[HankStallone]

It's hard for me to believe that anyone working in a tech industry hasn't seen this kind of thing happening or heard managers/owners talking about gaming the system. When people say they've never heard of it or don't think it happens, I wonder if they're incredibly naive or being evasive.

[rkomorn]

In many places it's talked about only by immigration lawyers and people who must be involved.

If you're not very active in recruiting (especially at a sizeable company), it's not hard to be outside of the circles where those conversations are happening.

[shaftway]

This happens at a much smaller level too. We knew an au pair that the host family particularly liked, and wanted her long term. A typical au pair contract is for 1 year, maximum is 2. They worked with an immigration attorney to craft a "job" that she was uniquely qualified for, went through the whole dance, and got her into the system. She stayed with them for the next 10 years. They covered room and board, but she worked for free otherwise; getting her in the door and on the way to citizenship was her "pay".

[VincentEvans]

I can’t even tell how this would be different from what is commonly termed as human trafficking.

[sitzkrieg]

willing participants perhaps

[VincentEvans]

Curious, just based in the facts of what has been stated - does this pass the sniff test to you, not exploitative at all?

[rkomorn]

Sure but that's also an entirely different context than the one of the comment I was replying to.