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I believe the proposed solution to the H1B issue was to simply increase the minimum wage for H1B's to $140k. If a company is bringing over top-talent that is i

I believe the proposed solution to the H1B issue was to simply increase the minimum wage for H1B's to $140k. If a company is bringing over top-talent that is irreplaceable; surely that salary is justified. Otherwise, they probably don't need you as bad as they say they do.

mywittyname 10y ago
Raising wages combats the symptoms (wage depression) but not the cause (lack of mobility). The only way to truly solve the issue is to tie the H1B to the person and let them work freely in the US after a short time.
- chrishacken 10y ago
  How would that solve the symptoms? And why is that the cause? I think the actual issue is that there aren't enough top-talent individuals in the country already; meaning the real cause is actually our broken education system. Opening the flood gates might solve the issues of select individuals and some companies, but it doesn't solve wage depression.
  - mywittyname 10y ago
    Most people in the industry believe that the best way to increase your income is to change jobs. How often would you change jobs if failing to secure a position resulted in your near-immediate ejection from the country? Probably not often, and that's the situation that many H1B workers are in. The general belief is that H1B workers are underpaid because they have less flexibility in the labor market. While they can move jobs, it's somewhat tedious and requires both companies to work together to make the transition. It's not impossible, but it's certainly not easy. If there were less friction involved with moving jobs, people on H1B could shop around for a better positions without worrying about their residency should things go wrong.
garyfirestorm 10y ago
140k might sound great in silicon valley. its enormous amount of money for a place like detroit. i am sure they will pay some of the people that sort of money to keep them here. but think about all others who will go back to their own countries and create new startups that will compete with the US industry.[1] [1]http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/02/news/india/snapdeal-india-kunal-bahl-h1b-visa/ http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/02/news/india/snapdeal-india-ku...

mywittyname 10y ago

Raising wages combats the symptoms (wage depression) but not the cause (lack of mobility). The only way to truly solve the issue is to tie the H1B to the person and let them work freely in the US after a short time.

chrishacken 10y ago
How would that solve the symptoms? And why is that the cause? I think the actual issue is that there aren't enough top-talent individuals in the country already; meaning the real cause is actually our broken education system. Opening the flood gates might solve the issues of select individuals and some companies, but it doesn't solve wage depression.
- mywittyname 10y ago
  Most people in the industry believe that the best way to increase your income is to change jobs. How often would you change jobs if failing to secure a position resulted in your near-immediate ejection from the country? Probably not often, and that's the situation that many H1B workers are in. The general belief is that H1B workers are underpaid because they have less flexibility in the labor market. While they can move jobs, it's somewhat tedious and requires both companies to work together to make the transition. It's not impossible, but it's certainly not easy. If there were less friction involved with moving jobs, people on H1B could shop around for a better positions without worrying about their residency should things go wrong.

garyfirestorm 10y ago

140k might sound great in silicon valley. its enormous amount of money for a place like detroit. i am sure they will pay some of the people that sort of money to keep them here. but think about all others who will go back to their own countries and create new startups that will compete with the US industry.[1] [1]http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/02/news/india/snapdeal-india-kunal-bahl-h1b-visa/ http://money.cnn.com/2017/02/02/news/india/snapdeal-india-ku...