Again, all hogwash myths. Let me break it down for you:
If a visa holder wants to leave, he must first find another employer willing to accept (a) H1B's (which eliminates all but large businesses (b) H1B transfers (which eliminates even more companies).
The only difficult step in the whole process is actually applying for and obtaining the visa. Once you have the stamp, you're just like any other employee, free to look around and switch jobs. The only catch is that there is a small legal fee (immigration application, attorney fee, etc) associated with transferring your H1B from one employer to another. Most large reputable companies willing to hire H1B employees either have an in-house legal department to handle the procedure, or will pay your fees for you, which is why most people prefer large companies. That said, it is NOT that hard or tedious to work for a midsize or maybe even a small employer.
If you are an H1B, and you make noise about leaving, your employer simply calls the IMS and you have a few days to leave the country.
H1B visa holders have legal rights. As I mentioned earlier, if you quit your job or get fired, legally, you have 60 days before to either find a a new employer or go home.
While I completely agree with you that there should not be a barrier for skilled people to enter legally and work, until then H1B is actually a pretty decent program. Or at least was a decent program until they decided to limit the number of visa. Now I know there are some quirks and loopholes in it which allow some companies to operate immigrant sweatshops, however most people working under the visas are foreign students who went through the same education as you. It is a viable method for them to work while they go through their long tedious bureaucratic green card process. And believe me when I say that they're all getting competitive wages and ample freedom to move around. They're smart enough to know that. Overall, the program is doing far more good. Don't let a few abusers (read: cisco) and disgruntled laid off xenophobic douchebags (read: the programmer's guild) ruin it for the rest of us.
Slashdot Mirror
Again, all hogwash myths. Let me break it down for you:
If a visa holder wants to leave, he must first find another employer willing to accept (a) H1B's (which eliminates all but large businesses (b) H1B transfers (which eliminates even more companies).
The only difficult step in the whole process is actually applying for and obtaining the visa. Once you have the stamp, you're just like any other employee, free to look around and switch jobs. The only catch is that there is a small legal fee (immigration application, attorney fee, etc) associated with transferring your H1B from one employer to another. Most large reputable companies willing to hire H1B employees either have an in-house legal department to handle the procedure, or will pay your fees for you, which is why most people prefer large companies. That said, it is NOT that hard or tedious to work for a midsize or maybe even a small employer.
If you are an H1B, and you make noise about leaving, your employer simply calls the IMS and you have a few days to leave the country.
H1B visa holders have legal rights. As I mentioned earlier, if you quit your job or get fired, legally, you have 60 days before to either find a a new employer or go home.
While I completely agree with you that there should not be a barrier for skilled people to enter legally and work, until then H1B is actually a pretty decent program. Or at least was a decent program until they decided to limit the number of visa. Now I know there are some quirks and loopholes in it which allow some companies to operate immigrant sweatshops, however most people working under the visas are foreign students who went through the same education as you. It is a viable method for them to work while they go through their long tedious bureaucratic green card process. And believe me when I say that they're all getting competitive wages and ample freedom to move around. They're smart enough to know that. Overall, the program is doing far more good. Don't let a few abusers (read: cisco) and disgruntled laid off xenophobic douchebags (read: the programmer's guild) ruin it for the rest of us.