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Ask HN: How do I help my Indian coworker get a raise?

• codingslave 7y ago
  Why does it matter that hes Indian?
  • smt88 7y ago
    Read the post. He can't quit the job because of his visa.
    • foogazi 7y ago
      He can quit his job if he wanted to He can also switch to another company that will transfer the h1b visa
      • Ididntdothis 7y ago
        He can quit but then has to leave the country or find a new job very quickly.
  • jrowley 7y ago
    It’s very relevant because he’s dependent on visa sponsorship by the employer and being Indian makes his visa sponsorship more challenging than if he were from another country with fewer people emigrating to the US.
    • newyankee 7y ago
      It also makes the difference in the sense that the wait list from H1B to Green card is the toughest for Indians (and probably Chinese) compared to other nationalities due to the 7 % limit per country in terms of granting Green cards. I think the wait for the lowest priority EB3 is like ~150 years as of now ? I came back to India after working in USA on an H1B for 6 years due to the uncertainty. I do miss working there but not much can be done unfortunately. We cannot do much that we are 1/6th of the world population , hopefully Green card limit will be raised at least to the proportion of the country's population (or some other logic that makes more sense). I have known a few people from Nepal and Bhutan working in easier jobs who are well settled there now. They got the green cards because they are smaller countries. Nothing they do is really high skilled but then these things can get subjective so i do not want to wade in that debate. It took me 2 years to really negotiate my first salary raise and it was not a lot either.
      • zombieprocess 7y ago
        Could you please talk more about your experience of moving back especially after 6 years of tech in US?
        • newyankee 7y ago
          Not exceptionally good, now thinking of migrating to Canada. But that is because i do not have a big social circle, finding it difficult to get married in India too and just love nature and clean air a lot. It is the small things that make it difficult for me, the driving, the commotion but some people thrive in that scenario. It is really a YMMV situation though. I know rich folks have some advantages in India (nannies, drivers, social status etc.) that they do not get easily outside. I do not think it is easy for someone who is introvert to adjust although big cities have changed a lot.
  • cowmoo728 7y ago
    Because the queue for a US residence permit is currently ~100 years for Indian citizens, and there's a very low acceptance rate for work visas for Indian citizens. It's far easier for employees from other nations to change jobs in the US.
  • throwlaplace 7y ago
    > wHy DoEs IT MaTtEr tHAt HeS InNDian? because sometimes race and ethnicity really are germane to the issue because we don't actually live in a utopia and certain classes of people are actually exploited and mistreated principally because of their race or ethnicity. i also love the irony of your handle "codingslave" (i guess only the people of your ethnicity and race can be exploited).
  • tathougies 7y ago
    Because the green card line is longer for indians due to American foreign country quotas?
• highhedgehog 7y ago
  Can't help, just happy to hear that you care about your coworker, such a nice thing to do ;)
  • huhtenberg 7y ago
    I won't be so sure. The post reads like someone's describing his own problem in 3rd person.
    • zarmin 7y ago
      You're a delight.
• omosubi 7y ago
  This happened to a really talented Indian engineer on my team who was dependent on the company for her visa. Her work was stellar and she often worked 60+ hours when the rest of the team worked 40-50 regularly. Our manager was kind of a jerk who wasn't particularly fond of showing appreciation for ones work. Eventually I and several other people went to a new manager who was also Indian (I'm white, fwiw). She moved over a short time later and was promoted quickly. Obviously not everyone has this option so I would suggest you do everything you can to highlight your coworker's contributions. Thank them for their help in standup, highlight their work in your 1-1s with your manager and tell them that you think this person deserves a raise or promotion. Tell higher ups that you think this person has been doing really well, etc. One thing that can be helpful is showing how much work that person did. In this case she compiled the numbers of how many stories, incidents and defects she closed relative to other people on her team, which showed her at almost double the average. Of course this is an imperfect metric and can be gamed, but having data is valuable. Good luck
• smt88 7y ago
  Your coworker can and should ask for a raise. Your boss may say no, but no one gets fired for asking for a raise. Either way, you should limit your helpfulness here. I understand how you feel, but your coworker's pay and your boss's desire to pay him are not your responsibility. You will work with many underpaid and overpaid people in your career. Underpaid people will teach your kids and pick up your garbage. If you want to help your coworker, put the energy into systemic change (donations, political activity, voting) rather than trying to take the steering wheel of his career. It may be less welcome than you assume (or he lets on).
  • LeifCarrotson 7y ago
    Strongly disagree with this attitude, enough to think you may be trolling or playing devil's adovcate - please explain if not. > Your coworker can and should ask for a raise. Your boss may say no, but no one gets fired for asking for a raise. H1B visa abuse does result in people getting fired and their visas dropped for asking for a raise. No one will say that outright, but other reasons can be found after someone disturbs a stable situation. > Either way, you should limit your helpfulness here. I understand how you feel, but your coworker's pay and your boss's desire to pay him are not your responsibility. People should absolutely work together to help each other. If someone is being harmed because they lack protections or abilities that you possess, and you have the ability to remove or reduce that harm, I feel strongly that you have a moral responsibility to help. > You will work with many underpaid and overpaid people in your career. Underpaid people will teach your kids and pick up your garbage. Don't confuse the way the world is with the way the world ought to be. > If you want to help your coworker, put the energy into systemic change (donations, political activity, voting) rather than trying to take the steering wheel of his career. It may be less welcome than you assume (or he lets on). Do both. It's true that this local situation is the result of larger systemic factors, but and individual has little power to make systemic change and great power to make local changes. You can't "Take the steering wheel of his career" but you can assume your coworker is being honest if he's asked for your help and be intentional to publicly compliment the good work he's done with the goal of being his advocate where he cannot do that.
    • 7y ago
• 34679 7y ago
  You don't say what type of visa your friend has, but if he's on a H1B, he (and you) should be aware of the reasons for its existence, and how it's abused. "The H-1B visa program should help U.S. companies recruit highly-skilled aliens when there is a shortage of qualified workers in the country."[1] "Examples of H-1B fraud indicators may include: ..There is a wage disparity between H-1B workers and other workers performing the same or similar duties, particularly to the detriment of U.S. workers. ..The H-1B worker is not performing the duties specified in the H-1B petition, including when the duties are at a higher level than the position description. "[1] The H1B visa was designed to fill talent gaps but has been used to keep wages down. Your friend isn't the only one getting screwed. [1]https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud/combating-fraud-and-abuse-h-1b-visa-program https://www.uscis.gov/report-fraud/combating-fraud-and-abuse...
  • deleted 7y ago
    [deleted]
• avgDev 7y ago
  I'm sorry to say this but this is how business operates. When an engineer comes to his manager requesting a raise, they will think how likely the employee is to leave the company and how much they are willing to increase his salary to keep him there. If he is on H1B he will be exploited because his bargaining power is low. If you are a citizen your leverage is much higher and you are more likely to seek more. However, if your friend has not pushed for more, it is his fault. Sometimes, we must ask for more because honestly it is in our interest. Some businesses are better at giving raises to their top performers, others are hoping to save money because some employees will stick around anyway and maybe become lifers. If an employee delivers and negotiates aggressively during reviews, the employer knows this and might be more likely to give them annual raises. It is a game.
  • whatshisface 7y ago
    This is the real source of visa induced wage depression: not job competition in a world with more or less infinite software demand, but the indentured servitude system enforced by the government. If H1Bs had more power against abuse you would probably see wages rise for both them and citizens. The "get them out" attitude is counterproductive for citizens because by making visa workers more desperate all you are doing is pushing their wages down.
  • inerte 7y ago
    H1 is bad but if the visa is L1 this situation is worse. You don’t even have the option to switch employers.
    • foogazi 7y ago
      But it’s a different intent visa. L1 is for workers of multinationals being brought to the US for a specific period of time. You were already employed in a foreign country and get transferred to the US division
      • HarryHirsch 7y ago
        No one cares about intent. The outcome is the same for both types of visa: a warm body working a job for the company and wage depression because the employee cannot switch. Where is the revolution?
• sproketboy 7y ago
  Stay out of it you moral busybody.
• pkrotich 7y ago
  Unfortunately this is very common when you're dependent on employer for Visa - I was once in his position myself... even found out that I was the lowest paid engineer in the team. My direct manager raised hell and I got a little raise but the damage was done. I moved on as soon as I got my green card... and founded my own company, never to be employed again.
  • 100-xyz 7y ago
    I was also in this situation 25 years ago. I was 25% under the market. During the green card process, the visa official reviewing my application made the comment and they raised my salary! That's the world - people will screw you if they can.
• mcv 7y ago
  I would suggest that you talk to your manager and point out the excellent work your colleague has been doing and what a valuable team member he is. Tell the manager your colleague deserves a raise even if he's reluctant to ask for it himself, due to circumstances.
• dccoolgai 7y ago
  You should probably realize how unfair of a position your friend is in due to how poorly the H1B program is (assuming that's what he's on). Your company can send him back to India - make him leave the country entirely - on nothing but a whim. It hurts you, because you are in the same labor pool as him. Buy him a beer and watch cricket with him. That's about all you can really do. Vote for candidates who want to end this.
  • foogazi 7y ago
    > Your company can send him back to India - make him leave the country entirely - on nothing but a whim. That is not true - h1b holders can switch jobs and transfer the visa to the new employer
    • organsnyder 7y ago
      Assuming the worker can find a new employer willing/able to handle the transfer.
      • srivapal 7y ago
        And H1B/Visa Transfer getting approved.
        • dbancajas 7y ago
          This can be done confidentially. The old employer won't ever know you are trying to transfer jobs. Source: I was H1b in semicon.
    • dudul 7y ago
      Unless they get let go before the worker has an h1b petition with another employer, then they technically need to leave the country immediately. Edit: it looks like there is now a grace period before having to leave the country.
    • kelnos 7y ago
      Sure, but it's incredibly risky to switch (or at least give your old employer notice) before the transfer is approved. And if you aren't looking for a new job, but your current employer decided to fire you for any reason, you have to scramble to get a new job (and get the H1B transferred) nearly immediately, or you're required to leave the country.
• alakky2 7y ago
  He needs to find a leverage. Start looking out and find a job which will transfer his Visa. That will help him to know his market value and gives options to ask for raise or join new company.
• tehlike 7y ago
  Is that a faang company? How about greencard status, is thst underway? Different companies offer help for transfer, so if you are in the bay area getting a competitive offer might help still.
  • HarryHirsch 7y ago
    Are you aware how long a Green Card application takes to be approved, and that you cannot switch employers once the application is underway? Take some time to talk to your colleagues from abroad and learn how fucked up the system really is.
    • mav3rick 7y ago
      You can switch employers after i140 (approx 2.5 years) and not lose your place in line.
    • jogjayr 7y ago
      You can switch employers 6 months after the I-140 is approved, which may take 6-18 months start to finish. A new employer will have to file a new application but can reuse the priority date (the "place in line") from the previous application.
      • HarryHirsch 7y ago
        You mentioned the rub yourself, the new employer will have to file a new application. HR will use the fact to their advantage.
        • dbancajas 7y ago
          depends on your employer. If they don't process it you can leave after some time. It's their loss. Obv depends on current market.
        • jogjayr 7y ago
          For Indians it doesn't matter that the new employer has to file a new application. Indians starting the employment-based GC process face a 40+ year wait to get a GC. If this company doesn't file, the next one you work at will. Or negotiate the filing as part of your job offer.
• fsloth 7y ago
  I'm sorry if the below sounds harsh, but even in the best of circumstances, I can't come up with a better angle on this. I don't think you are in a position to help your colleague. What you are suggesting would be a complex task even without the colleague having Visa. Not complex in the sense that asking raise is complex, but complex in the sense that you would affect 1. the behavior of your colleague 2. how your employer values your colleague 3. how your employer assigns raises. Your message does not give enough context to verify you could "coach" him. Coaching generally requires the experience of successes and failures in similar situations. If this is an unfamiliar situation to you, then you are in no position to coach him. It's well-meaning, but at the same time a bit condescending to think that you can assist him by some techniques picked up at an internet forum. In addition, based on what you told, you don't know if he already has asked for a raise, and been denied.
  • jlj 7y ago
    Is OP is asking for help with their own situation? "I have a friend who..." is a common way to do that. It also brings light to a hard situation that many people may be ignorant of.
    • fsloth 7y ago
      Yes. I don't deny anything you wrote, and there are other really helpful replies regarding strategies the colleague can use to work with his visa and employer status. But given so many unknowns, it's quite irresponsible to give any actionable advice to the specific end of getting a raise at the current employer. Without knowing all the cards (a lot of which the friend has), worst thing that could happen is that the friends contract is terminated, without him having a secured another position. If the intent was to increase the friends salary, then finding another employer would be the safest way to do it (without any other information).
  • tmpz22 7y ago
    In fewer words, be careful you’re not paving the road to hell with good intentions. It’s pleasant to believe America is the land of financial mobility and endless opportunity, that software developers are “special” and universally receive hundreds of job offers each with superb salary - but that is not the case for everyone. In my sad experience deserving developers the world over are screwed over each and every day, particularly developers from India and Asia.
• spuz 7y ago
  The best chance you have to help him is if you become involved in the hiring process. Is your company currently having trouble finding quality workers? Do they they pay through the nose to recruiters for new placements? If your colleague were to ask for a raise and imply that he'd be willing to leave the company without one (no need to commit to anything in a negotiation), and your company cannot identify the value he is providing then they may be persuaded by considering the cost of replacing him. If you are involved in the hiring process and explain how difficult it is to find quality candidates and how expensive the good ones are then that might help the company see that giving him a raise is the cheapest and lowest risk option.
• BurningFrog 7y ago
  I guess the obvious needs to be stated: If he hasn't even asked for a raise, that is the first thing to try. Until that conversation has been had, nothing else matters, and he/you know nothing about the situation.
  • muzani 7y ago
    It's usually good to have some leverage to ask for a raise. If they don't normally give raises without anyone asking, it's unlikely they'll approve it. It also flags to the employer that this employee may be unhappy and to start looking for a replacement.
• Ididntdothis 7y ago
  Ask him if he has even asked for a raise. A lot of people negotiate in their heads against themselves to the degree that they don’t even ask. In a lot of companies you won’t get a raise if you don’t ask but you will get a raise if you just ask. He won’t get fired for asking. Worst case that can happen is to hear “no”.
• Turing_Machine 7y ago
  Does your friend already have a master's degree? I understand the visa situation is somewhat better (though still not great) if you have an advanced degree. If he could pick up his master's degree on a part-time basis, that might help some, both with the current employer and with potentially getting work with a different one.
• chin7an 7y ago
  Asking for a raise in a tactful way is something only your friend can do, best you could do is coach him. That said, if you think that's never happening at your employer, then they have some options IF they're here on an H-1B. IANAL & I don't know anything about other visas either. If your friend has a degree from a reputable US school and your employer is also reputable, they should have no trouble finding a new job and transferring their visa. GC applications may be redone as well, with the caveat that you don't hit H1 renewal after your previous employer revokes their application and the new one is approved. You could help coach them for interviews and with referrals, but that's about it. There are risks involved in all these steps of course, so weigh the current salary with potential rise.
• returningfory 7y ago
  I'm on a H-1B visa, which sounds like the same visa your co-worker is on. H-1Bs are permitted to change jobs, and if they are laid off from their current job they have 60 days to find new employment before having to leave the United States. Even if they have to leave, they can continue to job hunt remotely (really hard, I know) and if they get an offer they can return to the US on the same H-1B (no lottery). In NYC at least, medium to large employers are very happy to process the H-1B transfer paperwork because good engineers are in such high demand. If your co-worker is as good as you claim he is, he should start looking for a new position. It's not as hard as many people think it is on this status. The main thing is to get beyond the mentality that you're beholden to your original sponsor - you aren't.
  • dudul 7y ago
    You also need to find an employer that understands how trivial it is to file a petition for a worker who already has an H1B. It is cheaper than paying a recruiter and the success rate of getting the candidate is much higher.
• vsskanth 7y ago
  Since you mentioned he is on a visa, there might be a few cases here: a. He is on an L1 visa, which is highly restrictive (cant change employer). Here, there isn't much you can do to help until the company converts him to H1B (after L1 runs out). b. He is on an H1B visa. If this is the case, ask him if his I-140 is approved. If it was approved for more than 6 months, he can safely change jobs without visa running out (new employer needs to sponsor for an H1B, but you can get indefinite 3 yr extensions). See if you can refer him to your friends working in other companies, or encourage him to apply for other jobs (since you think he is good at his job). Once he gets a competing offer, he will have the leverage to negotiate a raise or move to a new position. c. He is on an H1B, without an approved I-140. If the company isn't filing one for him yet or delaying it, he needs to leave ASAP, or he will have to leave the US after 6 years on his H1B runs out. This is a very stressful situation to be in. The best you can do for him here is to refer him to another job where visa workers aren't being exploited. As another Indian on H1B, I really thank you for your concern for your colleague. There are so many Indians out there stuck in bad work situations due to their perma-temp work visa status.
  • madmax96 7y ago
    Be careful -- I'm under the impression that denials when performing H1B transfer applications are skyrocketing currently.
    • vsskanth 7y ago
      The new company can apply for an H1B without jeopardizing his existing visa status (current employer won't know). If it gets rejected, he can simply stay put and try for another job.
      • dudul 7y ago
        And this is a critical part that you didn't mention in your first comment. He should absolutely not change jobs until his new employer has an accepted H1B petition.
        • 7y ago
• jogjayr 7y ago
  It largely depends on the actual visa your colleague is one. I suggest you learn more about his situation - it might be informative in understanding his worldview. If he's on an H-1B there's only one thing you can do for this particular coworker. Help him prepare for interviews and get a better job offer. He should be able to have his work visa transferred over to the new company in 5-6 weeks. There's no reason he can't ask for a raise too. I've done it, on an H-1B, and sometimes I've gotten it. No one's going to fire a good performer for asking for a raise, especially if the job market is good. But some people find that too confrontational - getting a better offer is easier, in that case. (BTW, if the company is underpaying him, I'd encourage you to shop around a bit too. Maybe you aren't at market rate either?) If he's on an L1 visa (i.e. transferred from an overseas branch of your company, rather than being hired directly) then I don't know if there's much you personally can do for him. He has to find a new job that pays more money, applies for an H-1B for him, and is willing to wait until October, which is when it starts. Or he can ask for a raise - see above. If he has an I-140 in process, it's possible he wants to stick around until that's done (although what's the rush really? Indians applying today won't get a green card for 40+ years at current rates). If the company isn't doing that for him, or if it's already done, he has no real reason to stay.
  • dudul 7y ago
    > There's no reason he can't ask for a raise too. [...]. But some people find that too confrontational - getting a better offer is easier, in that case. Wait what? That's an interesting take because I think the exact opposite. I find that showing up at your manager's desk with an offer in hand is way more confrontational than just asking for a raise. Asking for a raise is cheap, it takes 15 minutes. If it's denied you can start a conversation around goals, how to get there, etc. Showing up with an offer means that you already spent hours finding a new job and you're basically coming to the table with an ultimatum.
    • triceratops 7y ago
      I think that means "get a better offer and leave". Ultimatums are considered a bad idea regardless of what your visa status is. For a person on an H-1B it's basically impossible because they can only make demands after their visa transfer is successful. But if they were to stay at their current employer after having a visa transfer approved, the other company is going to be (rightly) pissed off - not a smart move.
• jpm_sd 7y ago
  Next time you're offered a raise, ask your boss to give it to him instead. Raises aren't quite a zero sum game, but there is a shared budget for them.
• ashrhursday 7y ago
  This appears to be another "Indians are taking my job" thread, cleverly disguised as an attempt to help an underpaid colleague.
  • vraivroo 7y ago
    How do you come to that conclusion?
• yumraj 7y ago
  1) first of all thank you for even thinking about this. In an environment of general negativity you even thinking about this is greatly appreciated. 2) the best course of action is for that person to look for a job, get an offer and then decide if they want to stay here and negotiate. If they have green card in processing, there are kinda SOL 3) as some others said, he should still ask. I'm a strong believer in: if you don't ask the answer is always no.
• dv35z 7y ago
  Very happy to share what worked for me, when I had a close Indian colleague who I felt was underpaid/under-appreciated. Context: This is a technology company (3k+ employees) which offers a SaaS product to enterprise customers. I was part of the customer-facing account team (think: sales person, solution engineer, professional services team, and support team). The support team was often located in "low-cost centers" (such a euphemism!), such as India. My Indian colleague was on the support team, where often they would spend long amounts of time diagnosing customer issues. I was a solution engineer / "CTO for the customer" / technical account manager-type role. After some informal phone calls & chats with my Indian colleague, I found out that he wanted to work more closely with the customer as a solution architect capacity, instead of just performing a more reactive support role. I was really excited to help him pursue this dream. Here's some of the the advice I'd offer to others on how to help "level up" an undervalued overseas colleague: * Have regular 1:1s with people you find valuable, from all over the organization. In this case, I spent several 1:1 meetings with my Indian colleague, getting to know personal information (what area of India he was from, what the food's like, what's the work-life like, what do you do for fun - soccer, etc). This helped ME build up empathy for who he is, who he wanted to be. * Find out unrecognized skills — I found out that my colleague used to tutor other students on math & science when he was in university, and loved mentoring people, and was pretty good at ad-hoc presentations. I found out that our company often performs customer-facing classes about our products, to teach customers how to get the most out of the stuff they bough. My colleague was already so familiar with the product at a technical level, so I just had him practice presenting to me in a coaching session, where I'd pretend to be the customer. Later, I had him present a very focused topic to one of my trusted customers (it was something like, "Top 10 diagnostic tips, tricks & tools for Product X" - showing off the various debug tools, logs, etc available). The customer LOVED it, and actually recorded the session to share around the company. I asked my customer to send me email containing feedback about my colleague's presentation. I got glowing feedback from the customer, which I forwarded to a large internal distribution list - "Check out this awesome presentation Support Engineer X did for Big Customer Y!" (+cc'ing my colleague's manager). The email thread got lots of good attention from "high visibility" people like sales & management, who are happy to see examples of people "delighting the customer". If you think about it, these people are 99% of the time dealing with the fall-out from issues, support escalations, and so on. Positive vibes are a welcome refreshment! * Develop & be recognized fro subject matter expert (SME)-like skills: Several of my customers were concentrated in a specific customer vertical (e.g. "Media", vs "eCommerce"). My colleague didn't recognize it at the time, but he worked primarily with several large customers which were all in the same customer segment. As a result my colleague was very knowledgeable in a couple product areas specific to that customer segment, and that segment's challenges. I setup some internal "lunch & learns" where 2 people would present some of the use cases for which their customer is using a product, and share out any advice, gotchas, etc. For my presentation - instead of traditionally having the customer-facing solution engineer discuss the technical parts of the presentation - I asked my Indian colleague to co-present with me. When presenting, I would deliberately defer to my colleague for certain areas - to reinforce credibility & trust - but I also had him present the "advice & lessons learned"-part. Afterwards, he got SO MUCH positive feedback from internal folks. I made share to socialize & forward on this feedback around - greatly increasing the visibility of my colleague's name, way outside of his immediate group. From that point on, my colleague was known as an expert in that area, and would commonly be hit-up to answer questions, do presentations for other customers, etc. * Be recognized as a human being. This might sound obvious, but the unfortunate truth is that in many USA-based technology companies, overseas colleagues can be pretty invisible to the "home office". They are often deliberately hired because their salaries can be lower; they are not physically present in the main offices where informal chit-chat occurs; culturally, there may be barriers like English language fluency, or even the spelling/pronunciation of their names. I made a point to learn how to pronounce my Indian colleague's name (and he even offered a "Westernized" nickname which he liked, which sounded like a cool rapper's name, so we just rolled with it!). In our team, we often had to go onsite with customers ("customer business reviews) - what we're working on, how the product is being utilized, etc. I made a point to include a "Your Team" slide - and it included the names AND PHOTOS of the members of the team aligned with the customer. Instead of boring corporate photos, I included photos with actual personality (e.g. my Indian colleague scaling a rock wall, or him and his family at a birthday party in India). These photos would always invite questions & comments from the customer, and my colleague would get some air time to talk about themselves. Really helped the customer get to know them (and avoid the pejorative, "get me someone who actually speaks English" attitude), and built trust both ways. * Get endorsement from the people with the money. There were times when there were staffing changes, which might result in a customer-aligned support person to be moved to another customer. I would often give my customer a heads-up that there might be changes to the staffing - and I'd tell them, if you feel strongly about keeping Person X on the team aligned to you, please send me a "strongly worded email" asking to keep the person on your team and why. This would often result in the customer explaining how important person X is to their company, the impact they had to their business, etc. Very good stuff for internal managers to see. THE RESULT OK, so I've accidentally written a novel here, and you might be able to te tell I feel strongly about helping raise my colleague up. So what actually happened? * I asked my Indian colleague to help out with a small professional service project for a customer, paired with a senior person advising along the way. This was outside of his typical role, and was OK'd by his manager (I made the sales person ask it, so it was more "unrefusable"). The project went very well, and again got great feedback from the customer. * An "associate" solution architect role req opened up. Originally it was just for employees located in USA, not remote-friendly. I successfully petitioned that we TRY to do it as a remote-only position, and have my Indian colleague try it out for 6 months, and work with customers who already know & trust him. It worked great. As a result, my colleague got a job title change and a very SMALL pay increase. But since he was on the "revenue generating" team now, he got tons more visibility around the organization - his name was tied to various "high-five" emails and such. * About a year later, a solution architect position opened in Boston - again, not remote-friendly. I asked my colleague if he'd be interested in the job & relocation - he said VERY INTERESTED, but that from his experience in India, it was nigh unheard of for the company to do that kind of transition. I made a point to speak to some of the highest level people I could find - basically telling the story of this skilled person who's personally recommended by some of our most strategic customers, who's looking to relocate for this role. "What can we do to endorse this move and make it happen?" I actually challenged an executive, I bet you can make this happen. It turns out, we got attention from enough of the right folks, and we were able to hire him in (along with all the legal / H1B stuff required for that) to the Boston slot. He got a huge salary increase, moved to Boston with his wife. I don't work at the company any more, but I stay in contact with my former colleague. He's super happy, and just checking out his Facebook photos, it looks like he's really into snowboarding & microbrewing now :)
• nojvek 7y ago
  L1B and H1B are restrictive visas. When you change jobs life is difficult. This gives employers a lot of leverage to overwork and underpay. I feel sorry for your friend because I was in that position in Microsoft. Once I got my green card, I got a 75% raise by going somewhere else. My advice would be for him to talk to his boss and explain his case. If the company really wants him then they’d give a raise. It’s really hard to get raises at an existing job. That’s been my experience. Sure they’d level you up, but % increase is pretty meh. Switching jobs usually results in a higher % compensation.
• hkon 7y ago
  Hey you know what you can really do to help your friend? Work hard and become his boss, then give him the compensation he deserves.
• social_quotient 7y ago
  I would think the person should ask for a raise or maybe what would need to be done to get a raise. I don’t see how the visa status needs to play in to good old expectation setting. The boss might say “never” or they might surprise both of you and have a real reason. Something wild like, we barely meet payroll obligations now and we know we can’t lay you off without you getting booted from the country so we pay you less to ensure your long-term employment here... not sure but as a general rule don’t pretend to know why someone else doesn’t get a raise. The reality can be surprising (good or bad) Next you should advocate for the outcome you really want. “Fair and equal treatment of our visa employees”. This you can champion without getting ahead of yourself. I tend to find that pushing for the principle can be better than the specific instance. If you win, you accomplish more than your original intent and you’ve done humanity and your workplace a good deed. If you lose, you can sleep at night knowing you tried.
• gnopgnip 7y ago
  There is a lot of discussion on the visa aspect, but not as much on the general advice relating to raises and promotions. Is he currently under paid for the position and responsibilities relative to others in the company? Or more generally to the market at large? Another tip is to take credit for the work that makes a difference to the company, and in the bigger picture to be doing work that matters.
• Pfhreak 7y ago
  One thing that I don't see in the comments so far is pushing for collective bargaining or unionization. If workers are all looking out for other workers, you can establish salary minimums and make this sort of behavior unacceptable. Standing up for your coworkers is noble, and collective action is a great way to achieve that.
• ab_testing 7y ago
  Actually this is by design. If he has his I-140 approved, that means that the company has applied for his green card . Now if the company gives him a promotion and that results in material change to his job duties, then the company has to restart his green card process . Usually that implies trying to find an American for the job and convincing the government that they could not find a suitable candidate and they need to sponsor him at the newly promoted position. Also that process for new Gc takes from 6-15 months and about 5-10K USD that no company wants to spend again for each promotion
  • dsl 7y ago
    This is the correct answer. I worked at at a company where a manager kept pushing for a raise/promo for a worker he really liked. Ended up screwing over the guys work status and getting him deported. It might be "unfair" that he is being under-compensated. But you also needs to figure in the tens of thousands the company is spending on his behalf as part of "total comp."
  • lucasmullens 7y ago
    I'm confused, couldn't you increase pay without changing the job duties?
    • ab_testing 7y ago
      Usually companies have bands for pay structures like Jr. Engineer - 80-100K, Engineer 100-120K. If they need to jump to a differnt band, you need to give him a promotion.
  • ShowMeTheRupees 7y ago
    That's an interesting angle that I hadn't even considered as a possibility. Thanks for sharing.
• tathougies 7y ago
  You can't do it. If your employer raises the wage, they'd rather hire an american, because it's easier. You can advocate for sensible immigration reform or for a stop to the H1B program which creates a permanent underclass of workers.
  • rcfox 7y ago
    Is it still easier after they've hired the person?
• pnako 7y ago
  He doesn't have any leverage, that's the point of his visa.
• wolfpwner 7y ago
  I think the best option is to switch to a high paying company. Also, as an H1B visa holder, I don't think I'm underpaid according to levels.fyi. So it depends on the company.
• galacticaactual 7y ago
  Frankly, he needs to just ask for one. If denied, he should ask what milestones he should hit to get one. All this pontificating about unionization, visas, etc is noise as it pertains to the core of your question.
  • bsanr2 7y ago
    That's easy for you to say. Essentially, his ability to stay in the country rests on being well-liked by his employer. We have no idea if they're in any way vindictive or otherwise looking for a reason to push him out.
    • galacticaactual 7y ago
      It’s not easy for me to say. It’s predicated on decades of going through the gauntlet myself. You’re correct. We have no idea where the employer stands, because he hasn’t taken any action to find out.
• throwaway13000 7y ago
  It depends on whether the person is on L-1 visa or H-1 visa. If L-1, I can't help. But if its H-1, In all probability, the guy is just afraid of interviewing outside. As someone mentioned below, changing job is tough but not very tough. Please tell them to seek outside jobs.
• anonsivalley652 7y ago
  Individual initiative doesn't go very far because business isn't a worker's meritocracy. What would go further would be you and your coworkers walking out until your colleague gets a raise. Watch how fast it happens.
• confidantlake 7y ago
  I don't think you can. The entire point of h1b is for employers to bring in cheap labor.
• zaptheimpaler 7y ago
  - He should understand his position carefully. There is a 60 day grace period between leaving an H1B and not needing a job. There are further tricks to get even more time. Push him to really understand his legal situation by reading the law carefully or talking to a lawyer who understands this stuff well. - He can always search for a better job while employed. - Leverage is like poker. The facts are only half the game. - Although he can minimize the impact, it will always hang over his head as a migrant unless he gets a citizenship. It might be worth seriously considering other countries that offer much faster & secure routes to green cards/citizenship.
• dominotw 7y ago
  you are assuming his visa issue is a bug, its a feature of h1b.
• peterburkimsher 7y ago
  There might be managers reading this thread who want to help, but can't offer a higher salary/different position for visa reasons. Compensation does not have to be financial. As a foreigner, simply getting to live in the country I chose is already a form of reward. Other things that would make a huge difference to the lives of immigrants like me are payments for things like children's education, healthcare, or permanent contracts. If money is too short, consider allowing them to have more time off to spend with family, or on side projects. Many people move country for more important things in life than money, and therefore some immigrants don't even perceive getting a "raise" or having "career progression" as a goal: instead, it's all about providing a better, stable, future for a family.
• srndh 7y ago
  I appreciate your effort and I am just sharing a piece of information I have, in the hope that it will help you strategies a good plan of action. I don't mean to discourage you with my comments. I was speaking to an Indian guy who now has is US passport & good job in NYC. He came to US on an on-site assignment with TCS. He said that this is how TCS & all Indian companies work, IT companies in general. When hiring fresh graduate(beginning) in India, the first requirement to start working is a passport. Then the chance of on-site is the carrot that they (company) uses to squeeze. If the managers sense that you are close to giving your papers to resign, they will say that you are in the top list. Plus these companies flood the h1b system with applications of all their employees. Basically the companies need a carrot to whip the employee and the ultimate is a green card, after which the employees are free and is a matter of time before they quit. If you are that valuable to them, then you they pay you well to keep you. So, the companies do everything to delay the green card process. So, this is the system that he gamed to get his freedom and now his brother is close to getting his green card at Infosys. This is the game.
• barnyfried 7y ago
  Why the fk would you even care.
• known 7y ago
  H1Bs are no different than https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_slaves https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wage_slaves