Section 2.<p>That's what matters if you're an Indian with an I-140 dated 2009, afraid to change his H1B job, despite salary or personnel issues. (Also, ask me about why I'm not starting up).<p>That one section prevents this "you can quit anytime you feel like" threat held over Indian employees by employers, because an I-140 for the employee is issued to the employer.<p>An employee with mobility between employers is no longer forcing the wages down.<p>That does not prevent a company from sending the same job to India, because it suddenly costs so much, but it does prevent the lowering of wages due to people putting up with abusive or near-illegal employment practices.<p>This is good for the local economy and basically makes an "outsourcing" employee irresponsible if she doesn't jump to an american firm who will do her paperwork right.<p>Raising the salaries all around.<p>(delete mini-rant about living expenses and salaries - increased pay all around isn't always what it's cracked up to be)<p>That section alone, shifts the balance of power between an employer and an H1b holder.
I was a free market libertarian until about last week, when I finally got sick of being lectured and called names by tech billionaires. Now I'm for anything that helps me financially, and hurts these people.<p>If the H1B program were abolished entirely, my compensation would shoot up there with doctors' and lawyers', and the tech billionaires would be slightly less rich.<p>This measure doesn't go that far, but it's a step in that direction.
Reposting my comment from the other thread [1]:<p>---<p>While TCS, Infosys etc figure prominently in the H-1B debate, I think this new bill does not affect them as much as it is made out to be. The real downside is for staffing firms (popularly known as "desi consulting shops"), mostly run by Indian-Americans.<p>TCS employs 370K+ employees worldwide and had revenue of $16B+ in 2016. They might have gotten 3K H-1Bs each year. If they know how to run projects staffing 370K employees with 3K H-1Bs per year, they will figure out a way to run it with 500. Also, with that kind of revenue, they will pay the $130K if it comes to that.<p>H-1Bs, I suspect, have a power law distribution. TCS, Infosys etc top the list of H-1B visas per year, but there is a long tail of companies which get allotted few visas every year. Some of these in the long tail are high tech firms in real need of skill and are the ones paying appropriately for it (AmaFaceGoodSoft etc). But I think the larger cohort are the staffing shops which bend the rules often and pay low.<p>---<p>[1]: <a href="https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13534296" rel="nofollow">https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=13534296</a>
Looks like a good move, aimed at reducing H1B misuse by the outsourcing companies that arbitrage wages for large employers like Microsoft, while enabling move visas for other employers.<p>Curious to see how this bill would prevent the major outsources from forming a load of subsidiaries and gaming the system anyway. Maybe it's more of a bill for show, than to actually solve anything.<p>Also, for those jobs with lower income potential, the question still stands - can the employers find enough US citizens to take on those jobs (and do them well), given the the low salary.
"Unless dependent employers compensate their H-1B workers above the required wage level, they must make
attestations regarding recruitment and non-displacement of U.S. workers"<p>Does this mean that a company can pay below the 130k if it can prove that it's not possible to hire an American even with higher wages?
<p><pre><code> Sets aside 20% of the annual allocation of H-1B visas for small and start-up employers
</code></pre>
This is great, I was worried with the $130k requirement candidates would be stuck at huge corporations, but 20% is fairly generous.
Everyone seems to think that H1-B visas are just for tech employees. What about other professional service fields like RN's in private and public or community clinics, doctors e.t.c. I doubt all eligible jobs can pay the proposed amount. Also what about geographic cost of living adjustment? If anything this bill concentrates high wages in the pasts and maybe Chicago. I don't know how this changes the equation for middle America.
There are some good things in there, in particular 6. MARKET-BASED H-1B VISA ALLOCATION. However what is missing is a month by month allocation, which would be much more competitive than the existing yearly, April 1st allocation.<p>If you are in Zoe Lofgren's district, please send her comments here: <a href="https://lofgren.house.gov/contact/" rel="nofollow">https://lofgren.house.gov/contact/</a>
I am a bit confused about $130,000 limit. A $130,000 salary in NYC is way different than a small town in Mississippi. Should not it be regional average?
Is this in fact the same H-1B bill that is likely to pass congress and the President's signature? I ask as the sponsor of the bill, Rep. Lofgren, is the (Democratic) congresswoman for downtown San Jose.