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That might be true for small companies, but large companies (Intel, MS, Google, etc.) might realize cost savings by the difference in wages paid to immigrants v

That might be true for small companies, but large companies (Intel, MS, Google, etc.) might realize cost savings by the difference in wages paid to immigrants versus U.S. workers. I think the immigrant vs. American worker stems from a fear or intuition that there are, indeed, a finite number of jobs and, possibly, that the number is trending down, not up, for the developer/designer kinds of jobs. Let's be honest here, IT, admin, maintenance, and testing jobs are lower caste than architect, design, and coding. Jobs in the first category, on average, pay less than the the jobs in the second. I think the number of positions required in the second category are on the decline. As the computer software industry matures and evolves, we just don't require so many developers. If and when we start moving towards a realized utility computing future (Ref. The Big Switch by N. Carr), we won't need as many maintainers and admins, either. Of course, it doesn't help to watch many of these jobs go overseas, either. Combine that with H1-B visas, and American tech workers can be forgiven for a little bit of xenophobia. But, maybe it's possible that broader economic and industry trends are the real issue. That's my theory, and I could be wrong.

sanswork 19y ago
Do you have an details on the wage differences between immigrants vs U.S. workers? I was under the possibly mistaken impression that companies were not allowed to pay H1B workers less.
- jmzachary 19y ago
  I don't, and I think you are correct about the rule. But, I have anecdotal and second-hand accounts that it isn't always the case in practice.
- dangoldin 19y ago
  The bidding for H1Bs system would solve this pretty well. The current laws make it seem as if every H1B is identical - seems counterintuitive to me.
- geebee 19y ago
  They aren't, but it's a largely unenforceable and really pretty stupid provision in a field with such a massive difference in productivity between workers. Sure, I suppose you can require that a company pay some posted "prevailing wage", but that that hardly tells you this is the wage an individual would get if he or she were free to find another employer, join or found a startup, or enter a different field entirely.

sanswork 19y ago

Do you have an details on the wage differences between immigrants vs U.S. workers? I was under the possibly mistaken impression that companies were not allowed to pay H1B workers less.

jmzachary 19y ago
I don't, and I think you are correct about the rule. But, I have anecdotal and second-hand accounts that it isn't always the case in practice.
dangoldin 19y ago
The bidding for H1Bs system would solve this pretty well. The current laws make it seem as if every H1B is identical - seems counterintuitive to me.
geebee 19y ago
They aren't, but it's a largely unenforceable and really pretty stupid provision in a field with such a massive difference in productivity between workers. Sure, I suppose you can require that a company pay some posted "prevailing wage", but that that hardly tells you this is the wage an individual would get if he or she were free to find another employer, join or found a startup, or enter a different field entirely.