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H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

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Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#3
As a current H-1B applicant who received RFE to prove 'specialty occupation', this is giving me anxiety. All my friends in the same company with exact same role, level and education got their H-1B visa last month or so and I'm still waiting for a response to my RFE. Eh, at least I still have my OPT STEM...

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#4
Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this.

Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap.

They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the process.

a) outsourcing firms that are just numbers game body shop mills.

b) set a minimum comp for the jobs that is reasonable (but include retirement and other benefits in calc).

c) allow all employers one applicant before awarding more slots, so the body shop mills have to compete with small business who have real jobs for real people and are not just playing percentage games (100K applications with 5k actual jobs available).

I'm a HUGE fan of lots of immigration - but saying H1B is highly specialized for real jobs, then having the body shop mills apply for 100K slots (they don't have those jobs), so they can dominate the selections and then profit off the salary / visa arbitrage is disgusting for all involved. And yes, I sign real applications that never get selected (and am willing to pay well over Level 1 and Level 2 wages).

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#5

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

The simple solution is to give every h1b worker a temporary green card or somehow allow them free mobility of work within the United states. Being allowed to move jobs at will, vs being beholden to the hiring companies for sponsorship, will quickly kill these body shops and also let us know if tech firms really are being honest about a shortage of skilled engineers.

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#6

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

> c) allow all employers one applicant before awarding more slots, so the body shop mills have to compete with small business who have real jobs for real people and are not just playing percentage games (100K applications with 5k actual jobs available).

Won't that just mean the body shops create 100K subsidiaries?

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#7

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

The simple solution is to give every h1b worker a temporary green card or somehow allow them free mobility of work within the United states. Being allowed to move jobs at will, vs being beholden to the hiring companies for sponsorship, will quickly kill these body shops and also let us know if tech firms really are being honest about a shortage of skilled engineers.

Would never happen.

Too many people benefit from having a slave that can't leave their job without getting deported.

> shortage of skilled engineers

...at peanut pricing.

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#8

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

> b) set a minimum comp for the jobs that is reasonable.

Indeed. What the H1-B program should look is for workers paying taxes. I'd grant them from top to bottom until equilibrium. Except for a very small set of specific professions needed and still not making it (perhaps healthcare or education). US doesn't need QA analysts or consultants.

Note: I'm not from US.

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#9

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

The less developed and unsafe the applicant's home country is, the less just the H1B model is. H1B employees are worked like animals under the threat of being sent back or replaced and losing their visa. It's an awful system in general. If we want skilled workers, they should be given a green card and the ability to find work wherever they want and quit whenever they want. Holding their visa over their head via their job is evil.

Re: H-1B: Federal judge backs government’s narrower view of ‘specialty occupation’

#10

Ugh, these cases give H1B's a bad name. I do wish there was crackdown on crap like this. Where I work the H1B applicants (who don't get selected) have masters, from a US university, for a degree that applies specifically to their job. These folks should be on the red carpet to US citizenship. They have checked every box. Instead they get treated like crap. They should SHUT DOWN these other players who clog up the pro…

There should be only one parameter that governs the eligibility to specialist visas: the ability to earn a high wage. Companies should bid directly with the salary, and the top X offers get a Visa; the candidate is free to change jobs but is required to maintain within that wage band for the duration of the visa, outside exceptional situations.

Any other mechanism affords the opportunity for arbitrage, bureaucracy, legal leeches specialized in exploiting the process etc.

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