There is not a single company where US citizens that are identically leveled peers are paid $300k where H1bs are paid $120k. Places where citizens get paid $300k, H1Bs are making the same money because it’s illegal to to discriminate based on nationality or visa status when it comes to pay.

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rkomorn 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

And, corollary: the places that pay their H1Bs crap also pay everyone else crap, because they are run by greedy people who try to tilt the entire business in their favor.

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8note 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

while its true that at hiring time, companies have to pay the same, any visa is friction to changing job, so the h1 salaries will lag behind citizen and greencard holders' pay

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darth_avocado 3 hours ago | parent [-]

Nah. The “friction” is overstated. H1Bs face the same labor conditions as rest of the folks. When the market is great, you can shop around and make a lot of money. When the market is bad and you stay put, most of the other employees are doing the same. The caveat: I’m not talking about the consultancies that abuse the system, which we can all agree are bad and their employees usually will have a hard time finding other roles.

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sarchertech 3 hours ago | parent [-]

If you get fired or laid off, you only have 60 days to find a new job or be deported. Also depending on where you are in the green card process, you can lose your place.

This creates an incentive for H-1B workers to tolerate working conditions that American workers wouldn't.

	▲	darth_avocado an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Again, if you have terrible work conditions, you as an H1B have the same options as US citizens. You look for a different job and maybe suck it up for a couple of months, just like a US citizen would. And while yes, if have an ongoing green card process which takes 12-18 months, you may have an incentive to stick around to see it to completion, anyone who has their I-140, does not actually “lose their place” in the green card process. They can file for a new I140 and retain their place in the queue by retaining the priority date from the previous application. If you think US citizens don’t stick around for a bit in a shitty job for a variety of reasons, then you’d be lying. People (including US citizens) don’t just quit jobs whenever they want without a plan like you’re making it sound. At least not ones that carry a reasonable wage, health insurance and other benefits. Again, all with the caveat of me not talking about consulting firms, which obviously don’t exactly have the best workplace environments.