Re:Iowa Spent $50M to Lure IBM. Then the Firings Started
by jpg0rd0n on Tuesday May 19, 2015 @01:12PM
(#9571586)
H-1B status is a form of slavery for the visa-holder, unless they are smart and get a second visa somehow. If an H-1B is terminated, they must leave the country immediately - the employer's final responsibility to the visa-holder is to buy them a plane ticket hom. They could potentially sue their employer for wrongful termination but if they cannot stay in the country to pursue their case, this is extremely difficult.
What is all means is that for an abusive employer, H-1B employees are perfect. They are supposed to get paid more than the prevailing wage, but can be worked to death, and effectively deported if they won't and can't do what they're told to do.
Re:Iowa Spent $50M to Lure IBM. Then the Firings Started
by yummyfajitas on Tuesday May 19, 2015 @01:01PM
(#9571512)
Sure, they are full time local workers, but they also lack the ability to quit and stay in the USA.
As long as they find a new job before they quit, they are fine. Every prospective H1B I've ever met knew this and was completely willing to jump ship if their first US-based job sucked.
The system needs to be changed so that a tech worker who gets pulled over can quickly get residency and a path to citizenship.
I'd also make sure that anyone graduating from an decent American university gets permanent residency. If we are going to let Stanford or UIUC charge these people 40k a year to go to school and become some of the finest engineers, they should be able to be American Engineers.