Post: #1

I feel like this warrants a new thread, as it is such an interesting topic that targets the highly educated, which I'm sure a few of us are. Trump has been pretty wishy-washy on H1B, and I see that Sessions is very against it.

So what is Trump planning on doing with Silicon Valley, since they are the ones who use H1B the most?

I'm pretty ambiguous on the topic because I think they're useful in drawing in good jobs and developing useful technology, but I see that they're all liberal idiots who "didn't write a concession speech".

However, I got nothing against smart Indians that come to the U.S., but perhaps Silicon Valley should start hiring from the European pool of talent and market that as LEGAL immigration to make them look good. Any ideas?

Post: #2

It's harder to get a good nationalist fervor over professional jobs being stolen by immigrants. Everyone feels sorry for the poor meth-addicts that got their precious McDonald's jobs stolen, but apparently if you're an engineer having your salary reduced to that of a teacher or social worker despite your job actually involving difficult thinking, then suddenly everyone's an open-borders, free-market libertarian.

Post: #3

The H1-B's in silicon valley, 2% of the total H1-B population, creating technology are a welcome group.

The H1-Bs scattered all over the country from the likes of Infosys, Cognizant, Tata, IBM, and noname third party are nothing but labor cost reductions. The only who benefit from such a situation are shareholders.

/thread-53250...pid1204090

Read this whole thread.

It isn't overtly stated but H1 reform will be coming. It is parasitic.

And I have to note, in my original post, I quoted 200K visas, its 65K H1-B's per year. When you factor in F1's, its gotten out of control.

Post: #4

I seriously hope Trump follows through with this. Everybody talks about factories moving to Mexico, jobs going overseas, etc. but when it comes to cheap tech and other white collar labor being artificially supplied here, we get the guilt trip and lectures about being bigots.

I don't begrudge an Indian H1B one bit for taking advantage of the program, I would do the same thing if I were in their shoes - their country is an incredibly difficult place to make money and much of it is a virtual pigsty with few ways out of poverty. But given the talent pool we already have in the US and what they are owed - some degree of loyalty by their own damned government, at least - the H1B program itself should not exist, period, at least not as currently used.

When the big companies - especially ones like Infosys - make the argument about not being able to find qualified people for jobs in tech in the US, then the people arriving under H1Bs to fill these roles have extremely thin backgrounds instead of the purported massive skill sets, something is seriously amiss.

I've personally caught one or two resumes of H1B workers with fake or exaggerated credentials during the course of my work without deliberately looking (I am not in HR). Cheating and other shortcuts are rampant on some certification tests and some people just flat out lie on their resumes - this is a very common problem even in India itself.

On balance though, these corporations realize even with a C average hire they can spend less, bill A level rates and, they reason, get by (mostly) with few major errors. The H1B tech workers are not always the ones generating the latest and greatest codes and solutions, but in the event that they do, because they are working in the US there is another benefit versus having them outsourced completely to overseas locations - intellectual property protections under US law.

If American tech companies moved their whole company to China or India, much of the jewels produced there would either get pirated or even legally copied with little to no recourse. By bringing the same cheap labor from offshore to onshore, the H1B program lets them have their cake and eat it too. It benefits nobody but the same disingenuous fat cats and it's all based on a lie. The H1B program needs to be stopped or severely restricted to what's actually not available, talent wise, in the US. Enough already.

Post: #5

I work in tech and IT.

This past year, i've watched several key teams I work closely with get laid off and replaced with cognizant IT workers. All the workers that replaced them were offshore IT workers.

The on shore ones were placed with indians on h1b visas doing the infamous"knowledge transfer" passover.

A few weeks ago, the offshore immigrant monster finally got me and I will be out of work in a few weeks. Thankfully, i don't have to train my replacement because i managed that team!

H1Bs are a pox on American tech workers and are the reason why my industry is getting decimated.

I voted Trump specifically for this reason. I hope he doesn't backtrack onhis campaign promises.

Every team that has replaced the former American one has been very poor. These indians aren't paid to think, they're paid to do processes. It's a pain in the ass because these guys face all sorts of problems and need someone paid to think to tell them what to do.

The offshore teams are good people and mean well, but the offshoring is atrocious and has put my project at risk (part of my argument to keep my job).

I frankly don't care that much and have employable skills, but it sucks for the most part.

Post: #6

I know H1B has been a scourge on the IT depts, but I have a feeling with the automation of a lot of the industries, that soft skills (Thanks Scott Adams) will play a huge part in the future development of these industries. But then again, it makes sense logically to hire someone who can do 3/5 of the correct work for 1/2 the salary.

So, perhaps the H1B should be limited to the greatest and the best from countries which have systems that can be vetted easily (Swiss, German, Swedish, etc.). It may lose them money in the short term but dammit if they hire from the better workforces they can change the market hotspots back to Silicon and NYC from Basel (pharma), Zurich (tech and finance) Frankfurt, (mostly finance) and London.

Post: #7

There is a simple solution to the H1B problem: set the minimum wage to 200K to get an H1B visa. Companies will pay that money and then some to bring geniuses from other countries.

Post: #8

^Great point. We need the top 1% from other countries.

I also think we should sell citizenship for 1 million / person straight to the US Treasury.

Anyone who has accumulated free capital to that level would be an asset to the country.

Post: #9

^ $200K is actually a pretty insane salary. Even $120K would probably do the trick.

As for selling citizenship, the US already does that.

http://www.theatlantic.com/business/arch...ip/406432/

And it's a really bad idea: think about countries like China where the corrupt can accumulate an enormous amount of cash. Or Dubai where people get oil checks for simply being born in the right family. Do you really want these people to become American citizens?

Post: #10

The H1B's never even go back after 6 years. A former co-worker told me how they get around it and can stay in the US indefinitely.

I hope Trump does something about it. A lot of the damage has already been done.

Post: #11

Isn't this thread a dupe? /thread-53250.html

Post: #12

It needs to be reformed. The 'lack of qualified applicants' is just an excuse to hire people from overseas and pay them less. They directly displace American workers and there are cases where the worker's being laid off have to embarrassingly train their replacements.

Some I've met are grateful, hard working people. I'd say around 25% fit this category. I have no issue with them whatsoever.

However, in my experience the most infuriating thing about the other 75% is lack of respect, anti-Americanism, and sheer arrogance in their 'abilities'.

Post: #13

Some companies like Tesla even use B2 (tourist, temporary) visas to bring in cheap labor - something expressly forbidden.

Quote:In the wake of the report, Eisenmann, a German manufacturer of industrial systems hired by Tesla, said it would investigate allegations that its subcontractor ISM Vuzem paid a workforce of about 140 Eastern European men substandard wages. It added that its contract with Vuzem explicitly stated a $55 hourly labor rate, the paper reported.

Lesnik sued Vuzem, Eisenmann and Tesla, claiming he and scores of other Eastern European workers were brought to the U.S. on questionable visas and paid substandard wages, the Mercury News reported.

Two other Vuzem workers interviewed said they received about $10 an hour to work at the plant, the paper reported. The men arrived with B1-B2 visas, which broadly ban hands-on construction work.

Stranger still is the relative ease at which a "tourist" can get a SSN and a job with nobody noticing:

This guy had and his wife were living in MD and working in a Dunkin Donuts. They were not the franchise owners, they were here on a Honeymoon Visa. Obviously, it doesn't require a special skill set or H1B to work a donut shop, but in spite of the alleged difficulties obtaining one, it doesn't seem too difficult to get a social security number and begin working while on a visa that isn't supposed to allow that.

There's $20,000 bucks in it for anybody who can find the dirtbag. "The Hunt with John Walsh" is making an episode about it, but there's a video here of how it went down.

How long were they in the country, how long did they work at a Dunkin Donuts, and how many opportunities presented themselves to nail either of them for overstaying a visa that isn't supposed to allow for working on a supposed honeymoon?

Trump would do well to put a stop to tall types of immigration and visa abuse while he has a chance.