...indentured servants (H1B visa holders is the politically correct term)...modern day slave trade...
You are deliberately and dishonestly misusing these terms.
Slavery is a real problem in the world today. H1B visa holders are not slaves. They are free to quit and work elsewhere whenever they like. Slaves are not.
"H1B visa holders are not slaves. They are free to quit and work elsewhere whenever they like."
I would not equate the H1B to slavery, but saying H1B holders are free to quit and work elsewhere whenever they like is akin to saying anyone is free to make a million dollars any time they want..Its true in theory, but not so straight forward in reality.
For starters many employers will NOT hire an H1B holder, so that narrows your options right off the bat. The companies that do hire H1Bs will often only do that for certain positions, so your career plans had better be exactly in line with those positions..
For starters many employers will NOT hire an H1B holder, so that narrows your options right off the bat.
For starters many slave owners will torture and/or murder a slave if they try to escape, or don't do their work properly, so that narrows your options right off the bat.
In contrast, in the worst case, an employee on an H1B will be flown to India/China/Australia/wherever, where he is free to live his life.
See the distinction?
If you want to argue that we should replace a temporary work visa not intended to be part of a path to citizenship (the H1B) with another type of visa, go ahead. But don't do it with hyperbole that trivializes slavery.
I'm not sure why you see the need to make a distinction, when the first thing I said was that I would not equate the H1B to slavery.
What you did not clarify, was your statement that H1Bs were free to get another job any time they wanted
> H1B visa holders are not slaves. They are free to quit and work elsewhere whenever they like.
Red herring. H1B visa holders cannot quit their job if they want to maintain their green card application as the GC process (and multi-year wait) restarts with every job. That's obviously a very strong incentive not to change jobs.
Current U.S. immigration policy can be summed up as: The only way you can immigrate is to be a bitch for an approved company for as long as it pleases to keep you as a bitch. If you are a good bitch, i.e., will work long hours and sleep under the desk without whining for janitor grade pay and no equity, and don't quit on getting a better offer elsewhere, you will be promoted to the next level: government bitch, where you can have the pleasure of paying taxes without any representation.
I would not equate the H1B to slavery, but saying H1B holders are free to quit and work elsewhere whenever they like is akin to saying anyone is free to make a million dollars any time they want..Its true in theory, but not so straight forward in reality. For starters many employers will NOT hire an H1B holder, so that narrows your options right off the bat. The companies that do hire H1Bs will often only do that for certain positions, so your career plans had better be exactly in line with those positions..