H-1B visas must end’: Wife of US citizen shares plight of landing IT jobs

[Taimoor]

@Taimoor sb

Even I am feeling embarrassed for these rats in east.

Not sure why as a Pakistani you should feel embarassed about the antics of Indian IT employees.

I certainly didn't feel embarassed when PU girls were dancing to the tune of "Mere rashke qamar mazaa aa gaya" in Lahore, while US students were protesting the going ons in Gaza.

Regards

I am not sure what you are on about. I am just highlighting the cringe behaviour Indians are exhibiting in that particular video.

 

[nahtanbob]

I too got laid off but I was kept for three more months while I trained my replacements and no guess needed who they were!!!

That is not fun. I have my finances in order where I can afford not to

 

[KingQamaR]

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[r3alist]

You're absolutely right—I'm in IT and using all the options, including Indian consulting firms. However, my main concern is that I haven't received not even a phone call or an email in response.

I’m definitely open to relocating—let’s see how things unfold.

This method worked for me in the past, its time consuming but at least someone would still see your resume.

1. Get a listing of companies in an industry.
2. Visit their job boards
3. If you find a job you believe you are qualified, create a profile and submit a tailor made resume to them. Make sure your resume has all the keywords.

I would also suggest you hire a resume writer to just check your CV. Keep trying.

In addition to this, AI can at least give you directional or diagnostic on your CV profile.


Also be consistent and early to any application, I guess it's a full-time job in itself

 

[Gripen9]

All trolling aside, here is my view being a product of the H1B program mywelf.

@RescueRanger , this is my serious contribution and no more chutkalay

@Jango , it touches on some of the fraud you were asking about...

Full disclosure: Used ChatGPT to articulate my thoughts clearly.

My Experience with H1B Employment – 25 Years in Tech

I’ve seen the H1B system from multiple angles over the past 25 years — as a student, an immigrant employee, and now as a senior engineering manager at a FAANG company. I want to share my perspective because a lot of conversations about H1Bs either get stuck on extremes (all fraud / all merit), and the reality is more complex.

My background:

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (NED University, Karachi, Pakistan).
• Came to the US in 2001 for my Master’s. Started in Mechanical/CFD but shifted into MIS (which was the precursor to today’s Data Analytics programs).
• Started working in 2004 for a large Midwest-based retailer. Did OPT → H1B (2005–2010) → Green Card process.
• I stayed with that employer until my I-140 and I-485 were done. This slowed down my career growth and salary progression in the early years, but I was risk-averse and wanted stability. @nahtanbob would refer to me as the lazy guy
• Today, I manage a team of 15 Data/BI engineers at a FAANG company in the Pacific Northwest. About 80–90% of them are immigrants, many on H1B/L1.

So what I share below is firsthand experience, not secondhand stories.

1. Outright Fraud (more common in the 90s/early 2000s)

Back in the dotcom boom (late 90s), there were small “sweatshop” consultancies that abused the H1B program. They would bring people in on fake resumes and “projects,” but those workers would actually end up working at gas stations or 7-Elevens until something real came up.

Other shady practices:

• Withholding wages or paying late to keep workers dependent.
• For example, a Pakistani friend of mine in the early 2000s went months without being paid properly by a shady consultancy until he finally reported them to INS/DOL. He eventually won backpay, but most people didn’t fight back.

This type of outright fraud has become much rarer today, though it still happens in pockets.

2. Resume Padding & Placement Shops

Another “gray area” I saw often in the 2000s was resume padding. Small consultancies would:

• Charge candidates ~$5k for training on a specific tool.
• Build fake resumes showing 5–7 years of experience.
• Provide fake references who vouched for them in interviews.

Some of my peers went through this. A Pakistani friend of mine (MS in Mechanical Engineering from a lower-tier US school) struggled to get interviews. He paid one of these firms (indian owned), they trained him on a database tool, faked his resume, and placed him at Boeing. Because he was smart and had an engineering background, he picked it up and succeeded.

But I also saw cases where candidates memorized scripts but lacked real depth, which frustrated managers and coworkers.


Sometimes, even senior leaders abused the system. At one company I worked for, an Indian director secretly co-owned a staffing firm with his brother-in-law. He created job postings that only his firm’s candidates could fill, effectively funneling business to himself. He was eventually fired and sued.


3. The Overrepresentation Flywheel

Fast forward to the 2010s: outright fraud decreased, but another dynamic took hold.

• Early Indian immigrants from the 90s/2000s rose to leadership positions.
• They pushed cost savings by creating offshore back offices in India, building a massive pipeline of talent.
• As those offshore teams gained experience, leaders began sponsoring them for H1B/L1 transfers into the US.

Now, in many tech companies (especially in the Pacific Northwest), you see an overwhelming majority of Indian employees not just in engineering, but also in recruiting, HR, finance, product, etc.

It’s not illegal, and in many cases it’s just network effects plus unconscious bias. But the result is that:

• The hiring pipeline feels closed off to anyone outside of that system.
• Recruiters overwhelmingly source Indian resumes, even if average quality is mixed.
• Non-Indian candidates often struggle to even get interviews.

4. Resentment & Social Tensions

This has created some visible cultural/economic divides. In Seattle, for example:

• Many new H1B hires earn $200–300K+, dual-income couples earn $500–700K+, and they’re buying $1–2M homes.
• Long-time locals (including white Americans and even schoolteachers I’ve spoken to) are priced out of neighborhoods they grew up in.
• To outsiders, it all blurs together — Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi — we’re all just “brown tech workers.” And resentment is growing.

Final Thoughts

• Fraud exists — but much less than before.
• Resume padding & shady consultancies were a real gateway for many, sometimes helping people succeed, sometimes not.
• Overrepresentation isn’t fraud, but it’s real. The flywheel effect has tilted the system heavily toward one community, making entry difficult for others.
• The resentment is real and not just a political talking point — it’s a social undercurrent that will shape how H1Bs are perceived going forward.

That’s been my journey and what I’ve seen firsthand.

 

[Ali_Baba]

All trolling aside, here is my view being a product of the H1B program mywelf.

@RescueRanger , this is my serious contribution and no more chutkalay

@Jango , it touches on some of the fraud you were asking about...

Full disclosure: Used ChatGPT to articulate my thoughts clearly.

My Experience with H1B Employment – 25 Years in Tech

I’ve seen the H1B system from multiple angles over the past 25 years — as a student, an immigrant employee, and now as a senior engineering manager at a FAANG company. I want to share my perspective because a lot of conversations about H1Bs either get stuck on extremes (all fraud / all merit), and the reality is more complex.

My background:

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (NED University, Karachi, Pakistan).
• Came to the US in 2001 for my Master’s. Started in Mechanical/CFD but shifted into MIS (which was the precursor to today’s Data Analytics programs).
• Started working in 2004 for a large Midwest-based retailer. Did OPT → H1B (2005–2010) → Green Card process.
• I stayed with that employer until my I-140 and I-485 were done. This slowed down my career growth and salary progression in the early years, but I was risk-averse and wanted stability. @nahtanbob would refer to me as the lazy guy
• Today, I manage a team of 15 Data/BI engineers at a FAANG company in the Pacific Northwest. About 80–90% of them are immigrants, many on H1B/L1.

So what I share below is firsthand experience, not secondhand stories.

1. Outright Fraud (more common in the 90s/early 2000s)

Back in the dotcom boom (late 90s), there were small “sweatshop” consultancies that abused the H1B program. They would bring people in on fake resumes and “projects,” but those workers would actually end up working at gas stations or 7-Elevens until something real came up.

Other shady practices:

• Withholding wages or paying late to keep workers dependent.
• For example, a Pakistani friend of mine in the early 2000s went months without being paid properly by a shady consultancy until he finally reported them to INS/DOL. He eventually won backpay, but most people didn’t fight back.

This type of outright fraud has become much rarer today, though it still happens in pockets.

2. Resume Padding & Placement Shops

Another “gray area” I saw often in the 2000s was resume padding. Small consultancies would:

• Charge candidates ~$5k for training on a specific tool.
• Build fake resumes showing 5–7 years of experience.
• Provide fake references who vouched for them in interviews.

Some of my peers went through this. A Pakistani friend of mine (MS in Mechanical Engineering from a lower-tier US school) struggled to get interviews. He paid one of these firms (indian owned), they trained him on a database tool, faked his resume, and placed him at Boeing. Because he was smart and had an engineering background, he picked it up and succeeded.

But I also saw cases where candidates memorized scripts but lacked real depth, which frustrated managers and coworkers.


Sometimes, even senior leaders abused the system. At one company I worked for, an Indian director secretly co-owned a staffing firm with his brother-in-law. He created job postings that only his firm’s candidates could fill, effectively funneling business to himself. He was eventually fired and sued.


3. The Overrepresentation Flywheel

Fast forward to the 2010s: outright fraud decreased, but another dynamic took hold.

• Early Indian immigrants from the 90s/2000s rose to leadership positions.
• They pushed cost savings by creating offshore back offices in India, building a massive pipeline of talent.
• As those offshore teams gained experience, leaders began sponsoring them for H1B/L1 transfers into the US.

Now, in many tech companies (especially in the Pacific Northwest), you see an overwhelming majority of Indian employees not just in engineering, but also in recruiting, HR, finance, product, etc.

It’s not illegal, and in many cases it’s just network effects plus unconscious bias. But the result is that:

• The hiring pipeline feels closed off to anyone outside of that system.
• Recruiters overwhelmingly source Indian resumes, even if average quality is mixed.
• Non-Indian candidates often struggle to even get interviews.

4. Resentment & Social Tensions

This has created some visible cultural/economic divides. In Seattle, for example:

• Many new H1B hires earn $200–300K+, dual-income couples earn $500–700K+, and they’re buying $1–2M homes.
• Long-time locals (including white Americans and even schoolteachers I’ve spoken to) are priced out of neighborhoods they grew up in.
• To outsiders, it all blurs together — Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi — we’re all just “brown tech workers.” And resentment is growing.

Final Thoughts

• Fraud exists — but much less than before.
• Resume padding & shady consultancies were a real gateway for many, sometimes helping people succeed, sometimes not.
• Overrepresentation isn’t fraud, but it’s real. The flywheel effect has tilted the system heavily toward one community, making entry difficult for others.
• The resentment is real and not just a political talking point — it’s a social undercurrent that will shape how H1Bs are perceived going forward.

That’s been my journey and what I’ve seen firsthand.

Interesting.

Do you have a green card or permanent residence yet?

 

[Gripen9]

Interesting.

Do you have a green card or permanent residence yet?

Bhaiyya hum jannati hogaye hein...
I am a US Citizen.

 

[Dalit]

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Don't worry. The UAE is about to be flooded with more Indians. Among high caste Indians there is consensus that the UAE should serve as the new H1-B visa heaven.

 

[KingQamaR]

Don't worry. The UAE is about to be flooded with more Indians. Among high caste Indians there is consensus that the UAE should serve as the new H1-B visa heaven.

Surprise surprise .. Leaders of UAE is scummy.

I regret visiting that place UAE

 

[nahtanbob]

All trolling aside, here is my view being a product of the H1B program mywelf.

@RescueRanger , this is my serious contribution and no more chutkalay

@Jango , it touches on some of the fraud you were asking about...

Full disclosure: Used ChatGPT to articulate my thoughts clearly.

My Experience with H1B Employment – 25 Years in Tech

I’ve seen the H1B system from multiple angles over the past 25 years — as a student, an immigrant employee, and now as a senior engineering manager at a FAANG company. I want to share my perspective because a lot of conversations about H1Bs either get stuck on extremes (all fraud / all merit), and the reality is more complex.

My background:

• @nahtanbob would refer to me as the lazy guy

Nothing wrong in being lazy

• Today, I manage a team of 15 Data/BI engineers at a FAANG company in the Pacific Northwest. About 80–90% of them are immigrants, many on H1B/L1.

So what I share below is firsthand experience, not secondhand stories.

1. Outright Fraud (more common in the 90s/early 2000s)

Back in the dotcom boom (late 90s), there were small “sweatshop” consultancies that abused the H1B program. They would bring people in on fake resumes and “projects,” but those workers would actually end up working at gas stations or 7-Elevens until something real came up.

Other shady practices:

• Withholding wages or paying late to keep workers dependent.
• For example, a Pakistani friend of mine in the early 2000s went months without being paid properly by a shady consultancy until he finally reported them to INS/DOL. He eventually won backpay, but most people didn’t fight back.

I see a lot of Indians at 7/11, gas stations - no idea how they are entering the country

This type of outright fraud has become much rarer today, though it still happens in pockets.

2. Resume Padding & Placement Shops

Another “gray area” I saw often in the 2000s was resume padding. Small consultancies would:

• Charge candidates ~$5k for training on a specific tool.
• Build fake resumes showing 5–7 years of experience.
• Provide fake references who vouched for them in interviews.

Some of my peers went through this. A Pakistani friend of mine (MS in Mechanical Engineering from a lower-tier US school) struggled to get interviews. He paid one of these firms (indian owned), they trained him on a database tool, faked his resume, and placed him at Boeing. Because he was smart and had an engineering background, he picked it up and succeeded.

Some more shady practices
Imagine interviewing candidate # A during phone screen. But the actual person on Day # 1 of work is candidate # B. No brownie points for guessing who is qualified or less qualified

These days - all interviews are remote. There is wholesale fraud based off AI

3. The Overrepresentation Flywheel

Fast forward to the 2010s: outright fraud decreased, but another dynamic took hold.

• Early Indian immigrants from the 90s/2000s rose to leadership positions.
• They pushed cost savings by creating offshore back offices in India, building a massive pipeline of talent.
• As those offshore teams gained experience, leaders began sponsoring them for H1B/L1 transfers into the US.

Now, in many tech companies (especially in the Pacific Northwest), you see an overwhelming majority of Indian employees not just in engineering, but also in recruiting, HR, finance, product, etc.

It’s not illegal, and in many cases it’s just network effects plus unconscious bias. But the result is that:

• The hiring pipeline feels closed off to anyone outside of that system.
• Recruiters overwhelmingly source Indian resumes, even if average quality is mixed.
• Non-Indian candidates often struggle to even get interviews.

Network effect is real

4. Resentment & Social Tensions

This has created some visible cultural/economic divides. In Seattle, for example:

• Many new H1B hires earn $200–300K+, dual-income couples earn $500–700K+, and they’re buying $1–2M homes.
• Long-time locals (including white Americans and even schoolteachers I’ve spoken to) are priced out of neighborhoods they grew up in.
• To outsiders, it all blurs together — Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi — we’re all just “brown tech workers.” And resentment is growing.

Most Pakistani Americans are priced out of Silicon Valley - especially they are on single income

The resentment is real

Final Thoughts

• Fraud exists — but much less than before.
• Resume padding & shady consultancies were a real gateway for many, sometimes helping people succeed, sometimes not.
• Overrepresentation isn’t fraud, but it’s real. The flywheel effect has tilted the system heavily toward one community, making entry difficult for others.
• The resentment is real and not just a political talking point — it’s a social undercurrent that will shape how H1Bs are perceived going forward.

That’s been my journey and what I’ve seen firsthand.

There are too many college graduates in USA chasing too few white collar jobs. AI will make it worse. This is going to become a political hot potato a decade from now or sooner

 

[Distant_Observer]

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[RescueRanger]

Bhaiyya hum jannati hogaye hein...
I am a US Citizen.

Lol

 

[ihussain]

In addition to this, AI can at least give you directional or diagnostic on your CV profile.


Also be consistent and early to any application, I guess it's a full-time job in itself

Good point, I'll play with it. Just in case I'm using QWen & Kimi AI's (good tools)..
At the end of the day, rizq is in the hand of Almighty Creator. So, let's see...

 

[Jango]

2. Resume Padding & Placement Shops

Another “gray area” I saw often in the 2000s was resume padding. Small consultancies would:

• Charge candidates ~$5k for training on a specific tool.
• Build fake resumes showing 5–7 years of experience.
• Provide fake references who vouched for them in interviews.

Some of my peers went through this. A Pakistani friend of mine (MS in Mechanical Engineering from a lower-tier US school) struggled to get interviews. He paid one of these firms (indian owned), they trained him on a database tool, faked his resume, and placed him at Boeing. Because he was smart and had an engineering background, he picked it up and succeeded.

But I also saw cases where candidates memorized scripts but lacked real depth, which frustrated managers and coworkers.


Sometimes, even senior leaders abused the system. At one company I worked for, an Indian director secretly co-owned a staffing firm with his brother-in-law. He created job postings that only his firm’s candidates could fill, effectively funneling business to himself. He was eventually fired and sued.

Are you guys hiring? (JK)

I know a friend who went through this route and works for one of the major retail pharma chains. For the first year a part of his salary went to the consultancy, but he was on OPT, not H1B. These companies get you an interview, but then after that it's your own game.

I do agree though that the H1B system is abused, and has a lot of room for improvement.

 

[Master Chief]

All trolling aside, here is my view being a product of the H1B program mywelf.

@RescueRanger , this is my serious contribution and no more chutkalay

@Jango , it touches on some of the fraud you were asking about...

Full disclosure: Used ChatGPT to articulate my thoughts clearly.

My Experience with H1B Employment – 25 Years in Tech

I’ve seen the H1B system from multiple angles over the past 25 years — as a student, an immigrant employee, and now as a senior engineering manager at a FAANG company. I want to share my perspective because a lot of conversations about H1Bs either get stuck on extremes (all fraud / all merit), and the reality is more complex.

My background:

• Bachelor’s in Mechanical Engineering (NED University, Karachi, Pakistan).
• Came to the US in 2001 for my Master’s. Started in Mechanical/CFD but shifted into MIS (which was the precursor to today’s Data Analytics programs).
• Started working in 2004 for a large Midwest-based retailer. Did OPT → H1B (2005–2010) → Green Card process.
• I stayed with that employer until my I-140 and I-485 were done. This slowed down my career growth and salary progression in the early years, but I was risk-averse and wanted stability. @nahtanbob would refer to me as the lazy guy
• Today, I manage a team of 15 Data/BI engineers at a FAANG company in the Pacific Northwest. About 80–90% of them are immigrants, many on H1B/L1.

So what I share below is firsthand experience, not secondhand stories.

1. Outright Fraud (more common in the 90s/early 2000s)

Back in the dotcom boom (late 90s), there were small “sweatshop” consultancies that abused the H1B program. They would bring people in on fake resumes and “projects,” but those workers would actually end up working at gas stations or 7-Elevens until something real came up.

Other shady practices:

• Withholding wages or paying late to keep workers dependent.
• For example, a Pakistani friend of mine in the early 2000s went months without being paid properly by a shady consultancy until he finally reported them to INS/DOL. He eventually won backpay, but most people didn’t fight back.

This type of outright fraud has become much rarer today, though it still happens in pockets.

2. Resume Padding & Placement Shops

Another “gray area” I saw often in the 2000s was resume padding. Small consultancies would:

• Charge candidates ~$5k for training on a specific tool.
• Build fake resumes showing 5–7 years of experience.
• Provide fake references who vouched for them in interviews.

Some of my peers went through this. A Pakistani friend of mine (MS in Mechanical Engineering from a lower-tier US school) struggled to get interviews. He paid one of these firms (indian owned), they trained him on a database tool, faked his resume, and placed him at Boeing. Because he was smart and had an engineering background, he picked it up and succeeded.

But I also saw cases where candidates memorized scripts but lacked real depth, which frustrated managers and coworkers.


Sometimes, even senior leaders abused the system. At one company I worked for, an Indian director secretly co-owned a staffing firm with his brother-in-law. He created job postings that only his firm’s candidates could fill, effectively funneling business to himself. He was eventually fired and sued.


3. The Overrepresentation Flywheel

Fast forward to the 2010s: outright fraud decreased, but another dynamic took hold.

• Early Indian immigrants from the 90s/2000s rose to leadership positions.
• They pushed cost savings by creating offshore back offices in India, building a massive pipeline of talent.
• As those offshore teams gained experience, leaders began sponsoring them for H1B/L1 transfers into the US.

Now, in many tech companies (especially in the Pacific Northwest), you see an overwhelming majority of Indian employees not just in engineering, but also in recruiting, HR, finance, product, etc.

It’s not illegal, and in many cases it’s just network effects plus unconscious bias. But the result is that:

• The hiring pipeline feels closed off to anyone outside of that system.
• Recruiters overwhelmingly source Indian resumes, even if average quality is mixed.
• Non-Indian candidates often struggle to even get interviews.

4. Resentment & Social Tensions

This has created some visible cultural/economic divides. In Seattle, for example:

• Many new H1B hires earn $200–300K+, dual-income couples earn $500–700K+, and they’re buying $1–2M homes.
• Long-time locals (including white Americans and even schoolteachers I’ve spoken to) are priced out of neighborhoods they grew up in.
• To outsiders, it all blurs together — Pakistani, Indian, Bangladeshi — we’re all just “brown tech workers.” And resentment is growing.

Final Thoughts

• Fraud exists — but much less than before.
• Resume padding & shady consultancies were a real gateway for many, sometimes helping people succeed, sometimes not.
• Overrepresentation isn’t fraud, but it’s real. The flywheel effect has tilted the system heavily toward one community, making entry difficult for others.
• The resentment is real and not just a political talking point — it’s a social undercurrent that will shape how H1Bs are perceived going forward.

That’s been my journey and what I’ve seen firsthand.

What you've described is not "unconscious bias", but rather, "deliberate selection bias". In UK, this could only be justified if there was a recognised shortage of this particular labour type locally and a specific govt programme was instituted to attract that shortage labour from abroad. Companies can't get away with pipelining from abroad just to cut costs.