[curun1r]

That would result in tech workers continuing to be underpaid, just slightly less so, and other professions being complete non-starters for immigrants. Working in tech, it's easy to get myopic about H1-B issues and only see how the program affects our workplaces. But it's important to realize there are professions other than tech that get paid a lot less than even the underpaid tech H1-B visa holders. And adjusting the program to fix problems in tech can easily break it for everyone else.

But I think there is a better way to fix the program and not have the kind of collateral damage that your plan would create. It's a method that's in use in many parts of the world and it works well...ratios. Let companies hire as many DHS-cleared immigrants as they want provided they also employ the requisite number of US citizens in similar roles.

[bduerst]

Not to mention it would drive down wages for American jobs.

This national auction for visas would be an economic disaster, resulting in immigrants being paid much less in areas that have higher a cost-of-living.

Companies could pay immigrants less than the prevailing wage of American citizens, and lay off the citizens. Immigrants would take the jobs too because it has the added value of the visa.

[nitwit005]

> Not to mention it would drive down wages for American jobs.

There are a fixed number of slots in the program. Requiring the highest paid employees take those slots would mean immigrant labor would be costlier.

[bduerst]

No, it just means that you have a set supply and the auction settles at a specific wage.

Say you limit the supply so that only immigrants being paid more than $90/k yr gets approved. Now companies start laying off American citizens getting paid more than that in high-cost-of-living areas because they can hire replacement immigrants for $98/k yr.

If you look at the purpose of the H1B program, it's not to play a numbers game with wages - it's to allow skilled labor to come to the U.S. and contribute to the economy.

40% of Fortune 500 companies are founded by immigrant families, and if you keep lowering H1B quotas to make sure Americans survive the wage auction, you're going to stagnate the economy.

[nitwit005]

You claim it's not a numbers game, but obviously a discussion if immigration quotas and wages is a pure numbers game. Let's not pretend.

We control the supply completely, which means we control the price. We can set any floor, or regional floor we want, and we can keep the existing rules in place if we want as well.

[bduerst]

No, I claim that the purpose of the H1b program isn't to play a numbers games with wages.

The purpose is to allow new skilled labor into the U.S. so that the economy can flourish. The prevailing wage already sets the wage floor to prevent stagnation - scrapping it for a wage auction only creates more problems for American citizens working in skilled labor positions.

[sanxiyn]

Paying immigrants less than the prevailing wage of American citizens with H-1B visa is illegal.

[bduerst]

GP is talking about switching the H1B visa to a wage auction, specifically doing away with prevailing wage. That's what we're talking about.

[sanxiyn]

I would think any such wage auction reform would maintain prevailing wage requirement. I don't see why not.

[bduerst]

Then the wage auction doesn't solve any problem that the prevailing wage requirement already solves, it only creates more issues.

[sanxiyn]

It solves a problem of, say, Google and Infosys competing to get the lottery. With auction, Google gets all of them.

[tomp]

Why wouldn’t that happen now already?

[nitwit005]

For the most part, your complaints are fixable by just splitting jobs into categories, and then only taking the highest paid in each category.

But honestly, I don't think that's needed except for a few areas like translators. If a company truly needs someone, they're going to be willing to pay.

[ggg9990]

But those low paid professions should be nonstarters for immigrants. Can't hire enough nurses? If the pay floats up to React Native developer salaries, I'm sure you'll be able to.