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> one option is to list occupations that are in short supply each year and to prioritize those That's a lot of what prioritizing slots by pay does: pay is high
by jefftk 2y ago
> one option is to list occupations that are in short supply each year and to prioritize those
That's a lot of what prioritizing slots by pay does: pay is higher for jobs with low supply relative to demand.
- gangstead 2y agoI suspect that the real problem with prioritizing by pay is that it shows that a lot of employers are using H1-B workers to put downward pressure on wages. Also there are a lot of parties involved in gaming the complex system whose services wouldn't be needed if the solution was that simple. I think Upton Sinclair's quote applies here. https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21810-it-is-difficult-to-get-a-man-to-understand-something https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/21810-it-is-difficult-to-ge...
- bubblethink 2y agoNot necessarily. You need farmers and scientists. Can't do a descending sort by salary.
- Detrytus 2y agoWasn't Trump's proposal few years ago "95th percentile salary for their profession"? So you still have room for farmers and scientists provided that they are exceptional (or at least exceptionally well paid) farmers and scientists.
- bubblethink 2y agoThe executive can't do anything. It has to be passed by Congress. Congress hasn't passed anything in 30+ years.
- d1sxeyes 2y agoWho defines “profession” though? Is “farmer” all encompassing, or is “chicken farmer” different from “cattle farmer”? Is “battery chicken farmer” different to “free range chicken farmer”? Do I need to be top 5% US-wide or just the city/state I would be hired in?
- yyhhsj0521 2y agoI don't disagree there's a lot of complications in the actual implementation, but this approach is a better-than-status-quo way to achieve some fairness IMO. Currently the US Dept of Labor has a system of determining the fair wage that should be paid to a certain job description at a certain geographic location. In the green card process this is called "prevailing wage determination". Why not use it for H1b too?
- Detrytus 2y ago“Prevailing wage determination” is already a part of h1b process, but it is easily gamed.
- hocuspocus 2y agoThis is not ideal, because within the same occupation, not every industry can afford paying the same salaries. Such policy would disproportionally favor high margin companies: adtech, tobacco, oil, finance, ... Arguably not the ones you should help get access to top engineering talent. If Indian IT consultancies abuse the system, maybe the US should try to understand why there's such amount of unmet demand for cheap IT labor that cannot be offshored.