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Comment by ashwinaj | Hacker News Reader

> "who were at the mercy of the whims of management"

With H1B you are not tied to the same employer, you are free to leave the sponsoring employer and go elsewhere. I don't know about the E-1 visa. Again, if you feel they were being paid below the market rate, you can check up the bulletin board to make sure.

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My understanding (from H1B coworkers and HR managers in previous jobs) was that the H1B is transferable to another company IF the other company agrees to sponsor it, and there's a fair amount of paperwork, hassle, and uncertainty to effect the transfer. That has to translate into at least a small salary discrepancy between H1B holders and permanent-resident employees.

> That has to translate into at least a small salary discrepancy between H1B holders and permanent-resident employees.

or it just gets accepted as cost of doing business with this person. Which is entirely reasonable (you spend a couple thousand to get everything transferred, not that much long run).

isn't the problem that if an h1-b worker gets fired they are screwed (have to leave)? I know with a TN that's the case and it sucks.

There is still an element of captivity above what a citizen or resident faces--staying in country is contingent on quickly finding another employer who will sponsor you.

If a native employee is fired, they lose their job and probably go on unemployment while the look for another one.

If an H-1B employee is fired, they get deported.

Employers know this, and they treat H-1B employees accordingly.

> If an H-1B employee is fired, they get deported.

That was definitely not true during my time on H1B. The feds could legally deport you, but they never bothered to.

Well, yes, but then you're just benefitting from lax de facto enforcement, not any de jure certainty. And anything de facto which operates below the standard demanded by de jure can change at a moment's notice, subject to politics, audits, or someone waking up on the wrong side of the bed.

There's a bit more safety than that. When you enter the country on an H1b, you get an I94 that is valid until your visa expires. If you then lose your visa (because you've left the company or got fired), you can still legally stay in the country until your I94 expires. The caveat is, an immigration officer can take away your I94 at any time, at which point you would be forced to leave. However, as long as you avoid immigration officers, you are not breaking any laws by staying and looking for another job.

I am clearly way more cynical than you about legal systems :)

There are lot of illegal things that happen with H1B that prevent the above. For example H4 spouse can not work but then some company agrees to sponsor H1B under the condition that no payslips will be given and hence you can not transfer the visa. This is same as slavery except that the choice otherwise is to be on H4 which does not let you earn a penny but be a burden.

> "then some company agrees to sponsor H1B under the condition that no payslips will be given and hence you can not transfer the visa"

"Some company"? No law abiding company can do what you're saying, let's get real. This is illegal. This is the reason that these fraudulent "staffing" companies exist in the first place since they know the employee will never be a whistle blower and for the love of god I don't understand why?

It is illegal but most large companies encourage these small illegal companies that take the legal liability while providing cheap labor. If the small company shuts down does not matter it will come up again with a different name. It does not matter how hard government hits them, there is a legit need they are serving and hence will continue to exist irrespective of law.

>With H1B you are not tied to the same employer, you are free to leave the sponsoring employer and go elsewhere.

The solution is never that simple. Unfortunately for many of them they're butts to fill seats for signed contracts. They go out on 6+ month on-sites and live with several roommates working for the same company. They can't pick up and leave because they're not qualified enough or experienced enough.

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