zlacker

This is using statistics to tell a preconceived story. Underlying this a notion that foreign workers are simply “imported” like they are dug out of the ground or something. How do these STEM OPT people find jobs? Guess what. They interview like everyone else does.

1: Every big tech interview I have been in the visa status is not even a question in the interview process. There is just a simple gate that “can you legally work in the US”? The hiring committee is not even thinking about visa (that’s a HR problem)

2: Are there confounders in that foreign workers are less likely to negotiate? Absolutely.

3: are there confounders in that people who come to US for study are likely already a self selected bunch who are striving to succeed? What are the typical grade distributions between foreign STEM students and US STEM students? Is grade a confounding variable? What happens if we control for GPA?

And finally does H1B abuse happen? Absolutely.

There is a lot of nuance that are not captured by surface level statistics. But nuance does not make outrage.

>>ylow+(OP)
I think that nuance is fairly unwarranted when you observe the American system through the lens the laws ask you to view it through.

The American H1B system isn't about importing foreign workers that do a good job, it's about importing foreign workers that do a job no American could do. The system demands you look for some American do do the job first, and only if you fail to find one can you import one from overseas.

In that view, all the talk about GPA fall flat, because it doesn't matter if the foreign worker is better than an American worker, you are supposed to pick the American worker anyway.

>>delusi+Wk
Bwaha. I have never met an H1B in tech that was doing a job that an American could not do.

The ‘mandatory interviews for Americans’ are just transparent scams.

>>lazide+nl
That's because the system was sold with a lie or has otherwise been co-opted with revisions over the years.

It was supposed to be for hiring wernher von braun type world leading experts in their field.

It was never supposed to be for hiring a bunch of code plumbers, which is what 99.9% of this industry consists of.

>>ylow+(OP)
Foreign workers are much more likely to agree to do illegal things, including kickback schemes. Unwind this shit and start over. Indian contracting companies big and small have fucked it all up.

>>lazide+nl
I’ve rarely seen them used for that purpose, but of course that’s my personal observation and I have no data about it. A lot of H1B folks I worked with were solid backend/mobile devs. I enjoyed working with most of them but it’d be a stretch to say they were uniquely qualified. I do notice they feel a lot of pressure to never push back on anything due to how they set up the H1B system. Not always the case but often. I always felt that they were being exploited in that way.

>>potato+jo
Eh - H1B the status was created in the 90’s, and immediately was used for ‘code plumbers’.

You’re probably thinking of the O-1 Visa, though that was also created in the ‘90’s.

[https://www.uscis.gov/working-in-the-united-states/temporary...]