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For a few years, I worked at a US government joint that abused the visa system to reduce its labor costs. The junior positions were staffed 100% by foreign work

For a few years, I worked at a US government joint that abused the visa system to reduce its labor costs. The junior positions were staffed 100% by foreign workers who were being paid 25% to 50% of market rates. The problem is that the US immigration system is rife with selective enforcement. Many rules are open to interpretation, and officers have full discretion as to how they interpret them. In this, the US is unique among nations that uphold the rule of law.

adrr 10y ago
Easiest solution is stack rank all H1b applicants by salary and fill the quota with based on ranking. Top talent in theory should be making the most money so we wouldn't risk losing them.
- madeofpalk 10y ago
  Seems like an incredibly short-sighted strategy to ensure that only one type of person get's the visa.
  - adrr 10y ago
    Computer programmers aren't the highest paid H1Bs. http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2017-H1B-Visa-Category.aspx?T=OC http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2017-H1B-Visa-Category.asp...
- gambiting 10y ago
  Hmmm. I have a friend who has an extremely specific PhD and was offered a job in Atlanta, for a position that would be hard to fill otherwise as his expertise is quite unique. So on one hand, you have a person with unique expertise, but on the other, he would be joining as a junior, so he would be paid a great salary - for that level. But he would be competing for visas with Seniors who will be paid more at other companies, purely because of their age/experience?
  - lovich 10y ago
    Isn't that a market based solution though? Nothing against your friend but if a company is willing to spend more on a senior than your friends company is going to pay him, that indicates that the senior is more valuable to economy
    - gambiting 10y ago
      Sure, but it will lead to a solution where only top programmers at highest positions get visas? I mean, I can see the logic why some people would want it that way, but surely, there's value to be provided in hiring someone at a junior position and growing them from there?
      - TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
        There are tons of Americans who would love getting those jobs. The purpose of the H1B visa program is to bring the best and the brightest over so our economy doesn't hit any knowledge bottlenecks that limit our economic growth. Junior developers definitely aren't a bottleneck, the companies are just wanting to pay below market rates for them, which hurts citizens who have to deal with high cost of living and high schooling costs but can't get a good paying job.
      - lovich 10y ago
        The whole point of the h1b program was to bring the best over. Additionally I believe that if companies had any sort of interest in growing juniors as an industry wed see apprentice programs or some equivalent pop up. Hiring a junior whose on a restrictive visa seems to be entirely about cost savings
      - PeterisP 10y ago
        The whole point of why H1B exists is that yes, only specialists with expertise you cannot buy locally (because of unavailability, not price) should get H1B visas, and that's generally at the highest positions, since you definitely can get local entry-level specialists or generic good programmers. There's value to be provided in hiring someone at a junior position and growing them from there, but H1B is explicitly not for that - unless the position literally has zero candidates locally, it doesn't/shouldn't qualify for H1B.

adrr 10y ago

Easiest solution is stack rank all H1b applicants by salary and fill the quota with based on ranking. Top talent in theory should be making the most money so we wouldn't risk losing them.

madeofpalk 10y ago
Seems like an incredibly short-sighted strategy to ensure that only one type of person get's the visa.
- adrr 10y ago
  Computer programmers aren't the highest paid H1Bs. http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2017-H1B-Visa-Category.aspx?T=OC http://www.myvisajobs.com/Reports/2017-H1B-Visa-Category.asp...
gambiting 10y ago
Hmmm. I have a friend who has an extremely specific PhD and was offered a job in Atlanta, for a position that would be hard to fill otherwise as his expertise is quite unique. So on one hand, you have a person with unique expertise, but on the other, he would be joining as a junior, so he would be paid a great salary - for that level. But he would be competing for visas with Seniors who will be paid more at other companies, purely because of their age/experience?
- lovich 10y ago
  Isn't that a market based solution though? Nothing against your friend but if a company is willing to spend more on a senior than your friends company is going to pay him, that indicates that the senior is more valuable to economy
  - gambiting 10y ago
    Sure, but it will lead to a solution where only top programmers at highest positions get visas? I mean, I can see the logic why some people would want it that way, but surely, there's value to be provided in hiring someone at a junior position and growing them from there?
    - TheAdamAndChe 10y ago
      There are tons of Americans who would love getting those jobs. The purpose of the H1B visa program is to bring the best and the brightest over so our economy doesn't hit any knowledge bottlenecks that limit our economic growth. Junior developers definitely aren't a bottleneck, the companies are just wanting to pay below market rates for them, which hurts citizens who have to deal with high cost of living and high schooling costs but can't get a good paying job.
    - lovich 10y ago
      The whole point of the h1b program was to bring the best over. Additionally I believe that if companies had any sort of interest in growing juniors as an industry wed see apprentice programs or some equivalent pop up. Hiring a junior whose on a restrictive visa seems to be entirely about cost savings
    - PeterisP 10y ago
      The whole point of why H1B exists is that yes, only specialists with expertise you cannot buy locally (because of unavailability, not price) should get H1B visas, and that's generally at the highest positions, since you definitely can get local entry-level specialists or generic good programmers. There's value to be provided in hiring someone at a junior position and growing them from there, but H1B is explicitly not for that - unless the position literally has zero candidates locally, it doesn't/shouldn't qualify for H1B.