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Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by fmajid on Tuesday October 06, 2020 @07:01PM (#24703439)
It would be simpler to award the limited pool of H1-Bs in order of descending wages, and cross-check with the IRS afterwards to verify those salaries are actually paid. That would kill all the bottom-feeding body shops.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by skelseys on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @04:55AM (#24706423)
Or auction the H1Bs to employers.

If skilled foreigners accept lower wages because the right to come to the US is worth something to them, then the price of the visa would settle at around the difference in wages. So overseas workers wouldn't undercut US residents. And the perceived monetary value of living in the US would accrue to the government, not to body shops.

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by foolinaround on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @11:09AM (#24709041)
certain industries might be favored over others in the case of auctions, as they might have more margins, and so, larger purchasing power.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by skelseys on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @07:33PM (#24714080)
I mean, that is how money works in general. People or organizations with more of it can outbid those with less of it.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by cheese65536 on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @12:36AM (#24705347)
One issue with this is that it would favor H1B workers working for companies located in high wage areas (the coasts) over low wage areas (mid-west).
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by vostok on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @12:55AM (#24705436)
I don't really see a problem here.

If you are in a low wage area and feel that your workers are as productive as workers in high wage areas then you can pay them a high enough wage that they get a visa.

If you don't feel that way then obviously the visa should go to a more productive worker and it doesn't matter that they happen to be in a high wage area.

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by michaelt on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @03:16AM (#24706007)
> I don't really see a problem here.

If you believe immigrants are good for the economy and make everyone richer, strengthening existing companies with their unique talent and expertise and founding many successful new companies, why let rich costal cities get all the benefit when poor cities have a much greater need for an economic boost?

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by dpoochieni on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @03:40AM (#24706112)
That's just like your belief, the actual economics do not support this. The only thing that might change is the distribution of economic surplus (as in capital gets a larger share of the economic surplus versus labor). You might argue there will be more surplus, but that's likely not the case, and not for the body shops being discussed.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by infamouscow on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @09:29AM (#24707947)
The critical word here is believe.

Most people don't believe this statement is true (or, at least as true as you do) because if they did, we probably wouldn't be talking about any of this on HN.

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by some_account99 on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @03:34AM (#24706077)
develop that talent locally, create opportunities.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by cryptofistMonk on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @12:45AM (#24705389)
So go for highest percentile wage in the region of the hire
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by skelseys on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @10:30AM (#24708607)
Do you think American citizens should be allowed to choose to work in the Bay Area and New York if they want to?
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by fredophile on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @12:02AM (#24705182)
That has the added benefit of removing the unpredictability of the current system. Companies would very quickly figure out roughly where the line is and could pay a premium to guarantee their employee gets one of the spots.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by lmz on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @03:42AM (#24706125)
And you need to make sure the salary is not just paid back to the company / its owners. This is a common form of abuse in other countries with a minimum wage requirement for foreigners.
Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by jopsen on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @04:11AM (#24706247)
To make paying back the company viable you would also have to commit tax fraud.

Doing something like that at scale seems like an easy way to get caught and go to jail.

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by JAlexoid on Wednesday October 07, 2020 @11:31AM (#24709253)
So... Let me get this straight...

Do you believe that H1B is not inherently abusive?

Do you believe that if US agrees that someone is useful, they shouldn't get residency immediately?

Do you think that indentured servitude is a reasonable tool?

Re:Trump administration announces overhaul of H1B visa progr... by fmajid on Wednesday October 21, 2020 @06:01AM (#24846268)
If we had a functional immigration system, green cards would be granted in a reasonable time frame (6 to 12 months). H1-Bs are an imperfect substitute, that can be and are abused. Any of the proposed measures would help curb "body shops" that are indeed stealing jobs from Americans, and keep those legit H1-Bs that are plugging holes in the native labor supply.

H1-Bs are transferrable, so calling it "indentured servitude" is incorrect, the real reason why H1-Bs usually stick with an employer is the green card sponsorship by the employer, which is not transferrable.