Engineers feel trapped by H1B visa requirements
15 posts across 8 communities in the last 60 days; 47% from r/cscareerquestions.
“Yeah, I don't get this salary argument. The main issue with H1-B abuse from what I've seen is with hiring managers preferentially hiring certain nationalities over all others once they have the ability to do so. Not that they get paid less and undercut labor. [re: What exactly…”
“If they're on an H-1B visa, they'll have restrictions on receiving pay while still employed by the sponsoring employer. In that case, they can't have paid employment or consulting while in the US. Most immigration attorneys also won't want them having an officer title, since…”
“I am so tired of this threat. ‘You must let us undercut you in your country, if you don’t we will undercut you from our country.’ The fact is there are many legit reasons companies don’t want to outsource large amounts of work to India. From my own experience in tech, the…”
Several posts express concern about the limitations and potential abuse associated with the H1B visa program. Users cite issues like wage theft, restricted job mobility, and exploitation of workers. Some believe it creates an unfair system where foreign-born engineers are undervalued or forced into unfavorable working conditions.
SOURCES (39)
“They should just offshore honestly since they never intended to hire americans in the first place. H1b is such a halfass solution that should have never happened [re: Will the market get better with new PERM rules?]”
“I always knew the H1B’s were lying when they said they are only a small percentage lol. Thank you for providing the statistic the next time someone asks me “why target such a small number of workers?” [re: Will the market get better with new PERM rules?]”
“I don't know who's claiming that. 2/3rds of silicon valley tech workers are foreign born . H1Bs might make up a small fraction of people joining the workforce per year, but they definitely build up in certain sectors over time. [re: Will the market get better with new PERM rules?]”
“Hi everyone! I’m an Indian citizen currently working in the United States on H-1B status. I hold a master’s degree in Computer Science and have approximately five years of professional experience across software development, business systems analysis, and product management. I’m exploring opportunities in Toronto, particularly Technical Product Manager, AI Product Manager, and Business Systems Analyst positions. I’m interested in connecting with professionals who successfully transitioned from t”
“Exactly, explain to me why we are seeing h1b roles for junior roles!?! Wtf [re: The H1-B, Green Card, and Citizenship discourse really made me aware how little(if any) we actually control our careers]”
“I’m hoping this makes finding a job easier. Every job I’ve applied to has asked if I need an H1B visa. I can’t compete…. submitted by /u/Formashion [link] [comments]”
“H-1B is too often reduced to a slogan: either a job‑stealing villain or a miraculous engine of merit. That binary comforts us. It also hides how work actually gets done in technology. If you care about building products, meeting deadlines, and sustaining an industry, you should prefer nuance. H-1B is not the visa for the world’s handful of genius researchers. It is not a legal blank check that permits employers to pay below market. Those convenient myths survive because they make for an easy mor”
“Yeah, I don't get this salary argument. The main issue with H1-B abuse from what I've seen is with hiring managers preferentially hiring certain nationalities over all others once they have the ability to do so. Not that they get paid less and undercut labor. [re: What exactly do the new H1B rules mean for tech jobs?]”
“WTF does it have to do with the thesis of my comment? [re: What exactly do the new H1B rules mean for tech jobs?]”
“Not much for American workers [re: What exactly do the new H1B rules mean for tech jobs?]”
“Hey guys, can anyone explain? There seems to be a lot of mainstream news on this, surprisingly. What exactly does it mean? submitted by /u/PESSl [link] [comments]”
Most of them are top tier engineers in their countries. No one is offering H1B for fun to lower wages. That is a small fraction of it. This is wildly false. I'm…
“do remember h1b workers is 0.45% of US domestic workforce [re: Will new H1B regulations help the tech job market? I hope?!]”
“not to mention, h1bs completely kill company culture bc they all behave sanitized as hell at work out of fear of losing their jobs. the moment there are more h1bs than americans at your job, it’s time to jump ship.”
“not commenting on any other stuff but cracked CS grads are generally not unemployed. it's generally bottom 20% that is struggling. can grant some* variance of mid grads but it's def not top level cs grads that are unemployed. top guys may have struggle landing a faang though relative to a mid-tier company”
“If they're on an H-1B visa, they'll have restrictions on receiving pay while still employed by the sponsoring employer. In that case, they can't have paid employment or consulting while in the US. Most immigration attorneys also won't want them having an officer title, since that sounds like employment. About half won't want them to be a director, either. They'll all be fine with the person having stock. Eventually you'd probably be switching them over from their curr”
“Please get your reading comprehension check. I am stating my observation of people then share my experience, that it sucks as someone trying to get H1B while the visa category being hated on. Nothing to do with racism.”
“I am so tired of this threat. ‘You must let us undercut you in your country, if you don’t we will undercut you from our country.’ The fact is there are many legit reasons companies don’t want to outsource large amounts of work to India. From my own experience in tech, the quality sucks. Companies already can and do outsource whatever they want to cheaper countries. They are already incentivized. H1Bs have little to do with it. So telling Americans if they don’t allow H1Bs all the jobs will move”
“No im saying fixed term as in even unemployment years being part of that term. And after how many ever so years of that fixed term you either get kicked out or reapply. It takes out the firing leverage companies have for most of the years of h1b status”
“It’s Reddit. No one’s going to walk a mile in each other’s shoes and see what’s up. Legal immigration for the benefit of the country should be encouraged. Illegal immigration should be dealt as a punishable offense, including deportation if need be. Laws should be amended as times change - again for the benefit of the country. If the color of skin annoys you, you are a racist. Simple as that.”
“Completely agree. It’s just that one nationality is vastly over represented which makes them the focus.”
“H1-B isn’t supposed to be immigration, it’s a temporary work visa. It’s literally a “nonimmigrant” status. The goal is they come, provide exceptional services, then leave.”
“Like it’s a legitimate question as a lot of good workers are on a H1B. submitted by /u/Elegant_Lunar_Knight [link] [comments]”
“If all immigrant had "gone home" like you suggested, you wouldn't have been born in US soil and probably would be too busy farming potatoes in the family farm in Ireland or whatever instead of angrily typing on a device made with semiconductors developed by a bunch of immigrants in Silicon Valley, on a website maintained by a bunch of other immigrants. I've hired Americans where my American boss had failed to convince leadership to get headcount approval for years. Jobs aren”
“> Most H1-Bs earn well below market rates for the roles they fill.The problem with visas such as H1-B is not salaries. They are a consequence of the exploitation conducted by US employers. The problem with H1-B-style visas is that in practice they work as a modern day take on indentured servitude, and they are designed as a oppression tool where employers can coerce employees to remain at their service under threat of seeing their life uprooted.So,framing visa discussions on how they make it ha”
“I'm not saying it must be 10x. But the point is that it must discourage abuse by companies who wish to have effectively captive workers.”
“For anyone talking about H1BS I am curious, do you think big tech and FAANG pays them any less than a citizen? submitted by /u/Impossible_Simple771 [link] [comments]”
“we just do linear regression models all day long which makes it all the more fucking absurd to hire H1Bs and claim you can't find American talent.”
“You brought up corruption pal, Indians don’t care, they’ll navigate your system, play your game and beat you at your own game”
“China does have different types of work visas. Last year, it even launched a new K visa to attract foreign talent—which, as you’ll see on Chinese social media, quite a few people are against. You should also know that U.S. work visas are among the hardest to obtain in the world and come with time limits that most countries don’t impose on their work visas. The reason you don’t see many foreign tech workers at Chinese companies is much simpler: most of them don’t speak Chinese.”
“Probably helps that OP was sharing news and commenting on it in a reasonable way, not just ranting about how the foreigners is why they can't get a job or how indians are destroying western civilisation.”
“The H1B visa is overwhelmingly used by tech and tech-adjacent companies. Usage of and abuse of the H1B visa is directly relevant to the careers of those in computer science. Mods, are there any actual, valid reasons you are removing these posts? The fact that you personally disagree with or don't like the content of a post is *not* a valid reason to censor. submitted by /u/AwsWithChanceOfAzure [link] [comments]”
“It’s illegal to not pay H1B the same so this was common sense already, the problem H1B is the yes men and everything they try to do to please and remain employed this is the culture killer”
“My man, there's literally entire resources dedicated to H-4 workers being abused by H-1B spouses because it makes them specifically trapped. Even the government directly acknowledges it and has started a program to assist. USCIS to Start Accepting Work Permit Applications for Abused Spouses of Temporary Visa Holders Similarly, there are policy aspects that also keep H1B workers tied down. New evidence of widespread wage theft in the H-1B visa program Hell, the current admin want to fully rem”
“Last I saw the ones to really watch for h1b abuse are the consultancies. There's an entire pipeline for bringing people over from India to overwork and underpay them. The big trick was declaring their developers as "analysts" or "programmers" to hide the obviously below market pay offers.”
“At most decent tech companies. That is also where most of levels.fyi's datapoints come from.”
“Born and educated in the US, 5th generation white. Went to a state school. Saw probably ~70% of my CS classmates cheat their way through the program while they got high. I can only imagine they're the ones complaining about H1-Bs taking their birthright when they never bothered to learn the material.”