[mavelikara]

They have been arguing for increasing the number of H1Bs. But when those H1Bs arrive in the country, work for their employers and then apply for permanent residentship, most of them - those from populous countries - are faced with wait times that last decades.

Note that I was talking about relief for current employees of these tech companies. Please direct me to evidence supporting massive support for this cause from tech companies.

[dguaraglia]

I'm not really sure I understand your point. What you are saying is that companies:

1) Lobby to increase H1B caps 2) Once they are here they "don't do anything" to help them get permanent residency

I think you are conflating two very different things: Valley companies were very vocal about refugees not being allowed into the country, which has little (arguably nothing) to do with H1B immigration. Most people coming on H1Bs aren't fleeing a war zone or at risk of death.

While waiting times for extremely populous countries (i.e. China and India) can be very long, that's because of the way immigration quotas for citizenship/permanent residency are setup, and has nothing to do with the employer/employee relationship that is in the company's interest.

What, exactly, do you expect companies to do besides providing a job? What would be your proposal?

[mavelikara]

What, exactly, do you expect companies to do besides providing a job? What would be your proposal?

My proposal would be for companies to use their lobbying muscle to try pass legislation that would put a stop to the systemic racial discrimination embodied in the current legal immigration laws. It is no longer called "XYZ Exclusion Act of NNN" but that is what it boils down to, in practice. See Microsoft's stance I linked to in the comment you replied to originally. More of the same is what I expect from Valley companies who benefit immensely from the labor of immigrants.

Instead these companies choose to use their influence to speak for allowing more refugees into the country, protecting illegal immigrants etc. This comes out as hollow to me. If these companies really cared for immigration issues, there are issues much closer to home.

It needn't be this or that. But, the fact that organizations like FWD.us etc are completely silent about legal immigration issues makes one wonder about their true intentions.