Lets talk about the H1-B visa

Re: H-1B

The author scapegoats foreign outsourcing firms, but gives “domestic” (i.e., non-outsourcing firms) a pass. This is a common mistake. The H-1B visa legislation is what is at fault here, and ALL companies use and abuse the weaknesses of the legislation.

While lobbying Congress for more H-1B visas, industry says H-1B workers are “the best and brightest”. Come payday, however, they’re entry-level workers.

The GAO put out a report on the H-1B visa that discusses at some length the fact that the vast majority of H-1B workers are hired into entry-level positions. In fact, most are at “Level I”, which is officially defined by the Dept. of Labor as those who have a “basic understanding of duties and perform routine tasks requiring limited judgment”. Moreover, the GAO found that a mere 6% of H-1B workers are at “Level IV”, which is officially defined by the US Dept. of Labor as those who are “fully competent” [1]. This belies the industry lobbyists’ claims that H-1B workers are hired because they are experts that can’t be found among the U.S. workforce.

So this means one of two things: either companies are looking for entry-level workers (in which case, their rhetoric about needing “the best and brightest” is meaningless), or they’re looking for more experienced workers but only paying them at the Level I, entry-level pay scale. In my opinion, companies are using the H-1B visa to engage in legalized age discrimination, as the vast majority of H-1B workers are under the age of 35 [2], especially those at the Level I and Level II categories.

Any way you slice it, it amounts to H-1B visa abuse, all facilitated and with the blessings of the US government.

The National Association of Colleges and Employers (NACE) has never shown a sharp upward trend of Computer Science graduate starting salaries, which would indicate a labor shortage (remember — the vast majority of H-1B visas are granted for computer-related positions). In fact, according to their current survey for Fall 2015, starting salaries for CS grads went down by 4% from the prior year. This is particularly interesting in that salaries overall rose 5.2% [3].

The visa laws need an overhaul so that the visa is only used for it’s stated purpose — to attract (and pay accordingly) TOP talent.

References: [1] GAO-11–26: H-1B VISA PROGRAM — Reforms Are Needed to Minimize the Risks and Costs of Current Program [2] Characteristics of H-1B Specialty Occupation Workers Fiscal Year 2014 Annual Report to Congress October 1, 2013 — September 30, 2014 [3] NACE Fall 2015 Salary Survey, NACE Salary Survey — September 2014 Executive Summary

Another improvement would be to allow a H1B worker to change company more easily. Today, it is not difficult per se, but there are some legal procedures that often scare companies. Basically, it is as simple as filling a H1B petition that is guaranteed to be approved since the worker is already in the US (i.e. no lottery, it's a sure thing). We're talking a few grands in legal/processing fee. Much cheaper than a recruiter but a lot of companies just don't want to deal with this.