Ben Toh
Seeing a lot of mention of #H1B visa status lately. Since I'm a H1B holder, I feel like perhaps I can say a thing or two about it, especially when I think a lot of US-ians may not know what exactly it is... (and yeah being called low-cost slave worker is strange)
H1B is an immigration status that, at least on the book, allows foreign skilled worker to come to the US and work. (1/12)
Ben Toh
There's only one "intake" each year, if you get it, you start your job in October that year.
This means that, yeah, companies start talking to potential foreigners whom they want to hire in say late last year, register them to the system by March. And by the end of March, the government would announce the winner of the lottery. Yes, the number of applicants is much larger than the quota, so every year about 1/3 or 1/4 of the applicants would actually "win the #H1B lottery" (3/12)
Ben Toh
Once you win the lottery, the employer would need to go on to file for the #H1B petition. This is usually when the employers pay substantial amount of money (thousands if not more?) to put together the documents, and filing fees. Employers also usually pay premium processing fees so that they can get the approval asap, you gotta act fast here... (4/12)
Ben Toh
One of the process is called the LCA (Labor Condition Application). Employer needs to tell the government how much they are paying this new foreign worker. And the gov decides if the wage is at least equal or higher than if you were to hire a US national for the same position.
See, if you are allowed to pay the foreigner less, then hiring US citizens would be disadvantageous... LCA protects the citizens (and on the book protect the foreigner from exploitation lol) (5/12)
Ben Toh
The employer needs to apply for the status on your behalf, so it's kind of like: Hey US government, I need this guy who has the skills I want to come to the US and work for me, could you please grant them a #H1B?
The catch is, every year, US sets a quota of new 65000 H1B statuses to be given. And since they really want more people with advanced degree, there's another 20000 statuses reserved for folks with Master degree and above. (2/12)
Ben Toh
3. No rules restricting #H1B folks to join unions; the company can retaliate and fire you I guess, in which case you have 60 days to find another company to take you in or you have to leave US.
4. Nope, you can't work for someone else; so you can't drive for Uber at night, for example...
5. Yeah I think US can revoke your H1B if you conduct crime lol (8/12)
Ben Toh
Once the US government approves and grants the foreigner the H1B status, they can go on and get their visa and enter the US in September, and get themselves ready to start the job in October.
There are some employers that get exempted from the quota: government, academic institution, some NGO/non-profits. My path is through the exempted employers, but they would still need to pay the fees and get LCA and yadda yadda. Also, this path doesn't limit to the October intake (6/12)
Ben Toh
Soooo, is #H1B worker the low-cost indentured servant that has no rights? All system is bound to be exploited, but on the book here are some of the fact(ish):
1. You cannot pay H1B workers lower wage than their peers, at least not on the book
2. H1B status is tied to the employer; but it can get transferred to another employer as long as they hire you under the same job title (7/12)
Ryan Castellucci :nonbinary_flag:
@bentoh The "if they fire you, you have 60 days to find another sponsor" bit seems like a significant stick for the employer, and would make me extremely uncomfortable.
(to contextualize my thinking, a friend on an H1B got fired, and so when I went on to move from the US to the UK I did so on an unsponsored visa to avoid any such problems)
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