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The H1-B is all about getting a steady supply of 3-5 year programmers at 50-75K rather than paying citizens 75-100K. When my last startup got acquired, it was
by abstractbill 18y ago
The H1-B is all about getting a steady supply of 3-5 year programmers at 50-75K rather than paying citizens 75-100K.
When my last startup got acquired, it was small enough that the acquiring company just convinced us all to move from London to Silicon Valley. Some of us decided to stay permanently, and the company got us H1-Bs and put us on the Green Card process. I'm pretty sure all of us were making more than $100K.
Having been on the H1-B process, I just don't believe what you said makes sense. The visa process costs the sponsoring enough time and money that it really doesn't seem worth using it to hire cheaper people.
- bitdiddle 18y agoI would suspect your case is not so typical. In fact the costs are such that companies like IBM and GE can bring programmers in from overseas, ostensibly for training purposes, but in fact for working on projects in the US. I've been on the hiring side of this, having paid "body shops" 100-130/hr. for talented folks who were always eager to jump ship for even just a steady 80-90K per year. Those brought in by the large outfits knew they could literally jump ship if someone were to obtain an H1-B for them. I've also witnessed the green card "process" first hand within my own family. The numbers don't lie, programmers working in the same job while waiting for their green cards are paid consistently far less than the legal cost would warrant. Mind you my experiences were all from the 1998-2004 time period, things may have changed since. Back then the body shops were grabbing the lion's share of the visas when the quota opened up annually.