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> Not startups. 100k is like 75% I dont know of a single person here on a visa making less than 150k salary. They get the same stock, bonus and benefits that e

> Not startups. 100k is like 75% I dont know of a single person here on a visa making less than 150k salary. They get the same stock, bonus and benefits that every one else gets.... it's well over 300k to have that staff member when all is said and done. You're not adding on 100k a year, you're adding on 100k for a 3-6 year employee. Even if that works out to 20k a year, it's pocket change in the grand scheme of things.

leakycap 1y ago
I don't think there is any reasonable evidence to suggest that most workers here on H1-B visas make more than 150k median salary, much less that they are awarded similar options as other employees. I'm glad to hear this has been the environment you've worked in, but I don't believe it reflects the majority of skilled workers in the US on H1-B.
- cyberax 1y ago
  The H1b salaries are public. And the L4 prevailing wage for software engineers in the Seattle area is $200k. H1b also only takes into account the actual salary, it completely ignores stock bonuses.
  - leakycap 1y ago
    If this is public information, I'd love to know what the median salary is rather than taking your word for it on a specific area I am not familiar with.
    - cyberax 1y ago
      https://h1bgrader.com/h1b-prevailing-wage/area/seattle-tacoma-bellevue-wa-42660/year/2026 https://h1bgrader.com/h1b-prevailing-wage/area/seattle-tacom... - filter by "Software". Level 4 is $212202, Level 1 is $117749. The USCIS uses the BLS data for the prevailing wage. You can also check it on the BLS website if you want.
      - leakycap 1y ago
        Level 4 is also described as "This is the fully competent wage level. It is for anyone who have sufficient experience to plan and do work that requires judgement and do independent evaluation, selection, modification and skills. Usually these roles would have management or supervisory responsibilities." Do you think that the median "Software" developer being brought over on a H1-B is Level 4? Even if you think a large number of them are L4, do you see the issue with trying to exceed a median salary at 150k if the L1 is 117k and the L4 (management or supervisory) is only 212k ... and we're using data from one of the most expensive corners of the US?
        cyberax 1y ago
        For software engineering jobs, L4 is a senior engineer position. You'll also be hard-pressed to get the H1B approval for L1. Anyway, I looked at studies of H1B wage gap and they either find none or at most 10-20%.
        leakycap 1y ago
        > Anyway, I looked at studies of H1B wage gap and they either find none or at most 10-20%. I'm relieved to hear this and appreciate you giving me a better understanding of the pay situation in Software.
- Sevii 1y ago
  H1-B visas go to more jobs than just software engineers. I totally believe H1Bs in the tech industry (startups, faang) make 150k median.
  - leakycap 1y ago
    Even inside the tech industry, H1-B positions are often paid much lower than others within the company (even before benefits are considered). $150,000 median yearly salary would mean H1-B positions are taking home 10k a month. I've worked with too many people in these positions to believe they're being paid reasonable wages - unless you have an extremely in-demand skillset, H1-B holders are often treated like indentured servants by huge companies/teams.
jatins 1y ago
> I dont know of a single person here on a visa making less than 150k salary Don't have data on this but anecdotally the base salary range for most YC startup jobs advertised here is around 150k-200k based on what I see. You are right that it does amortize if the employee stays long enough.
- kelnos 1y ago
  > it does amortize if the employee stays long enough. And I expect workers on H-1B change jobs much less frequently than citizens & green card holders (and holders of "safer" visas), since changing jobs on an H-1B involves more risk that can end up with you being required to leave the US.
deadbabe 1y ago
If it’s pocket change then why not also pay the domestic employees $20k more a year?
- zer00eyz 1y ago
  Because the person they are importing is probably brighter than you. If you're talented and smart you come to the US and likely the Bay Area (or west coast) to work in tech. Why? For the same reason that baseball players all end up in the US and Soccer players end up in Europe: they all want to play against, and with the best in the big show. All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. I cant say the same for all my localy sourced colleges. The tragedy of the economics in most of these cases was that they were making the same amount of money as their peers and not more... In a lot of cases companies are getting a Steff Curry or a Lionel Messi and paying them the average of the rest of the team...
  - ApolloFortyNine 1y ago
    >All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. I cant say the same for all my localy sourced colleges. Anecdotally myself, I've worked with great ones yes, but the majority aren't incredible. In the tech arms of banks you can see a lot of what I would describe as at best regular software engineers, nothing special. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-h1b-visa-middlemen-cheap-labor-for-us-banks/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-h1b-visa-middlemen-c...
  - kelnos 1y ago
    > All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. That's surprising; for me, H-1Bs have run the gamut, with a range of talent and ambition that's pretty similar to the range of talent and ambition I see with US-born workers. And I think this is perhaps the problem: your experience should be the norm, if the H-1 visa program is functioning properly, but I don't think that's the case. Among my friends who have been on H-1Bs, they tend to be high performers, but that's just selection bias at work.
  - deleted 1y ago
peripitea 1y ago
If you listen to the interview Trump & team gave, it's $100k per employee per year.

leakycap 1y ago

I don't think there is any reasonable evidence to suggest that most workers here on H1-B visas make more than 150k median salary, much less that they are awarded similar options as other employees. I'm glad to hear this has been the environment you've worked in, but I don't believe it reflects the majority of skilled workers in the US on H1-B.

cyberax 1y ago
The H1b salaries are public. And the L4 prevailing wage for software engineers in the Seattle area is $200k. H1b also only takes into account the actual salary, it completely ignores stock bonuses.
- leakycap 1y ago
  If this is public information, I'd love to know what the median salary is rather than taking your word for it on a specific area I am not familiar with.
  - cyberax 1y ago
    https://h1bgrader.com/h1b-prevailing-wage/area/seattle-tacoma-bellevue-wa-42660/year/2026 https://h1bgrader.com/h1b-prevailing-wage/area/seattle-tacom... - filter by "Software". Level 4 is $212202, Level 1 is $117749. The USCIS uses the BLS data for the prevailing wage. You can also check it on the BLS website if you want.
    - leakycap 1y ago
      Level 4 is also described as "This is the fully competent wage level. It is for anyone who have sufficient experience to plan and do work that requires judgement and do independent evaluation, selection, modification and skills. Usually these roles would have management or supervisory responsibilities." Do you think that the median "Software" developer being brought over on a H1-B is Level 4? Even if you think a large number of them are L4, do you see the issue with trying to exceed a median salary at 150k if the L1 is 117k and the L4 (management or supervisory) is only 212k ... and we're using data from one of the most expensive corners of the US?
      - cyberax 1y ago
        For software engineering jobs, L4 is a senior engineer position. You'll also be hard-pressed to get the H1B approval for L1. Anyway, I looked at studies of H1B wage gap and they either find none or at most 10-20%.
        leakycap 1y ago
        > Anyway, I looked at studies of H1B wage gap and they either find none or at most 10-20%. I'm relieved to hear this and appreciate you giving me a better understanding of the pay situation in Software.
Sevii 1y ago
H1-B visas go to more jobs than just software engineers. I totally believe H1Bs in the tech industry (startups, faang) make 150k median.
- leakycap 1y ago
  Even inside the tech industry, H1-B positions are often paid much lower than others within the company (even before benefits are considered). $150,000 median yearly salary would mean H1-B positions are taking home 10k a month. I've worked with too many people in these positions to believe they're being paid reasonable wages - unless you have an extremely in-demand skillset, H1-B holders are often treated like indentured servants by huge companies/teams.

jatins 1y ago

> I dont know of a single person here on a visa making less than 150k salary Don't have data on this but anecdotally the base salary range for most YC startup jobs advertised here is around 150k-200k based on what I see. You are right that it does amortize if the employee stays long enough.

kelnos 1y ago
> it does amortize if the employee stays long enough. And I expect workers on H-1B change jobs much less frequently than citizens & green card holders (and holders of "safer" visas), since changing jobs on an H-1B involves more risk that can end up with you being required to leave the US.

deadbabe 1y ago

If it’s pocket change then why not also pay the domestic employees $20k more a year?

zer00eyz 1y ago
Because the person they are importing is probably brighter than you. If you're talented and smart you come to the US and likely the Bay Area (or west coast) to work in tech. Why? For the same reason that baseball players all end up in the US and Soccer players end up in Europe: they all want to play against, and with the best in the big show. All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. I cant say the same for all my localy sourced colleges. The tragedy of the economics in most of these cases was that they were making the same amount of money as their peers and not more... In a lot of cases companies are getting a Steff Curry or a Lionel Messi and paying them the average of the rest of the team...
- ApolloFortyNine 1y ago
  >All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. I cant say the same for all my localy sourced colleges. Anecdotally myself, I've worked with great ones yes, but the majority aren't incredible. In the tech arms of banks you can see a lot of what I would describe as at best regular software engineers, nothing special. https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-h1b-visa-middlemen-cheap-labor-for-us-banks/ https://www.bloomberg.com/graphics/2025-h1b-visa-middlemen-c...
- kelnos 1y ago
  > All the H1B's I have worked with are whip smart, hard working, and in general amazing people. That's surprising; for me, H-1Bs have run the gamut, with a range of talent and ambition that's pretty similar to the range of talent and ambition I see with US-born workers. And I think this is perhaps the problem: your experience should be the norm, if the H-1 visa program is functioning properly, but I don't think that's the case. Among my friends who have been on H-1Bs, they tend to be high performers, but that's just selection bias at work.
- deleted 1y ago

peripitea 1y ago

If you listen to the interview Trump & team gave, it's $100k per employee per year.