Re:Ask HN: Uncertainty in US H1B visa program
by speedplane on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @03:48AM
(#15912964)
> The H1-B visa is clearly intended to serve both as a way to temporarily work in the US and as a pathway to permanent immigration.
But it isn't intended as a way for people to come in, get trained on domestic services, just so they can be outsourced later.
Re:Ask HN: Uncertainty in US H1B visa program
by rsj_hn on Wednesday December 13, 2017 @03:46AM
(#15912954)
So how can adding a few tens of thousands of engineers not affect wages yet "harm the competitiveness" of American business? The only reason business wants these workers is to get them at a cheaper price. This all about price. So if the price doesn't change a whole lot, then the position of the business doesn't change a whole lot, either. If the price changes a lot, then so does the position of the business.
In any case, I fundamentally disagree that our immigration policy is too restrictive or that American businesses, which are already earning record profits, are not competitive.
I already made it clear that I am not talking about current superstars; I am talking about people who are not currently superstars but have the potential to be. H1-B holders are almost universally young, well-educated people. They are much more likely than average to end up being superstars in the future. I also think it is absurd to suggest that only people in academic or research positions can end up being superstars.
> Yes, but you misunderstand the intent. The visa has two intents -- education and for profit.
No, that is not what "dual intent visa" means. Per the first Google result: "A dual intent visa allows foreigners to be temporarily present in the United States with the known intention of possibly immigrating to the U.S. permanently. That’s significant because most temporary visas require that the visitor intend to return home."
The H1-B visa is clearly intended to serve both as a way to temporarily work in the US and as a pathway to permanent immigration.
> Then you should not be worried about a shortage of skilled workers, because we have no such shortage. There is a shortage of cheap skilled workers.
That is a matter of opinion, and I disagree with your assessment. It is a much more realistic concern that overly restrictive immigration laws will harm the competitiveness of American businesses than that adding a few tens of thousands of extra software developers to the several million software developers already present in the US will result in lowered wages.