6 ms·

IT services aren't STEM. The wage collusion scandal happened at a time where yearly H-1B quotas were typically not met! (Edit: I'm wrong, they were met, but mu

IT services aren't STEM. The wage collusion scandal happened at a time where yearly H-1B quotas were typically not met! (Edit: I'm wrong, they were met, but much more slowly than they are today, no lottery needed back then). Today there's roughly 4 times more applications than visas delivered through the lottery, and the wages in tech have never been so high. If you get screwed by your employer within the framework of labor laws, don't blame it on immigration.

anjc 10y ago
Would that not demonstrate the point then? You're saying wages aren't stagnant anymore, occurring at a time when the demand for workers has finally outstripped supply because not enough visas are issued. So don't blame it on immigration now, fine. But if issuances of visas increase then you're back in the <2012 situation of stagnant or decreasing wages due to the availability of cheaper workers. So can you then blame stagnant industry wages on immigration? Displacement of indigenous workers is also a major issue. By the way, I wasn't trying to "blame it on immigration", my ire is solely directed at corporate lobbying for public policy, given that their sole motivation is an increase of private profits regardless of the socioeconomic side-effects. It should not be allowed.
- hocuspocus 10y ago
  I think it demonstrates there's hardly any correlation between STEM wages and H-1B abuse. I'm all for fewer visas delivered to IT consulting firms, but I don't see not much of an intersection between this issue and stagnating wages in the tech industry. A reform of the H-1 would be nice but it should try to give a chance to small startups as well, not just hand over visas to the handful of companies that pay engineers over $250k. The current lottery is silly but at least it's unfair to everyone equally :)

6 ms·

IT services aren't STEM. The wage collusion scandal happened at a time where yearly H-1B quotas were typically not met! (Edit: I'm wrong, they were met, but mu

by hocuspocus 10y ago

anjc 10y ago
Would that not demonstrate the point then? You're saying wages aren't stagnant anymore, occurring at a time when the demand for workers has finally outstripped supply because not enough visas are issued. So don't blame it on immigration now, fine. But if issuances of visas increase then you're back in the <2012 situation of stagnant or decreasing wages due to the availability of cheaper workers. So can you then blame stagnant industry wages on immigration? Displacement of indigenous workers is also a major issue. By the way, I wasn't trying to "blame it on immigration", my ire is solely directed at corporate lobbying for public policy, given that their sole motivation is an increase of private profits regardless of the socioeconomic side-effects. It should not be allowed.
- hocuspocus 10y ago
  I think it demonstrates there's hardly any correlation between STEM wages and H-1B abuse. I'm all for fewer visas delivered to IT consulting firms, but I don't see not much of an intersection between this issue and stagnating wages in the tech industry. A reform of the H-1 would be nice but it should try to give a chance to small startups as well, not just hand over visas to the handful of companies that pay engineers over $250k. The current lottery is silly but at least it's unfair to everyone equally :)