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USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

uscis.gov

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Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#71

Post by gusmd »

I'm one of those 233k this year. Was an intern with a J1 a couple years ago, came back to my country to finish grad school, and my former employer wants to hire me back.

From what I've been researching, there are several of these so-called "consultancies" that hire mostly Indian guys (please don't take it personally, no offence intended), fake their resumes, and give them shitty life conditions in the US. Lots of people also pay for these consultancies to apply for them with fake jobs as to increase their chances in the lottery.

Its a shame that us with real, good-paying jobs have to go through that. I'm being hired because they cannot find someone in the US to fill this spot and because they already know me and think I'm a good fit for the company.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#72

Post by gusmd »

JOnAgain wrote: post #43

IMHO, fix this by replacing the 'random' with 'highest salary' (or total comp). Just go down from the top. - It would alleviate (though probably not solve) the downward pressure on salaries. - It would ensure that companies are well motivated to find domestic workers since they would, theoretically, be cheaper. - It would ensure that H-1B's go to the people who would add the most value to the economy (or else the com…

Good point, I have given that some thought too. Besides the problems already cited in the other comments, another problem is that smaller companies trying to grow might have a competitive disadvantage because of the upward pressure on the salaries.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#73

Post by cplease »

Someone1234 wrote: post #64
Joky wrote: post #53

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're not completely powerless compared to others: you can marry your girlfriend ;)

OP if you read this, if you decide to get married, you REALLY need to do it before your visa expires (by as much as possible). If you do it after you'll technically be in the country illegally and they will reject your marriage visa automatically (i.e. you'll have to go home to apply for your marriage visa, they won't even accept your application while you're still illegally in the US). It may already be too late to…

Hey armchair lawyer, you're wrong. You can apply for adjustment of status immediately after exchanging vows. This gives you an independent legal immigration status while the application is adjudicated; "pending adjustment." Unless you are already in removal, you're good to go. Even if you are already in removal, if you haven't actually been deported, then you can make the same application for adjustment directly to the immigration judge.

And as long as you entered the country legally (e.g. not without inspection or fraudulently), simply having being out of status is forgiven when sponsored by a US spouse, so long as there are no other bars to the application.

That said, going out of status is never a good idea. But as long as you apply while you have a valid immigration status, there is no out-of-status time period.

Anyway, OP would be advised to consult with a qualified immigration attorney rather than HN commenters.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#74

Post by deskamess »

hbharadwaj wrote: post #67
scythe wrote: post #56

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think this hits a snag (as do many income-based schemes) when you consider the effect of region. This results in lots of H1-Bs going to San Francisco, and almost none to Atlanta, because salaries for the same position are twice as high in San Francisco.

You could try and maybe normalize salaries based on the location I guess, but this also hits a snag when you take into account occupation. Some occupations generally pay lesser than others. Do they then not warrant H1Bs? Don't think so.

If an occupation has a lower salary, then perhaps its time for the occupation to pay more to attract local candidates. Otherwise the H-1B is being used to suppress wages.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#75

Post by gusmd »

borrowedhour wrote: post #27

When do they reach out to people if their application has been selected in the lottery or not?

My company's lawyer says that premium processing applicants receive their confirmation e-mail in the next few weeks IF they were selected. Regular processing should be notified by post late May/early June.

edit: typo

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#76

Post by cplease »

gusmd wrote: post #72
JOnAgain wrote: post #43

IMHO, fix this by replacing the 'random' with 'highest salary' (or total comp). Just go down from the top. - It would alleviate (though probably not solve) the downward pressure on salaries. - It would ensure that companies are well motivated to find domestic workers since they would, theoretically, be cheaper. - It would ensure that H-1B's go to the people who would add the most value to the economy (or else the com…

Good point, I have given that some thought too. Besides the problems already cited in the other comments, another problem is that smaller companies trying to grow might have a competitive disadvantage because of the upward pressure on the salaries.

I fail to see the problem here under this proposal. Small companies can buy the same talent at the same price, whether it's domestically or abroad.

You seem to be arguing that small companies should have special dispensation versus large companies to circumvent immigration laws in order to lower their labor costs.

If you think small companies have a thumb on the scale, then give them a thumb on the scale. e.g. special tax incentives for hiring. And in fact small businesses do get thumbs on the scale from the government all the time. e.g. government solicitations favoring (by mandate) small and minority or female-owned businesses, SBA loans, etc. If you think they should get more, by all means argue that, but why at the expense of the US labor force?

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#77

Post by cplease »

nabucodonosor wrote: post #58

The worse part is that there are a lot of applicants filing multiple applications. They pay some agencies just to file H1B applications for them. This itself is against H1B application policy. There is an ongoing petition trying to get government's attentions: https://petitions.whitehouse.gov//petition/remove-and-ban-ch...

Multiple petitions with multiple legitimate sponsors is not actually disallowed. That being said, there are few situations where a legitimate sponsor would be on-board with an applicant simultaneously filing another petition. I'm not sure if an applicant is legally (as opposed to morally) required to disclose this to sponsors. It is certainly abused all the time.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#78

Post by kghose »

Synroc wrote: post #46

I'm originally from France, came to the U.S. for undergraduate studies in 2010. My first year here, I fell in love and started dating an American student, and have been dating her ever since. Similarly, I fell in love with the United States, and wish to spend my life here. Currently, I am currently on OPT, applied for the H1-B process this year with my great SF company, and now am waiting to hear back about my 28% ch…

1. You can apply for permanent residency under the extraordinary individual or highly qualified individual (if you have a specialty profession e.g. STEM)

2. Academic and non-profit jobs don't have a cap. You could take such a position and then apply for permanent residency.

3. You can apply for the green card lottery (I'm assuming you are born in France).

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#79

Post by discardorama »

Joky wrote: post #53
Synroc wrote: post #46

I'm originally from France, came to the U.S. for undergraduate studies in 2010. My first year here, I fell in love and started dating an American student, and have been dating her ever since. Similarly, I fell in love with the United States, and wish to spend my life here. Currently, I am currently on OPT, applied for the H1-B process this year with my great SF company, and now am waiting to hear back about my 28% ch…

You're not completely powerless compared to others: you can marry your girlfriend ;)

I knew it! This H1-B shortage is a conspiracy by hot American chicks to enslave foreign engineers!!

Just kidding, of course. But I do like @JOnAgain's suggestion of biasing the lottery by the salary. Of course it'll never happen, because that's our current political situation (we're still arguing over the perennial topics of abortion, guns, drugs, etc.). However, it may be biased against small, lean startups who can't afford to pay as much as Google or FB.

Re: USCIS Completes the H-1B Cap Random Selection Process for FY 2016

#80

Post by jedmeyers »

fernandotakai wrote: post #55
jedmeyers wrote: post #31

Earlier quoted context omitted.

My guess is that so called 'Indian consultancies' are filing 2-3 times more H1B applications than they would reasonably need in order to receive as much actual visas as they can.

is there any cap on how many visas one single company can apply to?

No. And here, as an example, is the breakdown of visas issued per company for 2013:

  Rank  H1B Visa Sponsor           Number of LCA     Average Salary
  1     Infosys                    16,397            $75,154
  2     Wipro                      7,178             $76,920
  3     Tata Consultancy Services  6,732             $64,350
  4     IBM                        6,502             $83,883
  5     Deloitte Consulting        4,727             $98,264
  6     Microsoft                  4,075             $109,546
  7     Larsen & Toubro Infotech   3,793             $59,408
  8     Accenture                  2,653             $72,704
  9     Ernst & Young              2,353             $86,380
  10    Satyam Computer Services   2,310             $70,495
http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2013-H1B-Visa-Sponsor.aspx

*updated table formatting

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