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H-1B Employer Data Hub

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Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#71

Post by munk-a »

yardie wrote: post #70
munk-a wrote: post #61

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I'm sorry for your situation. Life already has enough complications - immigration doesn't need to help supply more issues.

Hopefully it all works out!

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#72

Post by captainredbeard »

int_19h wrote: post #28
captainredbeard wrote: post #22

Earlier quoted context omitted.

It's surprising that so many visas are allocated to non-immediate family members. That article states over twice as many are allowed vs. employment visas.

It's a quirk of the American immigration system in general - it's tilted towards family migration more so than skilled migration, especially in contrast to pretty much all other developed countries.

Sounds like a quirk we should correct.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#73

Post by throwawayjava »

devoply wrote: post #62
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.

I can't speak for every role, but I've worked with a lot of H1B holders in not-entry-but-not-senior positions (think $300K+ but not $500K+).

I can't think of a single case where there would be an "obvious" replacement for that person -- not just in the US, but anywhere in the world. In fact, most of those H1Bs I've worked with eventually end up switching to the O1 anyways (for reference, very few SWEs -- even at FAANGs -- would quality for the O1).

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#74

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

throwawayjava wrote: post #73
devoply wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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.

I can't speak for every role, but I've worked with a lot of H1B holders in not-entry-but-not-senior positions (think $300K+ but not $500K+). I can't think of a single case where there would be an "obvious" replacement for that person -- not just in the US, but anywhere in the world. In fact, most of those H1Bs I've worked with eventually end up switching to the O1 anyways (for reference, very few SWEs -- even at FAAN…

For every guest worker who meets the program's purpose there's 100 more working for the minimum salary in a position that was crafted to turn away domestic applicants.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#75

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

outworlder wrote: post #65
redindian75 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>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.

Requirements: Minimal front end skills and fluent in Hindi.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#76

Post by kevin_thibedeau »

omegaworks wrote: post #17
holy_city wrote: post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Speaking anecdotally (which maybe the dataset backs up?) - yes. Immigration bureaucracy has slowed to a crawl, processes that used to take 6 weeks are now taking 6 months. It's unfortunate, since the news only talks about the administration's policies on undocumented immigrants and asylum seekers, not how the administration is dragging their feet on _all_ immigration processes. It's just not worth it to sponsor an H-…

For this reason it's critically important to push back when this administration claims to only care about illegality . They are slow walking all immigrants, focusing the brunt of their enforcement activity on black and brown folks, up to and including turning people away from self-deportation processes if they present as white. It is a coordinated effort to delay demographic shifts.

The US has no obligation to provide benefits and services to non-citizens. If the guest worker program wasn't being horribly abused it would be worthwhile. As it stands, H1-B needs a wholesale revision to serve its stated goals.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#77

Post by rtpg »

devoply wrote: post #62
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.

If it were a money game they wouldn't be hiring a bunch of people in the most expensive part of the world to pay them huge salaries, they would just base everything in other countries.

Maybe it's just that they want to recruit good people and some good people just happen to live outside the US?

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#78

Post by tholman »

outworlder wrote: post #68
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 ?

> 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 worki…

The Green Card process has definitely slowed down. I recently physically lost mine (with my whole wallet) and the process to get a second card printed, again, I've been approved and had it for years... is 2 to 13 (not a typo) months. Stuck, unable to leave the country until then, lest they not let me back in again.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#79

Post by anonu »

Maybe this can help someone:

There is a total of 85,000 new H-1B visa numbers released each US Fiscal Year, with the FY2020 beginning as of October 1, 2019.

Out of 85,000 new H-1B visa numbers, 20,000 are set aside for individuals that graduated with a Masters or equivalent (or higher) degree here in the U.S., provided the university wasn’t a for-profit entity.

There is high demand for new numbers and USCIS typically receives 190K+ cases the first week of the season (ie: April 1, 2019). Thus, each year USCIS conducts a lottery to decide which of the cases will be processed .

The H-1B Cap lottery first step is to decide which cases will be selected for the regular 65,000 numbers - then the lottery for the 20,000 US Advanced Degree H-1B cap being conducted after.

Re: H-1B Employer Data Hub

#80

Post by throwawaymjabba »

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 ?

I did. I threw away everything and came back to India within the last 6 months.

I was in US for 6.5 years working for an Indian company. My employer filed for my green card and it got denied in the first step (see 1 below). Employer appealed and it got approved after 3-4 months. Completed 2nd stage without issues and filed for visa extension. Got RFE from USCIS (see 2 below). Instead of 15 days, it got delayed for another 3.5 months. I couldn't renew my driving license since my previous visa expired by now (see 3 below) and had to rely on Uber/Lyft for 3 months. Finally got my visa approved for 3 more years.

I had enough of this process by now. Even before the green card application denial, I had a tough time living in US (see 4 below). H1B people (who did everything by the book) were always scared to go back to India ever since Trump came to power. There were stories of people going to India for vacation and then can't come back, being grilled at port of entry in US airports for 1 hour before they let you in etc. Thankfully, I never experienced any of that expect for the 'random' checks from TSA which always used to happen to me.

I stayed in US for 1 more month after my visa extension got approved. I gave a 2 weeks notice to my employer, ended up working for another 1-2 weeks while my customer tried in vain for options to allow me work from India, packed up everything and came back. The pain stopped just like that. I am yet to experience it even though life in India is harder than in US and I haven't even started looking for a job yet.

Notes:

1. Green card usually has 3 steps I believe, first 2 gets completed in 1 year or so, 3rd stage gets completed after 10-20 years for Indians. If some reports are to be believed, it takes 150 years for eb2 and 50 years for eb3 Indians. Once we complete 6 years on h1b, we have to file for a green card if we wish to continue in US. Once the first 2 stages of GC are approved, we can apply for visa extension.

2. Request for Extension is when USCIS asks for more evidence to show that I am in speciality occupation. In my case, the document I received from USCIS looked like a copy paste. They had my employer name as one of Target/Walmart/Home Depot/Bed Bath & Beyond. They wanted me to prove that my work require a bachelors degree. It was a given that if you are an Indian working for an Indian company, you get an RFE during 2017-2018.

3. We are allowed to work for upto 240 days (forgot actual number) while an application for visa extension is pending. Driving license in some states is tied to visa with a max of 2 years. It is strange that the state government wouldn't let me drive, but continued to tax me even for the income I earned in India during this period. My employer paid for my Uber, but I hated it. I was like that lady in a Black Mirror episode where everyone gets a rating and trying too hard to please others. I especially hated the need for small talk because I was really miserable. I got so upset when my rating went down the first time (most likely because I told the driver I would tip in app after seeing his note that he accepts tip with a tip jar and some cash), I wrote to Uber customer care asking for refund of the tip which they did! My rating dropped from 4.9 to 4.74 during the first 2 weeks and then came back up to 4.9 once I started tipping in cash.

4. I still don't know what was the psychology behind me wanting to go back to India. I experienced a lot of emotional pain pretty much every day from the 2nd or 3rd year. I used to drive to work with tears in my eyes. At some point, I noticed that I get tears automatically while I am waiting at a particular traffic signal or if I walk through a particular office entrance. Those tears stopped when I took a different route or entrance! I think this whole emotional pain thing probably has a lot to do with

a. being alone in a foreign country

b. the feeling that I had no control over my life because of h1b

c. the hate I used to see for h1bs in Reddit and comment sections of some news sites

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