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Haha oh yes! Well thought through. Look how quickly they were able to revoke h4 ead and DACA. LMAO! I understand the anxiety of H1Bs but to assume INA can be thrown into trash just like that is irrational and that's what fires me up (keeping emotions strictly aside). I'm saying this as a person who was here in H1B in 2008 recession. Not sure how many of this forum members were around in that status ;). I know I'm dating myself here.Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur123
They had many successes too - on southern border, and with high h1 rejection rates and processing delays, and also with current ban for CP cases. You can laugh all you want but it is about not underestimating these things. The interpretation of law is malleable IF high unemployment continues.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenzone
Nah. If I underestimated any of these I won't be typing about them and reading about the possibilities (that too on a Saturday afternoon, that's simply not me!). I'm just saying the odds of rule-making and implementing before Nov 3rd is pretty impossible. Also, I'm only talking about the larger regulatory action related wish list that the proclamation captures. Never in my mind, I will underestimate how much this admin. will try even if it knows it will fail in the court for example. I still don't see these regulatory possibilities as immediate/imminent threats unlike the "immigrant entry" related latitude the executive branch has that can be done just by a proclamation.Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur123
The deadline is not Nov 3rd. The rules can be finalized and published till the transition is completed - as it happened during last admin. Besides the election results are not a foregone conclusion unless you are from future :).Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenzone
As for regulatory changes the past cannot be a guide for future because we are in midst of biggest unemployment crisis. Previously the economy was doing diametrically opposite to what it is now, so there was no huge incentive to shake the status-quo - but now the incentive is as high as it can get. The admin has gotten better with rule making - the public charge rule is still in place. So you can’t compare their efforts from 2 years back to now. I see the possibility of something strong coming from them - you may agree or not.
I am not greened yet - not sure how you got the idea - and yes I was there in 2008 too. You are so worked up on these issues and reading too many things in every line I write. I was putting a point of view that chances of anything happening is not 0 percent as there is strong incentive and the other side also knows the legal possibilities. You can assume the rest if you want.Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenzone
Peace my friend.Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur123
None of us have a crystal ball. But if past is any precedent for future, all you have to do is look at the far right agenda on immigration and how much they have achieved so far.
So for that reason alone - if they say something - trust that they are working to do that. Nov 3rd etc doesn't matter. The agenda is agenda whether trump is in office or not.
Just because things are in far right agenda it doesn’t mean all of those will happen either. For example, dunno if you are aware, they have retroactive revocation of certain naturalized citizenship, birth right citizenships and barring certain green card holders from entry as well as drastically reducing GC numbers in their agenda for quite a while. The question and discussion is around how imminent the threat is instead of fretting over every possibility out there! I use Nov 3rd as a barometer because I think a lot of this election centric posturing and the far right is having a field day as a result. So it makes it prudent to see how far and likely they can/will go. Who knows just for posturing the very same administration could say tomorrow they are now reviewing birth right citizenships and all GCs and naturalizations issued in the past decade will be audited to energize their base even further. After all anything is possible, right? If we cast that wide of a net then none can be safe. And that’s my point about Difference between general gloom and doom Vs. looking for imminent threats so that we can be atleast mentally prepared!
I will also bet my life that a Biden administration will not give any legitimacy to any of these far right agenda. That’s a whole another topic of discussion that I will stay clear from assuming we all will know in about 100 days from now!
Quote:
Originally Posted by Zenzone
President may be trailing now. Remember, he was trailing the same amount against Clinton too in June 2016. Until first President vs Biden debate, I won't give any weight to anything that's on media. I'm really worried Biden's going to surrender haplessly should the presidential debate happen.
That’s a whole another topic that would bring out the statistician in me. I feel I have already over contributed to this group so I’m going to refrain going into politics here.Quote:
Originally Posted by jimmys
If USCIS is going to furlough it’s employees due to budget issue they should move the priority dates and collect the money from I-485/EAD filings. What is stopping them?They should not waste 25K visas due to understaffing.
If USCIS is going to furlough it’s employees due to budget issue they should move the priority dates and collect the money from I-485/EAD filings. What is stopping them?
I am sure some people (GC aspirants )will be ready to pay USCIS upfront $20-30K ( as a premium processing fee, if implemented) not to go furlough,
This is pump up their budget with ~$600M. They should not waste 25K visas due to understaffing.
Furloughed employees get unemployment benefits. Trump admin wants funding to USCIS on their rules - i.e no changes in policies, but extra money. They want USCIS to become inefficient as that means less immigrants. They want furloughs.Quote:
Originally Posted by 1312011_eb2I
Republicans in Congress will probably not want to fund USCIS, as they see no reason for the service it offers. Democrats will not want to fund it, as no family based processing is happening ( which the EO has stopped.) . It would be surpriing if Congress agrees to fund it. Only option that may avoid this an immediate fee increase, or an advancement of filling dates for eb. Likely heading towards furlough.Quote:
Originally Posted by rocketfast
The interesting line in the article isQuote:
Originally Posted by jackus
Quote:
Edlow said lawmakers have responded positively, and he is hopeful that if Congress takes up a pandemic aid bill next month, it will include the emergency funds.
- Like others have mentioned, the $1.2B will be negotiated with the second Covid package. The house version of HEROS will stop spillover from FB to EB, which will affect many backlogged folks. Republicans did not commit to that bill and may work on their own version. I am not sure how they will pass one before furloughs hit the employees.
- USCIS / DHS can keep extending the furlough date, by starting to accept a ton of new applications. The agency is run by Cissna, who is from the DT camp. Will the career staff do something to increase income or will the admin wing from DT camp prevail? If people are losing their income, I would think that they will do something to increase income. 10% increase in fees is not going to be enough to avoid furlough.
Cissna is long gone from USCIS.Quote:
Originally Posted by idliman
For slow attrition over the years to have happened, Trump and his ideological successors have to sit in the WH for over a decade. I don't see that happening. I haven't been following up with the current new H1B ban; I am surprised why there hasn't been an injunction from any federal court yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by excalibur123
I started writing a whole big paragraph but it seemed unnecessary. I can only say - being on the ground and in the trenches, I can say with certainty that if the market was depleted from the H1B talent, we cannot do business. Period. My team is not the only team and our organization is not the only organization. For better or for worse, the business in the US now expects a certain level of excellence. The US has amassed unbelievable talent from all over the world that now penetrates across all organizations. You can't suddenly lower the bar - your top performers will leave en masse.
Not to say the repercussion and shock effect it will have on housing in major metros, that will cause recession. I believe the numbers are that big now.
On a side note, I have a different take. All along, we have heard stories of how H1B workers are like slaves and underpaid and are used by corporations for wage arbitrage. It is possible that it's true in some cases. However, I did spend the last three years in three different organizations in managerial/directorial capacity and I have possibly hired ~15 people. I have had some epiphanies during this time. Of course my experiences have been limited, but whatever.
"H1B workers are paid a King's ransom in the right roles". Not a hyperbole. My current H1B reportees are paid 50% to 100% more than my 100% white American reportees in the prior startup I worked. H1Bs also tend to be more dynamic, willing to work on their skills more, and are probably more prone to flight! I have to work extra hard (I enjoy it) to keep them stimulated. H1Bs are also more aware of the market, the right technologies to master, and in fact can take more risks.
What's the point of all this? Well, I am consistently noticing the trend that being on the H1B may be a silent boon so to speak. What you think is the biggest obstacle in life could very well be your biggest strength. H1Bs are climbing the economic ladder fast and I have lost count how many of them have bought million dollar houses in our neighborhood. They are rapidly getting in that "haves" category. I worry that the American public at large might become anti-H1B for this very reason. Some would say that's an anti-American spirit historically, but these days, it's hard to pass what is American and what's not. In that sense, H1B is a vulnerable group.
That is quite a statement. You might be comparing Apples to oranges. E.g. an H1B may be working on latest stuff while your American reportee might be working on routine 9x5 stuff. I don't know your situation. I have managed over $1 billion in IT budgets and so know it first hand how money works. Absolutely zero chance that ANY company will spend even 10% more on an H1B when it comes to base because they are already spending on lawyers.Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsfan33
Wonder if you are really comparing apples to apples. And if so -why are you paying that premium?
Instead of asking Congress for Money to run the self-funded [via our fee] organization, suggest them to start a "Go Fund Me" campaign and ask the general public [Everyone including Citizens, Pending and Future applicants].
They will then not need to Furlough their employees.
If they can mention that they will stay true to constitution, and the law and will act in an unbiased manner in the campaign post, then I am sure everyone will be happy to contribute. Its a Win-Win for everyone.
For sure, I will be happy to open my purse wide.
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackus
The premium is paid for the role and the skills in latest technologies. Think AWS everything, Redshift, Dynamo, EMR, containers, all the latest trends in software engineering. We are a little more forgiving and will hire based on potential and not current knowledge.Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
It actually so happened that I tried to pry away some of my prior reportees/friends to my current organization after several positions opened up. Naturally, they would have been my first targets having worked with them. Not one person moved. Not generalizing any trends here; maybe they have different priorities, but for a 50%+ hike, I would have jumped without blinking (and we are a more stable organization than where most of them work too). Learning the latest cutting edge stuff is great too as it opens up future prospects.
In fact I worked in another in-demand domain before and I know a few folks on H1B working across the startup scene here. Yup, they are all paid King's ransom (I have moved around a lot, have a large network and interview and also take interviews a huge number of times, so I generally know insider salary info of a wide range of people).
Thinking more about this, for an average position, we interview over 10 candidates and a majority of them are quite pedestrian, H1Bs included. So I am certainly not saying H1Bs are unicorns or bring a silver bullet solution to all your problems. However consistently, when hiring the cream of the crop from the field, a significant chunk/or even a majority are H1B folks. My point is that if these people didn't exist in the market as it is structured today, things would turn ugly very quickly as it will be impossible for us to fill a majority of our positions organization wide.
Obviously, the US should invest in their schooling system, and encourage more Americans in jobs requiring critical thinking. Having said that, although I don't want to stereotype, the combination of a native-born American vendor and an Indian/Chinese/East European immigrant worker has been repeated so many times in my direct experience that it's stopped being a cliche. I read once upon a time, native-born American women used to be in programming - I read they were quite instrumental in success of NASA's Apollo missions. That peaked around early 80s and since then, the native-born American women participation in CS just plummeted. Perhaps they don't have role models, are being fed poor normative cues...who knows? This tired cliche holds up very well in my own workplace; all women I have worked with directly in my last 15 years have been immigrants.
It's a complicated situation and there are no easy answers. Perhaps our own kids - when they grow up - will reverse the trend. US is a dynamic place - that's what is so great about this country. However, at this point, the corporate dependence on H1B is absolute - I will be very surprised if there are even minor meaningful changes in the status quo.
Agree with you for the most part. I think ppl. like you and me are on the brighter side of this skilled visa program. Let's face it, visa abuse and undercutting wages is also real and people have in fact made a business model out of it too. Those areas are ripe for reforms. But the election year rhetoric while a raging pandemic is in full swing doesn't bother to differentiate between both and instead things get painted with a broad brush to appeal to the base. Once the rhetoric settles and election passes, it will probably be back to trying changes through regulatory rule making of sorts instead of one size fits all approach, IMO (even if DT is re-elected).Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsfan33
Well written sport. So what this boils down to is that H1Bs are more likely to accept roles that need risk taking, learning, and adapting. Which is in a very different league than most normal jobs. Also H1Bs working in sillicon valley (particularly in Engineering jobs) or H1Bs in executive positions also will be paid quite generously.
However other than these places, H1Bs are generally underpaid. I will not be surprised to hear about underpaid people even from silicon valley. The reason is very simple. If you have a weakness, it will be exploited. That's how the world operates. You know who don't operate that way with their employees ? The absolutely world class companies in each of the industry sector. They value good people and nurture talent.
I do fully agree with your conclusion that H1B is here to stay. H1Bs are indeed highly skilled and do bring unbelievable value to American workforce. Regardless of what Miller and crowd believes, H1Bs indeed often work in areas where it is incredibly difficult to find Americans.
Quote:
Originally Posted by sportsfan33
Agree Q - Have noticed most consulting companies [TCS, Infy,...] to underpay H1's. I have also noticed smaller consulting companies in US take advantage of candidates and pay them less. From my experience being on the board of a small company - I pay H1s and non-H1s same. My teams do not consider the attorney fee at all and reduce their pay. We accept it as a premium for a good candidate. Again being a small company and not being in silicon valley, I do not have many applicants applying on a daily basis but when they do and pass the coding tests[90% or higher] and other recruitment criteria, My teams do all they can to have them onboard.Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
I think the consulting companies are the primarily guilty of underpaying their employees compared to their value output. If they create a separate visa for consulting companies and keep H1 for regular full time positions, it will help clear out this issue.
Other than consulting companies, most companies are fair as they are looking to fill a need. I have analyzed the h1 as well as perm data and the average pay even considering the consulting companies is pretty high compared to what a native born middle class person earns.
I think what would be helpful is to implement the 50-50 rule where a company cannot have more than 50% of their employees on visas and removal of per country limits. Even better would be a work permit that is generic once approved and not tied to employer if the new job is in same or similar occupation.
Paying prevailing wage, free job portability, removal of country caps and 50-50 rule will help level the playing field and take care of the underpay scenario pretty quickly.
HEROES ACTQuote:
Originally Posted by idliman
https://www.congress.gov/116/bills/h...16hr6800eh.pdf
IN PAGE 1755 mention about unsued visa will be rollover into next fiscal year. It mean that will spillover right?
The way I interpreted it is that any difference between the annual worldwide ceiling of FB,EB and DV green cards and the actual number issued will be added to FY 2021 and 2022. I think it will be added to the respective categories.It should be remembered that these numbers are a ceiling and not targets. The fall across from FB to EB will be eliminated to make sure the visa numbers are not counted twice. I think Spectator has addressed this beforeQuote:
Originally Posted by jackus
it means no FB-> EB spill over for the next two years. Unused visas will be spill over back into FB for FB, and EB for eB for the next 2 years. its still just a proposal (not law), so things can change.Quote:
Originally Posted by jackus
Thanks,Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
But how to fix this? Need your experience and expertise.
Here is what you do:Quote:
Originally Posted by 1312011_eb2I
1) March in person to DOS / USCIS / Congress (homeland security related committee) and submit a written request to the heads asking full utilization of visas as well as moving the dates well ahead to ensure visas will be utilized.
2) Do this in batches for 3 months straight. 100 people per week. 12 weeks of repeatedly hammer the message home.
This will do the trick in my opinion. Do it for your own sake.
Thanks Q. I like this idea and I am going to do my part. All those people who have been pre-adjudicated and just waiting for numbers should unite. We have been waiting since 2009/2010, only to find that CO is willing to waste the visa's based on false pretext. In fact, I believe this is an opportunity for CO to make more money if they process the existing backlog and open up for the people beyond April 2010 for eb2 and others in eb1 and eb3 with their respective FAD's. We have to see beyond our individual categories because this impacts all of us. I feel for the folks beyond 2010 who have been waiting since 2012 just to get an EAD. This is indirectly impacting them too.
I believe there are 10-12k eb2 visas who are in eb2 preadjucated status. If you can help me with some estimates for people waiting in eb1, eb2 and eb3 who could be probably be pre-adjucated that will help me immensely to make the case stronger.
Can we call house homeland committee members DC office?Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
People who have already filed 485 (Eb2-2010 April) should call congress members and reach out to DHSQuote:
Originally Posted by sandykolu
Agreed, we shouldn't remain as uninitiated outsider here. I am willing to contribute to get some expert opinion on our options. Do something when there is a glimmer of hope or an insidious tragedy awaits.Quote:
Originally Posted by sandykolu
You can of course.Quote:
Originally Posted by GC-Immigrant
I personally think waves of EB-I immigrants showing up in DC in person week after week will make a much bigger impact. Instead of making this a one time 1000 people deal, I would rather have them space out over 10 weeks - 100 people each time. Makes people take notice. In american politics - 100 people gathering together is a big deal. It's not like in India where we have to have 500,000 people rally to make an impact.
Yes. My PD is 2012, but willing to show up in DHS, people who have PD until 2010 April should step up and approach DHS to reserve visa for already filed 485 applications.Quote:
Originally Posted by qesehmk
I am willing to be part of any action to oppose the Visa wastage too.
Trump administration now targeting students.
https://www.cnn.com/2020/07/06/polit...ing/index.html
This is really bad, I feel bad for the student who came to study genuinely in the US, it is not their fault!
Lots of chatter regarding USCIS Spring 2020 agenda in Indian media:
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eA...&agencyCd=1600
H4-EAD
https://www.reginfo.gov/public/do/eA...&RIN=1615-AC15