[armored_mammal]

I think the way H1-B visa holders are basically beholden chattel to a specific enterprise is especially repugnant.

Anyone who reads through job listings for engineers (all types, as in real engineers) and programmers will also conclude that many job descriptions and salaries are designed so that a) there are practically zero people who will match the 'minimum' requirements, despite the fact that most of the deficiencies candidates are likely to have can be solved by 3 months or less of training, and b) if there were any Americans with the actual qualifications expressed, they would never work for the listed salary.

It's also worth noting, the hidden secret to getting cheap developers in the US is to be based somewhere that doesn't have a huge tech hub.

If you base yourself in moderate size cities you'll find a hidden field of competent applicants who will take salaries close to $50k a year just because there are few jobs in mainstream America that aren't Java or .Net unless they move to a tech hub (people often do not want to live in NYC or SF, at any cost). And 50k in a region they like with a tech they don't hate is better than moving. On average.

I should know. I'm a competent (but not end of the world amazing jock rock star hipster) developer getting paid 50k a year somewhere in America that is distinctly not New York or California. And my company pretty much has me locked in because there are pretty much no other businesses or shops in town that use Javascript or Python or other similar common open source languages instead of .Net or Java (or PHP). (Obviously not an issue of technical ability, but language taste.)

[untog]

I think the way H1-B visa holders are basically beholden chattel to a specific enterprise is especially repugnant.

As an H1B holder on his third job in the US, I can tell you that we aren't actually beholden to any employer.

[armored_mammal]

Probably you paid off a good agency in India to fix you up with jobs, then.

You're right that it's a little more complicated. A family friend is here from India on some kind of visa where she is able to switch employers, but she has to leave if a new one won't sponsor her or something. But she pays (or paid) thousands of dollars to some agency in India to fix her up with a job/jobs.

What really gets me in her case is that she has a child who has lived here for over a decade and can't get in-state tuition without special treatment despite being legal.

[untog]

Well, I'm not from India, so no, I didn't. I changed jobs by going out, looking for a job, applying for it, and interviewing.

The principle is absolutely simple- an H1B visa is freely transferrable to a new employer. There is absolutely nothing (legal) that your old employer can do in retribution once the transfer is complete, and it is possible to go through the transfer process without notifying your current employer.

[ashayh]

The problem is almost always for people from China, India, Mexico and Philippines. The Green Card process takes less than a year for all other countries except these. The Green Card paperwork takes a lot of time and effort for people from these countries. While doing the paperwork, there are extended periods where it does not make sense to look for new jobs. That pushes the expected date further in the future. For example, as of today, people who applied for the GC in 2004 and have a MS or 5 years of experience, are just eligible for it now: http://www.travel.state.gov/visa/bulletin/bulletin_5885.html