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I can't claim your experience since I've never been on your side of the H1B process. I've also been out of people-management for a few years. I can say that w

I can't claim your experience since I've never been on your side of the H1B process. I've also been out of people-management for a few years. I can say that when I was in that position it was drilled into me that you need to make sure H1's get equal pay. Just googling a bit now about H1B audits I found this: http://www.raminenilaw.com/h-1b-wage-and-hour-audits-dol-audits http://www.raminenilaw.com/h-1b-wage-and-hour-audits-dol-aud... They mention that the auditors can demand 3 years of wage data for both H1B and non-H1B's in the same employment classification. Further, see http://www.greencardapply.com/h1b/h1b_pwages.htm#sthash.DNRimWb4.dpbs http://www.greencardapply.com/h1b/h1b_pwages.htm#sthash.DNRi... "in certain programs, such as H-1B (temporary specialty occupations), the employer is required to pay the prevailing wage or the actual wage paid by the employer to workers with similar skills and qualifications, whichever is higher" I'm sure there are places that skate as close to the line as they can and do try to save money on H1Bs. However, the law is set up to avoid this and audits are much more frequent than a decade ago. > Another issue is that H1B has maximum term of 6 years My understanding -- and correct me if I'm wrong about this -- is that transferring early on isn't a big problem. If your GC isn't far along anyway then a job switch can't cause much of a delay. However, if your GC seems just around the corner (a limbo that can take years to get through) you're unlikely to risk moving jobs and throwing a wrench into the works. I can understand that the H1B process would want an employer to demonstrate that they're not bringing someone over to flood an already over-supplied local labor market. However, once an immigrant's first employer does that I don't see any reason to restrict them further. As far as I'm concerned, they've earned their visa and they should feel free to work anywhere they like. The entire concept of a human being having to be "sponsored" by a company is distasteful. Further, what possible reason could there be for a 6 year limit? If they were suitable for employment in 2008, they should still be in 2014 given that they have more experience. It's insane that we'd even threaten sending them away. It would be simpler to just start the GC process automatically with their H1B.

pandaman 12y ago
The audit in the first link looks like an audit of the claimed wages (on the LCA petition you submit when requesting an H1B) are same as the factual ones. I've also heard about the "ability to pay" auditing (the company has to have enough profit to support the claimed wage) and working on site (to bust body shops that sell H1Bs to another company). These are all irrelevant to companies such as Microsoft or Amazon (they are not benching their H1Bs, don't ship them off-site and pay way above prevailing wage). The LCA itself contains a promise that the wage is "average" for the employer. It is not the maximum so even if it had been enforced it would be absurd to claim that H1Bs are paid no less than citizens based on this alone. >However, if your GC seems just around the corner (a limbo that can take years to get through) you're unlikely to risk moving jobs and throwing a wrench into the works. It might be so in some cases. It's not related to H1B. H1B is a temporary worker's non-immigrant visa. Green Card is an immigrant visa. They are entirely orthogonal and you can get a GC without H1B and vice versa. >Further, what possible reason could there be for a 6 year limit? It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. For permanent immigration there is the EBGC.
- bodyfour 12y ago
  > They are entirely orthogonal That's true in a technical sense, but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants. Come in on H1B -> Start GC process -> Use ongoing GC application to get the H1B extension -> Finally get full GC. > It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. That's answering it with a tautology. My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary? If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience? It just seems ridiculous. I'm sure plenty of people would love to skip the whole H1B and go straight for an EB3 or something, but since they're capped by country it isn't really an option for many people.
  - pandaman 12y ago
    >but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants Sure. Does it make it okay to talk about H1B when you mean GC (or, more likely, immigration in general)? There are much more people on H1B than there are skilled immigrants. It's not designed as a vehicle for immigration any more than any other non-immigrant visa. Some people are confused with the "dual intent" but all that means is that to get the visa stamp you don't need to prove to the Department of State that you are not going to stay in the US illegally. And you can apply for AOS the same day you arrived instead of waiting for 60 days due to the 30/60 rule. It does not open you any special immigration doors. > My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary?If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience? H-1B is not a prize for being skilled. The H-1B law was made to provide a relief to temporary workforce shortages. The limited term of its status and the limited number of visas allow Congress to reasonably control the number of temporary workers entering the country through this program.

pandaman 12y ago

The audit in the first link looks like an audit of the claimed wages (on the LCA petition you submit when requesting an H1B) are same as the factual ones. I've also heard about the "ability to pay" auditing (the company has to have enough profit to support the claimed wage) and working on site (to bust body shops that sell H1Bs to another company). These are all irrelevant to companies such as Microsoft or Amazon (they are not benching their H1Bs, don't ship them off-site and pay way above prevailing wage). The LCA itself contains a promise that the wage is "average" for the employer. It is not the maximum so even if it had been enforced it would be absurd to claim that H1Bs are paid no less than citizens based on this alone. >However, if your GC seems just around the corner (a limbo that can take years to get through) you're unlikely to risk moving jobs and throwing a wrench into the works. It might be so in some cases. It's not related to H1B. H1B is a temporary worker's non-immigrant visa. Green Card is an immigrant visa. They are entirely orthogonal and you can get a GC without H1B and vice versa. >Further, what possible reason could there be for a 6 year limit? It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. For permanent immigration there is the EBGC.

bodyfour 12y ago
> They are entirely orthogonal That's true in a technical sense, but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants. Come in on H1B -> Start GC process -> Use ongoing GC application to get the H1B extension -> Finally get full GC. > It's a temporary visa so it has to have a term. That's answering it with a tautology. My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary? If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience? It just seems ridiculous. I'm sure plenty of people would love to skip the whole H1B and go straight for an EB3 or something, but since they're capped by country it isn't really an option for many people.
- pandaman 12y ago
  >but they're effectively part of the same process for many, many skilled immigrants Sure. Does it make it okay to talk about H1B when you mean GC (or, more likely, immigration in general)? There are much more people on H1B than there are skilled immigrants. It's not designed as a vehicle for immigration any more than any other non-immigrant visa. Some people are confused with the "dual intent" but all that means is that to get the visa stamp you don't need to prove to the Department of State that you are not going to stay in the US illegally. And you can apply for AOS the same day you arrived instead of waiting for 60 days due to the 30/60 rule. It does not open you any special immigration doors. > My question remains: why would we want any skilled-worker visa to be temporary?If they're skilled enough today, won't they be even better qualified after six years of work experience? H-1B is not a prize for being skilled. The H-1B law was made to provide a relief to temporary workforce shortages. The limited term of its status and the limited number of visas allow Congress to reasonably control the number of temporary workers entering the country through this program.