[andr]

It would have been much smarter to have spouse visas count towards the H1B quota, while guaranteeing that if one partner is selected in the lottery, the other is picked, too. Right now, if a couple with active careers want to move to the US together, chances are one spouse has to abandon their career for several years and not be allowed to contribute to the economy. Or, the couple will just go elsewhere.

[chipperyman573]

If being married would double your chances of being picked then that would just lead to a bunch of people getting married to get a H-1B. Similar to a green card marriage but neither of the people are citizens already. I agree that this is absolutely a problem but there would have to be a different solution.

[syrrim]

Could be corrected for by having couples enter the lottery as a unit, or halving the odds for each person entering as part of a couple.

[candiodari]

Check what happens when you multiply odds. That will mean the odds for any married person to get an H1B take a nosedive or essentially never happens if there is real competition.

[chipperyman573]

If each person has half the chance of a normal person and since if either one are chosen then the other is chosen, wouldn't their odds be (1/2 + 1/2) = 1 unweighted chance of being selected?

Multiplying the odds by 2 (making your chance 2/4) lets you use this analogy: If you had a bag with 2 marbles labeled 1, along with and one 2 and one 3 marble, your chance of drawing either a 2 or a 3 is the same as drawing the 1 marble. This still works if you add more marbles to the mix, as long as they're weighted to be pulled twice as often as the 2 or 3 marble.

[paxys]

H4 work permits are only issued to spouses when the primary H-1B holder has been on the visa for 6+ years or has already been approved for a green card and is stuck in the backlog. Someone who just received a visa or just came to the country can't apply anyways, so this isn't going to help.

[openforce]

Not really. It is usually the case where a lot of young men/women come here for their master's at the age of 22-23. And typically get married around 28-32, so this would be very useful for the spouse who wants to continue their career here.

[throwaway082729]

Hmm, my wife wants to work in education. She filled a role that was open for 10 months so the argument that she took an American's job is not valid. I'd support a rule whereby spouses of H1-B visa holders can only work in fields where there's huge demand for workers that cannot be satisfied by citizens alone. e.g. nursing, teaching, etc.