs would leave the USA so companies won't have to deal with immigration uncertainties.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#635

Post by hx8 »

tokioyoyo wrote: post #324
FL33TW00D wrote: post #208

Surprised by all the negativity here. The USA benefits enormously from skilled immigration: "doubling the size of the US H1B visa program increases US and EU growth by 4% in the long-run" From a recent paper here: https://academic.oup.com/qje/advance-article-abstract/doi/10...

It’s a slowdown in tech recruitment, so it is fair for citizens to think for themselves first. There are quite a lot of candidates that can fulfill most of the roles, and it has bad optics when the government tries to prioritize others. Disclaimer: I don’t live in the states, but I can understand the frustration.

Tech isn't a zero sum game, it's a growth market. If some H-1B talent helps grow a company faster, then they can increase their own citizen employee count faster.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#637

Post by dragonwriter »

cheriot wrote: post #441
asoneth wrote: post #336

I wonder if switching from a lottery to an auction would help curtail some of the abuse? That is, for each position a company wants to fill with a non-citizen they also have to bid on the visa fee they're willing to pay. The highest ~7,000 bids that month are accepted and paid to the government in exchange for a visa. We could debate things like sealed-bid versus open auction and uniform-price versus paying your bid…

This is the simplest way to improve the H1-B system!

The simplest way to improve the H-1B system is to abolish it.

The better but slightly less simple way is to abolish it (and a bunch of other employment-related visa categories), but also allow individuals who aren’t personally barred from entry because of past misconduct, etc., but who are not eligible (or wish to bypass wait times) for admission under other existing visa categories to pay an fee (which others, including employers, can subsidize if they wish, but gain no special power over future status by so doing) for a limited term, renewable employment-eligible status that becomes eligible to transition to permanent residency automatically after a set time in status. (This also fixes a number of other problems in the immigration system beyond the H-1B.)

Re: Updates to H-1B

#638

Post by pixl97 »

tgma wrote: post #502
scarface_74 wrote: post #492

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There are 4.8 million developers in the US most of them are not making Meta salaries and I would say that 80% will never see 200K inflation adjusted in thier lives. Instead of going to levels.fyi go to salary.com and choose any major city in the US that is not on the west coast. No most developers don’t get RSUs or anything else aside from their salaries and maybe a bonus. And before someone replies that I’m “bitter”…

You are actually proving my point. If there are 4.8 million developers who are not commanding Meta salaries, and they "pay well" it should be fairly straightforward to get labor. It's simple: the more picky you are the more you will have to pay. The GP admitted the upper bound of Meta, which is a company that is sustainably operating in the same country. If you cannot compete in a labor market, either raise your prod…

I think the other part of the problem is no one in software wants to work in Huntsville.

There are numerous reasons why AL sucks.

Re: Updates to H-1B

#639

Post by inamberclad »

snakeyjake wrote: post #342
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.

My employer cannot hire H-1Bs. You must be a US citizen to work for my company. No "US Persons" (visa holders) or foreigners allowed. You have to be eligible for a Secret security clearance. You don't have to get one if you don't want to as there is usually plenty of uncleared work to go around, but you have to be eligible in case that goes away and we need to put you in for a clearance. We cannot find qualified appl…

Ball?

Re: Updates to H-1B

#640

Post by bradlys »

JackYoustra wrote: post #618
sfblah wrote: post #578

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm in favor of immigration generally, but I actually agree with the cultural argument here. The toxic culture really shows up in interviewing. Recently I've repeatedly had to deal with interviewees obviously cheating with AI tools. Also, while I agree that folks on H-1 visas are around the same qualification-wise as citizens, I also agree that their primary interest is always their visa, not doing a good job as an e…

Yeah, I think that the solution here is to make the visa easier though? If they don't worry about it then they won't be so focused on it.

I don't know what the solution is but I don't feel like making it easier is going to be helping either. I'm not entirely sure if this toxic culture would go away as soon as people have green cards. After all, this culture is alive and well in the countries these people are from.

The bad culture isn't just due to being locked into a job or it being hard to get a new job. It is a core component of their belief system. I see this as soon as people from these places get promoted to a manager - they literally turn into the thing they hated the most on the first day! It seems to me to be completely cultural.

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