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

[SoulSpokesman]

@AZ_HighCountry Saar

AZ Saar,

Perhaps what the US needs is H-1B reform.

More than H1B reform what US needs is to look into its educational system (India's is worse but that is a topic for a different discussion)- why it is unable to produce adequate numbers of STEM graduates and as some business leaders are pointing out tradespeople.

Regards

 

[Vikramaditya1]

Lol! Trump keeps saying the opposite. But I do wish the Americans go alr right, the US empire needs to go. Immigrants have been propping it up for far too long.

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@AZ_HighCountry

AZ Saar,

H1B is a far bigger issue. You need to club it with IT/ITES outsourcing to India. Assuming you could ensure that H1B was to be restricted to only critical jobs where local talent was not available, you would still have to address the fact that local workers would be more expensive (even after productivity adjustment) to H1B workers. How do corporates react to this? Do they keep jobs in USA and absorb higher costs? Or do they Bangalore (some, not all for sure) jobs to GCCs in India. Lots of friends from BSchool and Engg college days in Big 4 consulting and Big 5 Indian IT companies- they say they are seeing a mix of both.

Regards

 

[MuzBongEthnonationalist]

"Indian government is behind" the H1B. Indeed!!
I don't know why some Indians like Arnab do the false bravado by asking Indians to go back to India and 'build India'.

They do it because it would be hypocritical otherwise. They're larping as nationalists after all.

 

[Ali_Baba]

So, using my favorite AI tool to assist with a short answer:

What is the current career list of US job fields that have a shortage of American workers?

View attachment 160251
View attachment 160252

Now, let's ask a different question:

Which college programs in the US currently have the most graduates?

View attachment 160253
View attachment 160254

Quite easy to see that we (the US) NOT graduating enough people (note that Engineering and IT are not listed).

In spite of what people would wish for, H-1Bs are not going away anytime soon.

It is a circular problem where students do not go into IT, because they view it as a career that would be outsourced to overseas, or you will be replaced by someone cheaper who will be brought into the country to replace you and companies are then forced to move jobs overseas because(partially) they cannot get the people they want(though it is more a problem of people at cheap prices which has caused this problem) locally.

Until, that changes and young people start to feel it is a long term viable career for them, the number of students who are willing to take a risk on a career in IT is low and will only get lower overtime.

While the current brute force approach on the H1B may seen as being overly strong, it is required if the USA is really serious about having more local IT people from its universities. You have 30-40 years of culture that states IT roles are, and will outsourced overseas. It is now part of folklore. How can you challenge that, if you want to do a reset and change the direction of travel?

The approach on H1B's currently is a good first step in the right direction, but they are not strong enough if you want to get more people to study IT based(or STEM) degrees and pursue careers in IT in the USA.

 

[Meengla]

Quite easy to see that we (the US) NOT graduating enough people (note that Engineering and IT are not listed).
In spite of what people would wish for, H-1Bs are not going away anytime soon.

And yet, a few minutes ago, there is a LinkedIn post where a recruiter is saying never seen the US job market as bad as now.
Just because there are not a large number of tech graduates doesn't mean a large number of unemployed, qualified techies are not out looking for work for a long time. There is no need for H1Bs except for the 10,000 medical ones like MTG says in her plans.

However, on the bolded part, I agree with you, but for different reasons: Companies will figure out how to bring in H1Bs and/or to offshore jobs.

 

[FuturePAF]

So, using my favorite AI tool to assist with a short answer:

What is the current career list of US job fields that have a shortage of American workers?

View attachment 160251
View attachment 160252

Now, let's ask a different question:

Which college programs in the US currently have the most graduates?

View attachment 160253
View attachment 160254

Quite easy to see that we (the US) NOT graduating enough people (note that Engineering and IT are not listed).

In spite of what people would wish for, H-1Bs are not going away anytime soon.

Legislation can put anti-free market pressure to hire American; regardless of the quality of the talent. I see pressure coming from the over-educated and underemployed left on this as well as the far right, finding common cause, rather ran from centrists, who want efficiency and foreign relations to supersede the domestic job market.

These are the only jobs that pay well enough to allow locals to live decent lives considering the cost of living.

Trade jobs would be a good option, if they paid well enough within a 40 hour work week. That’s probably why we will see another post gilded age effort to strengthen unions, by younger workers.

Top talent coming in desired, but the stories of blatant H1B abuse has soured many localities on this form of job poaching.

Perhaps only when the AI bubble bursts will the political will rise up strong enough to overcome the moneyed interest backing H1B visas (who by then will be trying to offload H1B hires due to the market downswing); probably in the 2027-2029 congress. Locking out new H1B visa the will be the way allow local talent to fill the pipeline and prevent H1Bs from coming back in the numbers they have been up until now.

 

[r3alist]

@AZ_HighCountry

AZ Saar,

In spite of what people would wish for, H-1Bs are not going away anytime soon.

Please don't break the hearts of our gracious Pakistani hosts, Saar!

Regards

The correct application of h1b would in fact hurt your fellow nationals much much more.

Because it would be appropriately and correctly applied.

Trump for example, was in favor of keeping the 500 or so Koreans at the Hyundai factory, they were doing the training. I think that's an indication of the right way to use the h1b.

Having project managers, business analysts, human resources workers, is something Americans can do

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

Let's keep the inappropriate comments to a minimum.

 

[AZ_HighCountry]

However, on the bolded part, I agree with you, but for different reasons: Companies will figure out how to bring in H1Bs and/or to offshore jobs.

As I noted earlier in the thread, some functions would benefit greatly from offshoring; more precisely, mirroring the local center. Circuit designs being a big one.

Any number of IT functions can be better leveraged. When I was doing a major server refresh in the US about 10 years ago, we were under a tight timeline due to delays within the BU. Consequently, we forced the people in PRG to go against the grain and set things up that the server builds would be done literally 24x7 by leveraging the teams in the US, PRG, and CBJ.

Ironically, that led to the teams in PRG coming up with better tools and processes that allowed for a more efficient approach to releasing servers to production. What was once 6-8 weeks for an RTP is now down to 2 weeks tops.

 

[Meengla]

As I noted earlier in the thread, some functions would benefit greatly from offshoring; more precisely, mirroring the local center. Circuit designs being a big one.
Any number of IT functions can be better leveraged. When I was doing a major server refresh in the US about 10 years ago, we were under a tight timeline due to delays within the BU. Consequently, we forced the people in PRG to go against the grain and set things up that the server builds would be done literally 24x7 by leveraging the teams in the US, PRG, and CBJ.

Ironically, that led to the teams in PRG coming up with better tools and processes that allowed for a more efficient approach to releasing servers to production. What was once 6-8 weeks for an RTP is now down to 2 weeks tops.

Bolded part.
Who could argue against that??
But it is not just 'some': A large numbers of qualified American techies are being left out because of the HIBs and/or offshoring. I pity the young professionals: My own career is in its twilight and just a few more years.
But them youngens... Sorry, life is not fair but please don't blame a Gen X like me: I am in your boat except my boat is closer to the shore.

 

[Thinking]

America will do what is best for America but this whole H1B drama will only accelerate GCCs in India. Stay in India and work for MNCs.

 

[FuturePAF]

Bolded part.
Who could argue against that??
But it is not just 'some': A large numbers of qualified American techies are being left out because of the HIBs and/or offshoring. I pity the young professionals: My own career is in its twilight and just a few more years.
But them youngens... Sorry, life is not fair but please don't blame a Gen X like me: I am in your boat except my boat is closer to the shore.

The issue is that younger workers will have to live off their parents longer if the economy doesn’t allow them to get decent jobs to support themselves. Your generation might be the twilight of their careers, but your children are probably trying to strike out on their own, and you wouldn’t want to be supporting them just for their potential jobs to go to formalized scabs (H1Bs). Couple this with the cost of housing, and many in your generation will not have grandchildren. Letting corporations completely dictate economic policy is at the detriment to the average American family.

Without normal checks and balances, we get young people seeking socialist saviors and that will mean higher taxes on the wealthy and the “wealthy”, which will probably those that can’t find a loophole; people who worked their whole lives to enjoy their retirements, pensions, investments.

So the status quo, unchecked is pernicious to all Americans.

An early indicator of populist pushback maybe a requirement that data centers (where AI threatens to automate and take more jobs), are required to build their own power plants so local users are not burdened with the higher costs for electricity that these data centers are causing.

 

[r3alist]

America will do what is best from America but this whole H1B drama will only accelerate GCCs in India. Stay in India and work for MNCs.

This could end up being true.

It could perhaps create an even bigger dependence on India for specific functions.


I am not sure how India will place itself for the future artificial intelligence gravy train, after all let's not forget the first 10 years or so a lot of hand holding was needed for Bangalore offshoring, maybe used for maintenance if appropriate

 

[SoulSpokesman]

@r3alist bro

I am not sure how India will place itself for the future artificial intelligence gravy train,

True. What was true in the past- i.e. India's almost unlimited ability to take away tech jobs of a certain kind- is no guarantee of what will happen in the future. India's ability to remain relevant in the tech industry will depend upon the decisions taken by government, corporates, educational institutions and even citizens themselves today and in the future.

Regards