back to article H-1B applications down after Trump's 'American techies first' rhetoric

Applications for H-1B visas, the most common route for skilled technologists seeking lawful work in America, have decreased for the first time in years. The US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), which is responsible for allocating the visas, announced yesterday that it only received 199,000 H-1B petitions during the …

  1. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Did they shrink the book to make his hand look bigger?

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      No but his wife did take the precaution of putting it on a fire brick in case it burst into flames when he swore on it.

  2. Orv Silver badge

    This is causing pain in the higher education sector, where it's common to have visiting lecturers from other countries become temporary employees. It's not so much the change itself, it's the abrupt and haphazard way it's happened -- visas that would have been routine under the old system are being rejected under the new one, so job positions that were thought to be filled with committed applicants are now suddenly open again.

    1. bombastic bob Silver badge
      Childcatcher

      pain in the 'higher education' sector

      "This is causing pain in the higher education sector"

      SERIOUSLY, they're a big part of the problem!

      I think that in MANY places overseas, the colleges are still EDUCATING people instead of POLITICALLY INDOCTRINATING them for 4 years.

      maybe the REAL solution is to hire more "mustang" engineers (i.e. those with 'equivalent experience' in lieu of indoctrination a degree - a degree is proof of POTENTIAL, not CAPABILITY, whereas experience is proof of CAPABILITY _and_ POTENTIAL). But yeah, they might not "fit" into the culture of "Silly Valley".

      (think of the children - actually TEACH TECH in high schools and colleges instead of "what they actually do")

  3. Anonymous Coward
    Thumb Up

    Hooray!

    Hopefully, Trump follows through. I don't see a lot of competition from H1B's in my particular line of work, but I see it a lot among the technologists I know. The idea that you increase societal wellbeing by importing 10s of thousands of significantly cheaper workers into a specific industry like IT is pretty much insane from my PoV.

  4. Throatwarbler Mangrove Silver badge
    Meh

    Law of Unintended Consequences

    What we want to happen: American businesses will put more private investment in education and training to create a broader population of educated American workers, raising the standard of living, reducing unemployment, and increasing educational levels.

    What is likely to happen: American businesses will figure out more ways to shift coding positions overseas to lower-cost areas, essentially removing those positions from the American economy altogether, and America will lose access to an eager population of hard-working, intelligent immigrants.

    I would love to see this regulatory shift result in positive change, but I suspect the results will be mixed, at best.

  5. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Maybe the H1-b applicants are too afraid of being shot by american "patriots"?

    Seriously, do we need to add a class on how to tell a Sikh from a Sheikh to the DMV test to get a drivers licence? Hot tip most modern muslims in the US don't wear turbans.

    As to H-1Bs, brain drain on other countries top talent helped make the US the powerhouse that it is. That said it would be good close the gap on the outsourcing firms who use it to game the system. H-1Bs should be for recruiting top talent and keeping it here, not letting Tata sidestep other us labor laws.

    Fix the admissions requirements and the lottery. Leave the program. Make America the best by making the best into Americans. Besides, I liked the place better when people from other countries still wanted to come here. Funny how that is...

    1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

      Re: Maybe the H1-b applicants are too afraid of being shot by american "patriots"?

      Simple - double the minimum salary to say $120K and allow people to easily switch employers.

      If he people are really vital then you don't mind paying - and if they can switch you can't force them to be slave labour

      1. goldcd

        Re: Maybe the H1-b applicants are too afraid of being shot by american "patriots"?

        Not even sure you'd need to mess with the base-salary.

        You bring in a foreigner, you pay to cover their visa, relocation - and in return maybe 'own them' for the first 12 months. After that, they're free to spend the next 5 years working wherever their skills are best recognized and therefore improve the US tax base.

        Makes perfect economic sense if nothing else. Why would the US government want to earn their tax cut of $60k, instead of $120k? If we're feeling really bold here, for each salary/tax bump just apply an automatic extension onto the Visa.

  6. HausWolf

    Yet again

    He didn't cut the number of H2-B visas, the ones his companies bring in. And if he requires buy American, does that mean his clothing lines should not be worn in the White House?

    Of course, that would mean the emperor has no clothes... but we already knew that.

  7. ThomH

    It's not just the H-1B, it's all visitors

    Per The Washington Post, "[t]he result [of a strong decline in interest in flight purchases] could be an estimated 4.3 million fewer people coming to the United States this year".

    Given that, I think the factors causing a decline H-1B applications will not uniquely be potential changes to the H-1B programme.

  8. Brian Miller

    IT jobs may move to Canada

    IIRC, Obama tried something similar, and the IT giants said they'd shift the positions up to Canada, where they won't get hassled. Now, the decline in H1B applications may be due to people choosing to not come to the U.S., or else it could be that the jobs have already shifted to Canada, or other countries where it is more convenient to employ the labor.

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