There's a ton of abuse, feigned work and loopholes, and rules that undermine the law and also make foreign workers a 2nd class.

Amongst other elements that should be fixed:

* Taxation without representation (i'm suggesting adding the latter, not removing the former)

* The H1B worker must be paid at or above the higher of the median rate at the company for the role or at the employee's request by an independent valuation for the role, this ensures workers are not being paid less

* The fee should be prorated, monthly, over the 6 year span of the H1B, allowing the company to spread it over time and manage cashflow

* The H1B worker should only be contractually required to stay for the average tenure of the role in the industry (which afaik is 18mo right now)

* The H1B worker should be able to easily port their H1B over to another employer. The new employer must pay the fee, prorated, on the H1B, the prior employer will be reimbursed prorated unused fees

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osculum 4 days ago | parent | next [-]

> Taxation without representation (i'm suggesting adding the latter, not removing the former)

Happens to permanent residents too, not only employment visas.

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maerF0x0 a day ago | parent [-]

correct.

I'm not sure the solution, because visas/Perm cannot vote. But at least the latter can (afaik ianal) contribute to political campaigns.

	▲	osculum 15 hours ago \| parent [-]
		Does that make sense though? It seems appropriate to me that only citizens of a country can vote in the elections of such country (US or elsewhere). It’s definitely more complicated than “no taxation without representation”. Some counter arguments from the top of my head: What about tourists? They pay taxes while they are here too. What about electoral interference? It’s way easier to pay taxes than to gain citizenship; this would create a perverse incentive. What about allegiance? When you become a citizen you pledge allegiance to the US. Not when you pay taxes. Would incentives be aligned? What about citizen only duties? (male) Citizens have to sign up for selective service and might have to go to war. Not so with H1Bs (though, to your point, permanent residents have to do it). Would it be fair to offer voting rights to everyone even if they don’t have the same duties?

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declan_roberts 4 days ago | parent | prev [-]

They will never allow you to port your h1b to another employer. The companies love h1b because it nails your feet to the floor.

	▲	Izikiel43 4 days ago \| parent [-]
		That's the L1 though. With an H1B you can get another employer, but the problem is that it has to be done in a narrow period of time, and the other employer has to be willing to sponsor the H1B.