4 ms·

But you can. The H1-B program is designed for all that. The sponsor has to prove they're paying market-ish rate (in practice it's at the low end of market, but

by neilk 11y ago

But you can. The H1-B program is designed for all that. The sponsor has to prove they're paying market-ish rate (in practice it's at the low end of market, but close enough). And the employee can quit and go to any company willing to file a little bit of paperwork. But that's IF you're the kind of worker the H1-B was designed to allow into the USA – someone highly skilled and in demand, with the cultural competence to navigate US society. The hordes of TATA people, I don't know. The real issue with the H-1B (in my opinion) is that you need to jump to a new employer very quickly if you quit. You can't quit a bad situation and then spend a couple of months trying to get a better one.

deleted 11y ago
[deleted]
ojbyrne 11y ago
More important than quitting, in my opinion (as an H1B) is the threat of getting fired.
- HarryHirsch 11y ago
  That, and the fact that the garden-variety employee cannot easily file for their green card. It's the employer who has to file for them, and with a switch of employment the green card process needs to start again. The green card queue for Indians and Chinese is long. The confluence of these issues encourages abuse.
- hwstar 11y ago
  H-1B coupled with employment at will is why companies prefer to import workers to the US instead of opening offices in the low wage countries.
throwaway11221 11y ago
It's still hard. I'm an H1B worker. I came to the US for my MBA (from a good school), graduated in the top 2% of my class with a 3.94 GPA. I got a job with a Fortune 150 company. My starting salary was 94K, and now I make more than 150K. All this happened in the last 4 years. I am not "cheap labor" and I don't work in IT. I am highly skilled (I'm a lawyer with an MBA - it's not all that common). I have an approved green card application. But - I'm from India, and there's a LONG line of people ahead of me waiting for green cards. It will take 5-7 years to get a green card. In the meanwhile, I have received job offers where I would get paid more - nearly 200K in one instance. But I'm unwilling to take those offers because it would mean restarting the green card process. There are ways to keep your spot in line, but they aren't foolproof, and for me, it's easier to stay with this company and hold onto my spot rather than take a higher paying job. So yes, even for people highly skilled and in demand, it's not easy to switch jobs. There are many factors that you have to look at, and it's stressful knowing that if you lose your job, you have days to find a new job - or else give up your life in the US and leave. I have been here for years, I have a house, cars, friends.. you can't easily just leave everything behind. The US needs to work on this issue. I agree that people shouldn't be losing their jobs to cheaper labor, but at the same time, what about highly skilled immigrants who want to contribute to the US economy and build a life here? The sword of Damocles hangs over our heads - lose your job and you have 10 days to find a new one, or get out. Doesn't matter if you've been here 10 years and have done everything you possibly could to be a good citizen.
- dominotw 11y ago
  I am curious if you have checked to see if you can qualify for O visa?
  - throwaway11221 11y ago
    Yes, I have checked. I don't think I do. O visas require clear proof of exceptional ability - and in my field, I'd have to show multiple international publications, awards won, a SJD, etc. O visas are easy to get if you're an author, celebrity, renowned professor, and so on. I'm not in that category. I have publications in international journals and corporate awards - but an O visa would be a stretch. It's easier for me to leave the US for a year, and come back and reapply under the EB1 classification, and this is something that I am seriously considering. It depends on what new rules the USCIS makes this year - and also on the outcome of the upcoming Presidential election.
    - neilk 11y ago
      Lots of people seem to be getting O visas anyway. I don't really know how, but ask a lawyer.
- hwstar 11y ago
  The elected federal government officials need campaign contributions to stay in office, and most campaign financing comes from the businesses. Until we curtail this, you will not see any meaningful reform to the H-1B visa.
  - winter_blue 11y ago
    Actually, I doubt restricting campaign spending by businesses will help the OP in his case. The OP was talking about how restrictive and capricious the skilled immigration laws were on him. A person elected by nativist populist voters will likely try to take away the OP's freedom (and ability to stay here), and make his life worse. One organization working for the OP's benefit, and the benefit of all skilled immigrants, as well the as the many undocumented is Fwd.us: http://www.fwd.us/ http://www.fwd.us/ They're funded by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. Just as a note, many of these people have signed the Giving Pledge, so they're not the evil billionaires people like to make them out to be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge Other pro-immigration organizations, like the Chamber of Commerce, are also funded by big businesses. The Koch brothers are pro-immigrant, and have said they support legalizing the 11-12 million undocumented here. There is a lot of broad support in the business sector for making our laws more immigrant-friendly. The OP's life would have been a lot better had the 2013 "Gang of 8" Senate immigration bill (S.744, 133th Congress) passed: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744 It would have made our immigration system a couple of order of magnitudes better, and made life for skilled immigrant especially better. It didn't pass, not because of business opposition to it, but because of right-wing tea-partyer grassroots nativist sentiment, and congressmen who were beholden to them.

by neilk 11y ago

deleted 11y ago

[deleted]

ojbyrne 11y ago

More important than quitting, in my opinion (as an H1B) is the threat of getting fired.

HarryHirsch 11y ago
That, and the fact that the garden-variety employee cannot easily file for their green card. It's the employer who has to file for them, and with a switch of employment the green card process needs to start again. The green card queue for Indians and Chinese is long. The confluence of these issues encourages abuse.
hwstar 11y ago
H-1B coupled with employment at will is why companies prefer to import workers to the US instead of opening offices in the low wage countries.

throwaway11221 11y ago

It's still hard. I'm an H1B worker. I came to the US for my MBA (from a good school), graduated in the top 2% of my class with a 3.94 GPA. I got a job with a Fortune 150 company. My starting salary was 94K, and now I make more than 150K. All this happened in the last 4 years. I am not "cheap labor" and I don't work in IT. I am highly skilled (I'm a lawyer with an MBA - it's not all that common). I have an approved green card application. But - I'm from India, and there's a LONG line of people ahead of me waiting for green cards. It will take 5-7 years to get a green card. In the meanwhile, I have received job offers where I would get paid more - nearly 200K in one instance. But I'm unwilling to take those offers because it would mean restarting the green card process. There are ways to keep your spot in line, but they aren't foolproof, and for me, it's easier to stay with this company and hold onto my spot rather than take a higher paying job. So yes, even for people highly skilled and in demand, it's not easy to switch jobs. There are many factors that you have to look at, and it's stressful knowing that if you lose your job, you have days to find a new job - or else give up your life in the US and leave. I have been here for years, I have a house, cars, friends.. you can't easily just leave everything behind. The US needs to work on this issue. I agree that people shouldn't be losing their jobs to cheaper labor, but at the same time, what about highly skilled immigrants who want to contribute to the US economy and build a life here? The sword of Damocles hangs over our heads - lose your job and you have 10 days to find a new one, or get out. Doesn't matter if you've been here 10 years and have done everything you possibly could to be a good citizen.

dominotw 11y ago
I am curious if you have checked to see if you can qualify for O visa?
- throwaway11221 11y ago
  Yes, I have checked. I don't think I do. O visas require clear proof of exceptional ability - and in my field, I'd have to show multiple international publications, awards won, a SJD, etc. O visas are easy to get if you're an author, celebrity, renowned professor, and so on. I'm not in that category. I have publications in international journals and corporate awards - but an O visa would be a stretch. It's easier for me to leave the US for a year, and come back and reapply under the EB1 classification, and this is something that I am seriously considering. It depends on what new rules the USCIS makes this year - and also on the outcome of the upcoming Presidential election.
  - neilk 11y ago
    Lots of people seem to be getting O visas anyway. I don't really know how, but ask a lawyer.
hwstar 11y ago
The elected federal government officials need campaign contributions to stay in office, and most campaign financing comes from the businesses. Until we curtail this, you will not see any meaningful reform to the H-1B visa.
- winter_blue 11y ago
  Actually, I doubt restricting campaign spending by businesses will help the OP in his case. The OP was talking about how restrictive and capricious the skilled immigration laws were on him. A person elected by nativist populist voters will likely try to take away the OP's freedom (and ability to stay here), and make his life worse. One organization working for the OP's benefit, and the benefit of all skilled immigrants, as well the as the many undocumented is Fwd.us: http://www.fwd.us/ http://www.fwd.us/ They're funded by Bill Gates, Mark Zuckerberg, etc. Just as a note, many of these people have signed the Giving Pledge, so they're not the evil billionaires people like to make them out to be: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Giving_Pledge Other pro-immigration organizations, like the Chamber of Commerce, are also funded by big businesses. The Koch brothers are pro-immigrant, and have said they support legalizing the 11-12 million undocumented here. There is a lot of broad support in the business sector for making our laws more immigrant-friendly. The OP's life would have been a lot better had the 2013 "Gang of 8" Senate immigration bill (S.744, 133th Congress) passed: https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744 https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/113/s744 It would have made our immigration system a couple of order of magnitudes better, and made life for skilled immigrant especially better. It didn't pass, not because of business opposition to it, but because of right-wing tea-partyer grassroots nativist sentiment, and congressmen who were beholden to them.