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Like many other recent international hires at US universities, I'm on H-1B visa. If paying for reviews was the norm, I believe it would be illegal for me to rev

Like many other recent international hires at US universities, I'm on H-1B visa. If paying for reviews was the norm, I believe it would be illegal for me to review papers, even for free. I'm not sure what to think about this. Peer review is an important way of contributing to the community, and every academic is expected to participate in it. Commercial publishers that make profits from free academic labor are parasites, and they should pay for the services they use. Yet immigration rules often make it difficult to earn any side income, so paying for reviews would exclude many (often less established) academics.

michaelmior 6y ago
That is a good point and one I hadn't considered despite being an H-1B holder myself. I agree with your argument that paying for reviews under current immigration laws would be highly problematic for visa holders. It would either mean we would be expected to do it for free when everyone else gets paid, which would be unfair and potentially still not legal. Or we would be unable to review which I think is an important part of establishing oneself within the community.