[TriLUG] OT: PT One tech issue from tonight's debate

[Bill Farrow]

On Thu, Oct 18, 2012 at 2:29 PM, Craig Cook <cncook001 at yahoo.com> wrote:
> Why are H1B people considered "cheap"?  Don't the wages need to be similar to market rates?

You should factor in the fact that the employee is beholden to the
company that sponsors the H1B visa.  The visa is tied to a specific
job.  Changing companies requires going through the visa process
again, and typically they have to depart the country and re-enter
every 3 years.  Even changing position or role within the same company
is difficult.

Australia has the opposite problem, which we call "brain drain".  The
highly educated and skilled workers tend to go overseas where there
are more opportunities in specialized fields.

I think both sides of this argument have merits - and I'm on the
fence.  I wonder what my utopia would be.

Bill