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A special pool for startups would be nice too, with less costs/requirements. That's a pretty huge caveat, given that the industry has no definition for what a

by untog 11y ago

A special pool for startups would be nice too, with less costs/requirements. That's a pretty huge caveat, given that the industry has no definition for what a startup even is. That's the problem with the idea of auctioning off H1Bs, as far as I can see it - startups would suffer. It also turns the H1B visa into a visa for people of extra special talent, and the O1 visa already exists for that.

lhc- 11y ago
To be fair, H1Bs are already only supposed to be used in the case where you can't find an American for the job, which already suggests the visa holder should have some extra special talent because they can do a job no American can.
- volkadav 11y ago
  Supposed to, sure. The majority of them I've worked with have been nothing special, however. They could hack java or perl or whatever with varying degrees of ability, but none of them have been so extraordinary that I can't imagine finding an equivalently good US citizen. It seems like the truly extraordinary talent would be here on an E or O visa anyway, not H1-B.
- sveiss 11y ago
  That's not a general requirement for H-1B. (It is a requirement for EB-2, which is the immigration category for a permanent worker with a degree, versus a temporary H-1B worker). For "H-1B dependent employers and willful violator employers", there is a requirement to "not displace any similarly employed U.S. worker" and to "recruit U.S. workers for the job for which the alien worker is sought, at wages at least equal to those offered to the H-1B worker". That doesn't apply to normal H-1B applications. (From http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/h1b.htm http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/h1b.htm .)
fredophile 11y ago
How would startups suffer? The stated purpose of the H1B visa is to fill in for labour shortages. If there is a labour shortage you would expect costs (salaries) to rise. Basing the visas on salary should help to identify and target areas where labour shortages actually exist. Bringing more workers in should make all workers in the field cheaper than they would be if you didn't bring in the extra workers. This should benefit startups even if they don't hire H1Bs. Also, the current system isn't great for startups. There are far more H1B applicants than there are visas. There are a few large companies that bring in the majority of H1Bs. These large companies can afford to apply for thousands of H1Bs knowing that only 50% or less will be approved. A startup hiring a handful of people can't afford to put in the application for a handful of people knowing that there is a very real chance that none of them will be approved. Even if they are approved, applications need to be in several months before the visa is issued. How many startups are hiring in March for a position they won't need to fill until October?

by untog 11y ago

lhc- 11y ago

To be fair, H1Bs are already only supposed to be used in the case where you can't find an American for the job, which already suggests the visa holder should have some extra special talent because they can do a job no American can.

volkadav 11y ago
Supposed to, sure. The majority of them I've worked with have been nothing special, however. They could hack java or perl or whatever with varying degrees of ability, but none of them have been so extraordinary that I can't imagine finding an equivalently good US citizen. It seems like the truly extraordinary talent would be here on an E or O visa anyway, not H1-B.
sveiss 11y ago
That's not a general requirement for H-1B. (It is a requirement for EB-2, which is the immigration category for a permanent worker with a degree, versus a temporary H-1B worker). For "H-1B dependent employers and willful violator employers", there is a requirement to "not displace any similarly employed U.S. worker" and to "recruit U.S. workers for the job for which the alien worker is sought, at wages at least equal to those offered to the H-1B worker". That doesn't apply to normal H-1B applications. (From http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/h1b.htm http://webapps.dol.gov/elaws/elg/h1b.htm .)

fredophile 11y ago

How would startups suffer? The stated purpose of the H1B visa is to fill in for labour shortages. If there is a labour shortage you would expect costs (salaries) to rise. Basing the visas on salary should help to identify and target areas where labour shortages actually exist. Bringing more workers in should make all workers in the field cheaper than they would be if you didn't bring in the extra workers. This should benefit startups even if they don't hire H1Bs. Also, the current system isn't great for startups. There are far more H1B applicants than there are visas. There are a few large companies that bring in the majority of H1Bs. These large companies can afford to apply for thousands of H1Bs knowing that only 50% or less will be approved. A startup hiring a handful of people can't afford to put in the application for a handful of people knowing that there is a very real chance that none of them will be approved. Even if they are approved, applications need to be in several months before the visa is issued. How many startups are hiring in March for a position they won't need to fill until October?